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Producer Saul Zaentz, who won best picture Oscars for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Amadeus” and “The English Patient,” died Friday in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was 92 and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/oscar ... 201025366/

He was also known for screwing John Fogerty and CCR out of money, the basis for the song "Vance Kan't Dance" on Centerfield. He was the owner of CCR's record label, Fantasy, which Fogerty recently recorded new music for as its a reactivated record label.

Fogerty originally titled the song Zanz Kant Danz, but changed it to Vanz Kant Danz before releasing the album (based on legal advice).

Mr. Greed from the same album was also written about Zaentz.

I'm guessing they didn't exchange Christmas cards.

Fantasy Records was no longer owned by Zaentz several years ago, and Fogerty chose that label for a solo record or two.

Vandal wrote:Fogerty originally titled the song Zanz Kant Danz, but changed it to Vanz Kant Danz before releasing the album (based on legal advice).

Mr. Greed from the same album was also written about Zaentz.

I'm guessing they didn't exchange Christmas cards.

Actually, the album was originally released with the title "Zanz Kant Danz." It was changed to "Vanz Kant Danz" on later releases.

I've always been a big Fogerty/CCR fan, but when I saw his concert in Austin a few months ago, I was put off by his self aggrandizement, primarily in the 30+ minute multimedia Powerpoint(?) presentation that everyone had to sit through before he came on stage. It was an overview of his career in music, from boyhood to the present, which somehow managed to treat CCR as a solo act, with no credit given, or mention of the other band members. It made me wonder if Saul Zaentz might deserve a little sympathy.

In his initial reaction, Fogerty was not ready to bury the hatchet.
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/saul-zae ... -reaction/

Vandal wrote:Fogerty originally titled the song Zanz Kant Danz, but changed it to Vanz Kant Danz before releasing the album (based on legal advice).

Mr. Greed from the same album was also written about Zaentz.

I'm guessing they didn't exchange Christmas cards.

Here's an article about that: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2014/01 ... ntasy.html

TheConfessor wrote: It made me wonder if Saul Zaentz might deserve a little sympathy.

Maybe, but it's hard not to get a little bitter when you've written some of the greatest songs ever and some corporate asshat is getting all the money for it.

And let's face it, Fogerty WAS Creedence.

T_Bone0806 wrote:

TheConfessor wrote: It made me wonder if Saul Zaentz might deserve a little sympathy.

Maybe, but it's hard not to get a little bitter when you've written some of the greatest songs ever and some corporate asshat is getting all the money for it.

And let's face it, Fogerty WAS Creedence.

If it makes you feel any better, Zaentz owned the rights to Lord of the Rings and produced the 70s animated version of the film. He later optioned the rights to Miramax which wound up going to Peter Jackson and New Line. Zaentz had to sue for an accounting for his share of the profits there.

Zaentz's first film, Payday, was about a down on his luck country singer (Rip Torn) and was in some ways a precursor to Crazy Heart (it's probably Torn's best acting performance and a good luck at the bottom end of the music business). Zaentz drew on personal experience for that but for later projects turned to literary properties he personally liked and could option the film rights. He won three Oscars out of only ten films produced his entire career which is a very high percentage.