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- How about
that Diane is nuts?

Can we start off with that?
- Yeah, start with that.

- I don't think she'd argue
with me for a second.

- Oh, she wouldn't.

- Nuts, cheap, unrelenting,

optimistic, sweet.

She's just crazy.

Oh, my God.

But she writes great songs.

[soft music]

- ♪ If I could
turn back time ♪

♪ If I could find a way ♪

♪ Feel the beat
of the rhythm of the night ♪

♪ Dance until
the morning light ♪

♪ Forget about the
worries on your mind ♪

- Music has always
been my shelter

and my savior and my home.

And my songs are
like passports

to all these
different worlds.

- ♪ I could stay awake just
to hear you breathing ♪

- I wanted to write
songs for people.

I didn't have a plan B.

I don't know
how to do anything else.

I always wanted to just
to be the songwriter,

not the singer.

- ♪ How do I live
without you ♪

♪ I want to know ♪

- I'm lucky.

I've gotten to hear
the best singers

on Earth record my songs...

Whitney Houston, Beyoncé,
Gaga, Celine, so many more.

- ♪ Unbreak my heart ♪

- It's like fuel
to keep me writing more.

- ♪ Because you loved me ♪

- This isn't a job.

This is my life, so you
can't retire from your life.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Diane has broke the rules.

And that's allowed
her to be one

of the greatest songwriters
of all time and still going.

- All these hits
are solo rights...

one writer, one genius
named Diane Warren.

- ♪ You can have all the
money in your hands ♪

♪ All the possessions
anyone can ever have ♪

♪ But it's all
worthless treasure ♪

♪ True worth is only measured
not by what you got ♪

♪ But what you got
in your heart ♪

- She has more hits by so
many different artists ever.

I don't think anyone
tops her record.

- It's the songs that you hear
that change your career.

It changes your life.

- As close as I am to her,
there's a part of her

that nobody really
knows what's going on.

- If I had her money,
I'd have a yacht.

And I'd have a plane.

And I'd be like just
like, yeah, whatever.

Maybe there's some other dark
things in her life that

has not allowed her to enjoy
what she should be enjoying.

- She is a survivor.

♪ ♪

Survivors just keep going.

- Songwriter Diane Warren
is an Oscar legend.

She's most nominated
woman ever without a win.

- We really want you
to win one, though.

- I do too.

- Diane has a competition
within herself.

Nothing stops her.

- Diane will track
you down if she has

a song she's
passionate about.

- Every song that
she's ever written,

she calls me and says,
this is the best

song I have ever written.

- There's no one like her.

- She is just
insanely talented.

- She is relentless.

- She's relentless.
- Relentless.

- Relentless.

- I have a bracelet right here

that says
"relentless as fuck."

I had it made.

- I've met a lot of people.

But, honey, I ain't never met
nobody like Diane Warren.

[birds cawing]

[cat meows]

- Yeah, just put it there.

You're going to have to
like find a way to sit.

And look, I don't know how
you're going to do this.

- Oh, and you can't move it.
- Can you get in there?

Just sit on all the shit.

Yeah.

[soft music]

You got to shoot up
because I hate my profile.

Just do it here.

Seriously, just...
just keep it here.

I'm very much about routine.

I have a thing
I do every day.

I get in my car, either
with a cat or without a cat

depending on the day.

And I go to my office.

And I just fucking
get to work, man.

And today, I have to go to...

[cat meowing]

- You want to write
a song today?

I guess I'm going
to have a co-writer.

[laughs]

Yeah, but she
writes like a pussy.

[cat meows]
- She didn't like that.

[laughs]

♪ ♪

I love Mondays.
I know some people don't.

I love them,
but Monday's another day.

I mean, every day is a work
day, basically, for me.

♪ ♪

The work ethic,
that's everything.

You've got to have talent,

but if you don't have
the work ethic,

it doesn't mean anything.

You've got to have both.

Is this weird?

It is weird to me.

I don't think about it,
but I'm thinking,

I own this building,

it's so weird.

You know what I mean?

- No one gave her anything.

She didn't come from
a long line of musicians.

And she didn't have any
connections in the business.

And she's a woman, which she
doesn't care to even discuss.

All those obstacles that
one would come up against,

she was up against.

♪ ♪

- It's the story of my life,
proving people wrong.

There were so many times
where people told me

a song wasn't a hit
or something can't work,

to where I'm like,
oh, really?

Watch. Fuck you.

I'll show you.

One of my favorite things
to do is, fuck you,

I'll prove you wrong.

And my mom was the first
one I had to do that with.

♪ ♪

- Do you like your mother?

- Yeah, I like my mom.

- Does she like you?
Because it's hard to tell.

- I love my mom.
- Well, she loves you.

- She probably doesn't.

I don't...maybe she
doesn't not like me.

She just doesn't get me.

My mom doesn't get me.

I'm like a freak.

She always says
she got the wrong child.

She always says, someone else
got my baby from the hospital

all those years ago.

♪ ♪

- Some people just aren't
really demonstrative

or supportive of their kids.

Her mom was a tough cookie.

- Her mom was different.

I don't know how
to explain her.

- My mom was a housewife.

My dad sold insurance.

I grew up in LA in Van Nuys.

We were not wealthy, kind of,

I guess,
middle class, Jewish.

They were older
when they had me.

By the time I was 10,
one of my sisters was 24.

And one was 21.

I didn't hang out
with my sisters.

I basically grew up
like an only child.

- I met Diane in kindergarten.

Her parents were just
really old-fashioned.

Diane's mom wanted her
to be a school teacher.

That's all she talked about.

Secretary, too, at the time.

Secretary was big,
but she wanted her to be

a teacher like her sisters.

- It's the base one
with the white garage or no?

- Well, they all
have white garages.

- Yeah, no, it's two houses
after that brown house.

Kindergarten was right here.
- Right here.

And then, we had the rabbit
hutches right here too.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And the rooms are
identical as they were.

- It's amazing.

- Isn't that weird?
- Yeah.

- Wow.

Hi, statue.
Hey, anybody here?

- The janitor is here.
- Let us in.

I want to take second
grade again, please.

- [laughs]

- If Diane could find a way
not to have to go to school,

I think she would have.

She really had no interest
whatsoever in any academic.

- Hi!

We're doing a documentary
on childhood education

and how much I hated school.

Do you like it?

- Not really.

- It sucks, right?

♪ ♪

- She was very bright.

It was just that you
needed to conform.

They didn't want different.

And she was different.

- I got kicked
out of a couple

of schools when I was a kid.

My grades in school
were abysmal.

I kept to myself.

I just wasn't happy.

- Diane was bullied
by different groups

of people for years.

- Kids can be mean.

They are.
They can be mean.

You don't forget that.

But music, it just
was everything.

It was saving my life
every day and to this day.

[upbeat music]

I grew up at a time
which was pretty much

the golden era of pop music,
'60s, '70s.

I got to hear soul music.

My parents had
show tune albums.

I got to hear everything.

And I really listened.

I really took it all in.

That was school to me.

- ♪ Nobody can tell you ♪

♪ There's only one
song worth singing ♪

- I looked
on a record one time.

And there were little
parentheses that had

the songwriters' names.

- ♪ Someone like you ♪

- I knew I wanted to be that.
I wanted to be the writer.

- ♪ But you got to make
your own kind of music ♪

♪ Sing your
own special song ♪

♪ Make your own
kind of music ♪

♪ Even if nobody else ♪

♪ Sings along ♪

- I'm going to my family
home where I grew up.

And I still have the house.

My room was
as big as this car.

- Remember, your dad
used to wear a white

T-shirt, like a wife beater?

- Yeah, yeah.
- OK.

- And underwear.
- Mm-hmm.

Hi, Cindy.

I don't know.

And your mom,
in the snap house dress

watering the plants.

Your mom going, Diane!

Diane!

She said it a certain way.

How did she say your name?

- I don't know.
How did she do it?

My name...

- No, she did
say it like that.

- Diane...meh!

I don't know,
something like that.

- I've known Diane
a little over 50 years.

Yeah, when we were 12
years old, she was 13.

And five years, I have been
her executive assistant.

She rescued me, yeah.

I was selling
timeshare in Las Vegas

living with my
90-year-old parents,

drinking a lot of vodka.

And she took me in.

She's my boss and my friend.

And we're like two sisters.

- Can you just park
somewhere, Wiener?

- Just be quiet.
- And not just stand...

- Hi.

Hey, how are you?

- Great to see you.
- Great to see you.

- You guys use the driveway.

- Thank you. Thank you.

- This is this lady's house.

- Yeah.

- She just allowed me to live
in it for all these years.

- I used to sneak
out of that window.

This was my room.

The same mezuzah that was
here when I lived here.

This is the living room
I used to live in.

I hope they still have that...

I hope they still
have the shed.

It's a little dark in here.

Should we turn on some lights?

This is my room.

Wow, it's different
than when I had it.

This is...I used
to be in this room.

Oh, I'm so sorry.
- No, it's OK.

Hi.
- This used to be my bedroom.

What's your name?
- Oh, so you're...right.

I'm Leticia.
- Hey, Leticia.

Oh, sorry, I'm just looking.
- No, it's OK.

- Yeah, I used to sneak out
that window when I was a kid.

- That's cool.

I've never snuck out before.

- You never snuck out?
- Mm-mm.

- I was kind of more
of a bad girl.

I always got in trouble.

But you know what?

It's OK.

We can't all be
good girls, right?

Oh, wow, this is
the same bathroom.

It's exactly the same
as when I lived here.

I used to sit in here
and sing and write and...

[playing guitar]

It has really good acoustics,
as you can hear.

♪ If I could write a
note to my younger self ♪

♪ Here's what I'd say ♪

♪ Everything will
be all right ♪

Oh, I forgot.

I forgot where it goes.

It's something I'm working on.

I think it's going to
be a beautiful song.

So maybe I should stay
here and write it,

finish it in this bathroom,
like old times,

for old time's sake.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- I was banished
to the shed because I

would play the same song
over and over again.

That's how I write.

I keep playing it over
and over till the song feels

right, until I get it right.

And it would drive
my parents crazy.

So voila.

It's a fucked up shed.

I don't know.

There's a lot
of stuff in there.

And I just broke
the door down.

This is where it happened.

This is where it started.

Once I found what
I was meant to do,

school couldn't give
me what I needed.

I couldn't learn how to
write songs in school,

so I didn't care.

♪ ♪

- Cruising on Van Nuys is
a time honored tradition.

And it's stronger than ever.

♪ ♪

- It was
a very different time

when we were
in middle school.

Diane spent almost every day
at my house, a lot of time.

And she brought her guitar
every time she came over.

She sat in my room
and was writing songs.

She was probably 12.

In middle school,
we did start experimenting

with different drugs.

Her parents
were really strict.

And her dad would
go through her room.

Whenever she wanted her
drugs, she had to come

over in my closet to get them.

♪ ♪

- We were all boy crazy.

Diane, not so much.

But she always went
to all the parties

throughout our teenage years.

And she knows all
the bathrooms

in every Valley home

that there possibly can
be for the acoustics.

She'd say hi.

We'd look for the boys
and the booze.

And she would head
off to the bathroom.

She wasn't that social.

She would play songs.

But every once in
a while, when we

would peek in to the
restrooms, she would

have a couple
people in there.

Some of them I remember
in the bathtub.

- Diane was very rebellious.

- I was a total
rebel growing up.

- You tell her no...
- Eh.

- ...and she would say yes.

- I was a total fuck you,
fuck the world.

A bit of a juvenile
delinquent, I have to say.

But I didn't hurt anybody.

♪ ♪

Where's the thing that
has me when I...oh,

there it is, look.

This is me when I ran away.

"Parents seek aid in locating

missing teen."

- I'll never forget when
she ran away from home.

She stayed away
for quite a while.

She slept on lawns.

She slept in not nice hotels
with really not nice people.

- They were for real bank
robbers and drug addicts,

probably robbing banks
for their drugs.

I don't know.

I just did some
stupid fucking things.

- Yes.

- And that was one of them.

- I did worry about
Diane because it

was not a good situation.

- I remember not
feeling understood,

really, by anybody, really.

- And then, she got
caught with pot.

And her mom and dad took
her to the police station

and turned her in and said,
you take her.

And they put her in juvie.

- I got arrested.

I got sent to juvenile hall
for a couple of weeks.

I think they thought
they were saving me,

but it was a traumatic thing
when you're a kid.

And I remember my dad coming
to visit me in juvenile hall

and crying.

He goes, I didn't
want you to be here,

but I don't know what to do.

We don't know what to do.

- She could have easily
gone down a different path.

Her dad was trying to
extract her from all of that.

And that was the point
when he really started

backing her in her music.

- I wanted this 12-string.

I wanted it so bad.

My dad goes, well, if you
get nothing less than a B,

I'll get you the guitar.

So for one semester
in my life, I had

nothing less than a B.

After that semester,

back to D's and F's.

But I have that 12-string.

My mom was always
giving my dad shit

for encouraging
me to do this.

She'd be like,
why are you doing that?

She'll be sitting
on the corner

with a guitar and a cup.

She can't make
a living at it.

I love when someone says
I can't do something.

My dad took me to get
guitar lessons one time.

And I didn't want
to learn the scales,

so I came back for the
second guitar lesson.

And the teacher told my dad,
don't bring Diane back.

She has no future in music.

So I taught myself.

I'd be spending my time
in the shed in the backyard

writing away and
writing away, wanting

to hear my songs on the radio,
wanting people to record them,

and not having
a way to do that.

We didn't know
any music people,

but my dad would drive
me over to Hollywood.

There's a thing called
"The Songwriter Showcase."

It was at Capital Studios
at that time.

- He took her to meet people
because he was like her.

- You got
to hear my daughter.

It's the best song
she ever wrote.

- I wanted to audition
for Len Chandler

and John Braheny,
who ran the showcase.

- When Diane first
started coming to us,

she was too young to drive.

She was chubby.

She had acne.

However, she exuded a type of
confidence that would compel

her to believe that each
and every one of the things

that she brought
was a potential hit.

- It's actually tuned.

Wow.

And my hands used to be...

my fingers used to be
smushed from this guitar.

- Yeah.

- Because a
12-string does that.

And I would come
and play Len's songs.

I'd come in with
how many songs?

Like five songs?
- Six.

- Six? OK.

I'd come in.
I go, this is great.

This is great.

They go, yeah, these aren't
good yet, but you are.

- Diane's songs would
be like, A, A, A, A.

And that would be it.

There would be no hook,
no chorus, no refrain.

We would tell her, the form
does not match anything

that's playing on the radio.

And they won't play this.

- I'd be like,
no, you don't know

what you're talking about.

These are great songs.
I'm great.

And then, my dad would be
like, you listen to them.

I'm like, I'm not going
to listen to them.

These songs are great.

But they weren't great.

But what would happen is,
I'd keep going back.

I'd go back the next
week with five new songs.

- She was a hard worker.

- And my songs did get better.

- As soon as she began
to understand it,

it just changed everything.

She had talent.

She believed in herself.

And...

- And I was tenacious as fuck.

[laughter]

That's just basically me.

I'll keep coming back.

I mean, I'll just...

I don't really...
I don't really stop.

I don't really quit.

You can't really
get rid of me.

- Diane is a pain in the ass,
not in the best way possible.

She's a pain in the ass.
- I'm a pain in the ass.

- Yeah.
- It's fine.

I'll admit it.
I am.

- I remember when
I first met Diane.

- My first interaction
with Diane...

- My first meeting with her...
- I met Diane...

- [sighs]
- In a restaurant.

- We were on a plane.

- Sitting in my backyard
on the grass.

- At the Coffee Bean.

- At Meat Loaf's house.

- Who is this woman?

- Diane walks in with a parrot
on her shoulder.

- She was feeding her birds
in her mouth.

Bird seeds in her mouth.

- She's like, you bitch!

- I have no idea who she is.

- Oh, my God, who is this?

- She told me to Google her.

- She said, I'm going to write
you a heartbreaking ballad.

- Listen, check this out.

- Come back to my studio.

- Meet with me.

- Oh, you know what?
I don't have to...

I don't...you know what?

I don't have to meet with you.

- She's like a used car
salesman pitching her songs.

♪ ♪

- She started
singing the song.

- [vocalizing]

- Sing my song.

You got to hear this song.

- I like this
variation right here.

- Have you just
written the best

song that you've ever written?

- I just fucking did.
I'm not joking.

- That's what you always say.

- This motherfucker,
my kind of girl.

- I ended up at her
studio recording.

- One of the biggest
hits that I've had.

- It changed my life forever.

- All right, I'm tired
of talking to you.

This is enough.
Goodbye.

- Bye.

Goodbye.

- She wanted anybody
to listen to her music...

any and everybody.

I met Diane 45 years ago.

I was a record executive
at the Rocket Record Company,

which was Elton John's
company.

I came upon just a cassette
that apparently had been left

by Diane, who, for a week,
worked as a music messenger

so that she could
deliver tapes

to all the record companies

and then sneak her
little cassette in.

- I'd forget to deliver
what I was delivering,

but I'd leave cassettes
on people's desks.

That's not the ideal
way to get

your songs heard, by the way.

- So I play this tape.

[light music]

And it's real tinkly.

And sometimes
she's singing on beat.

And sometimes it's slow.

And it's just all
over the place.

And I remember
thinking, this is

the worst demo I ever heard.

But I'll be damned if
there isn't a song there.

- ♪ Whoa, yeah ♪

♪ And my life will
never be the same ♪

- I ended up working
for Diane.

I believed in her
so very, very much.

She took me to meet her mom.

And she said, Mom, Mom.

She said, look,
this is an A&R director.

She really believes
in my music.

And Flora turns around
and says, oh,

are you encouraging her
in that music thing?

Oh, no, tell her
to be a secretary.

And it was like, wow!

[upbeat music]

- When I was in my early
20s, a friend of mine

gave a tape of my songs
to Laura Branigan's producer,

Jack White.

He liked what he heard.

I signed a little
publishing deal.

If you're just
starting out and you're

just excited that
someone's paying you,

someone was paying
me to write songs.

I was able to pay my rent.

It was a terrible deal,
but who was I?

I was nobody.

And "Rhythm of the Night"
became a big hit.

- ♪ I know a place
where we can ♪

♪ Dance the whole
night away ♪

♪ Underneath electric stars ♪

♪ Just come with me,
and we can ♪

♪ Shake your blues
right away ♪

♪ You'll be doing fine ♪

- It's the first hit
I really had that I

wrote words and music to.

♪ Feel the beat of the
rhythm of the night ♪

♪ Dance until the
morning light ♪

♪ Forget about the
worries on your mind ♪

- "Rhythm of the Night" kind
of happened because I'd just

gotten my first drum machine.

I came up with this cool beat.

And I started, you know, that
little piano riff, that...

[vocalizes]

I was like, oh, I like that.

It was a huge hit
all over the world.

Yeah, then I was
kind of on my way.

♪ ♪

If anybody thinks that's an
overnight success, having

your first hit when you're
29 and having no money,

that was a very long
overnight success.

- She was signed
to the most basic

music publishing
songwriter contract

in the history of the world.

- Yes, she got
a monthly payment,

and we had a five years
exclusive deal.

[soft music]

- By '83, '84, you know,
we could tell from public

information what
the record sales were

and what kind of royalties
were not getting paid.

- I kind of thought, at that
time, I deserved something.

And, you know, he didn't
want to give that up.

- I get the call
that she wants

to go out of the contract.

This is something for me, as a
German, I did not understand.

So this was very, very,
very American, what we say.

And for some reason,
unfortunately, yes,

it is correct.

We had to go
through a lawsuit.

- I tried to get out of the
deal, and then he sued me.

And then, because he
sued me, I couldn't

sign with other publishers.

- At that point, she had
amassed a lot of recordings.

Every publisher in America
wanted to sign her.

- If anybody signed me,

they'd be part
of that lawsuit.

- Yeah,
- So when people were...

all these companies were
coming to me going,

no, we're going to offer...

I remember being offered
a million dollars.

I was like, what?

And I was making like,
$200 a week, you know,

signed to Jack White.

- We talked about it.

And I said, well, you have
the option of not doing that.

You can self-publish.

You can be your own publisher.

[Starship's
"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"]

- You look back, and you
go, that's the best thing

that ever happened to me.

- At the end of
the day, I gave up.

We made a deal.

And, for me, this was over.

But it is true that,
without me, there

would be no Diane Warren.

I'm the one
who discovered her.

- And so I started my own
company, settled the lawsuit,

never looked back.

So I've owned all
my songs since then.

- ♪ And we can build
this dream together ♪

♪ Standing strong forever ♪

♪ Nothing's gonna
stop us now ♪

♪ And if this world
runs out of lovers ♪

♪ We'll still have
each other ♪

♪ Nothing's gonna stop us,
nothing's gonna stop us ♪

- She was just ready to go.

She was just ready to soar.

- ♪ I get ♪

♪ Weak when I look at you ♪

♪ Weak when we touch ♪

♪ I can't speak when
I look in your eyes ♪

- ♪ Who will you run to
when it all falls down ♪

♪ Who's gonna pick your
world up off of the ground ♪

- ♪ Blame it on the rain
that was falling, falling ♪

♪ Blame it on the stars
that shined at night ♪

- ♪ Don't turn around ♪

♪ 'Cause you're gonna
see my heart breaking ♪

♪ Don't turn around ♪

♪ I don't want you
seeing me cry ♪

- ♪ When I see you smile ♪

♪ I can face the world ♪

♪ Oh, you know I
can do anything ♪

- ♪ And it won't be long ♪

♪ One of these days ♪

♪ Our love will
lead you back ♪

- I have to tell you,
at a time...

it's much better now.

But at a time,
she made demos that no one

would want to record
because her voice

was just not very good.

- ♪ I don't know why
I do the things I did ♪

Cher, I would have
turned this down too.

♪ I don't know why I
said the things I said ♪

I would fucking
shoot the singer.

♪ Pride's like a knife,
it can cut deep inside ♪

- I go up to her.

I go, Cher, you have
to do this song.

I fucking hate it.
I fucking hate it.

I grabbed her legs.

- She did have my leg.

- I go...and I held her feet
to the ground, literally.

I go, until you
say you're going

to at least try it...she goes,
let go of my fucking leg.

I'm not doing
that fucking song.

I fucking hate...and she was
starting to get mad at me.

- And I kept saying, no, I do
not want to record this song.

I don't want to do it.
I hate it.

And...but she sounded
like shit on it.

- You have to at least try it.
I'll pay for the track.

- And I thought, she's
the cheapest chick I know.

- As soon as I said I'll
pay for the track, she goes,

OK, I'll try it.

- And from the
moment I started

to sing it, it was perfect.

I did it in, like, 15 minutes.

- I remember looking at...

in the glass booth.

I see her singing.

She looked at me like,
you fucking bitch.

You were right.

- I mean,
Diane is unrelenting.

She's unrelenting,
but thank God.

Because it's one of
my favorite songs,

and it's one of
my biggest hits.

♪ If I could turn back time ♪

♪ If I could find a way ♪

♪ I'd take back those
words that hurt you ♪

♪ And you'd stay ♪

- It's so hard because
no one's believing

in you, really.

You're climbing
this uphill battle.

So you have to, like,
have that within yourself,

like, I'm great, I'm going
to make it...

that Muhammad Ali
kind of thing.

♪ ♪

So you just need one
believer, don't you?

And that one believer has
to start out being you.

♪ ♪

- She writes this
stuff by herself,

in that miserable,
miserable room of hers

that nobody's allowed to touch
for the last 80,000 years.

- Don't come too far,
you guys, because things

get knocked over.

There's just so
much stuff in here.

This is 35 years
of my life in here.

But I like...
I really like it in...

I love it in here.

- I've gotten to see
Diane's cave where

she creates all the music.

To be able to see her
space, I feel like it's

getting inside of her head.

- On the one hand,
you think, oh, wow.

I'm in this like genius place.

But, all right, like,
what's gonna eat me?

- A superstition, isn't it?

She can't change it in
case she loses whatever

magic happened in that room.

- I don't know if it's
superstition or I just...

I'm comfortable in here.

This room basically
bought my building.

Maybe one song, who knows.

Because there's
some big hits that

have been written in here.

- She doesn't care
what it looks like.

She doesn't care if you think
it's weird that it's a mess.

She doesn't care that
she's worth all this money

and she sits in this tiny
little room writing her songs

on an electric keyboard.

And, by the way, she still
records her songs on cassette.

- Is each tape a song?

- Just they're ideas.

They're ideas.

I use my Walkman or I record
on my phone now, too.

So I visually
record stuff, too.

So I've moved beyond
the cassette a little bit.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- If you didn't
know who she was,

you would never guess
that this person

could write like that.

I didn't really get
it until I saw it.

She was at the piano,
and she started creating

the song in front of me.

It was like another person.

It was.

It was like if you were
to be able, as an artist,

to watch Picasso paint.

It was...
it really was amazing.

[piano chords]

- What the fuck is that?

It's the chills on your arm.

It's not, you know, analytics.

I mean as soon as someone
starts talking about that,

I want to kill myself.

Where's the process?
I don't fucking know.

Ask me about my
process one more time

and I'm gonna
fucking...not you.

You're going to ask me
about my process.

Do you want to be
filmed having sex?

I mean, it's like,
I don't know.

It's like, really intimate.

Writing is a real
intimate thing for me.

You know?

It takes a...you know,
a few days to a week

to write a song.

I don't analyze what I do.

I just go to work and I work.

[vocalizing]

Fuck.

I was writing "Blame It On the
Rain," and my hand slipped.

♪ And you feel
like such a fool ♪

What the fuck is that?

My guitar player was
like, you can't do that.

It's totally wrong.

You can't go up
a half step there.

I go, why?

The good thing about me not
being a trained musician is,

you know, I don't know
what's not correct.

So I do all kinds of shit
that makes no sense.

- I was like, wow.

You are a little
fucking genius.

That's why you can never
judge a book by its cover.

You don't know what's going
on in that back burner.

- Look, I just found a DAT.

Remember DATs?

"I Don't Want to Miss
a Thing" is on here.

Cool.

♪ I don't want to
close my eyes ♪

♪ I don't want
to fall asleep ♪

♪ 'Cause I'd miss you, babe ♪

♪ And I don't want
to miss a thing ♪

There was an interview
with James Brolin

and Barbra Streisand,
where he,

you know, legit felt that way.

And he was saying,
you know, how

he didn't want to go to
sleep because he missed her.

- I don't want to fall asleep.

And so I say, why not?

And he says,
because then I'll miss you.

- Wow.
All right.

There's a song there.

And I remember writing
down the title,

"I Don't Want
to Miss a Thing."

- Michael Bay,
who directed "Armageddon,"

calls me up one day,
and he says, we need a song.

I want a song for this movie.

I said, OK.

I called Kathy Nelson,
and I said, we need a song.

- In terms of trying
to find the right song,

and especially a song that's
specifically a title track,

it should represent
the last thought you have

as you walk out
of the theater.

- Diane has a kind of a
sixth sense about what works

in a film and what doesn't.

- And then, for me,
a no-brainer was Aerosmith.

Because in the movie,
Bruce Willis, as the dad,

is talking to his daughter
for the last time, who's

Steven Tyler's real daughter.

- I remember he came in here
and saw some of the scenes

with his daughter
and had tears in his eyes.

And he said, I'll do the song.

- I never thought they
would do a song of mine.

The only song they ever
covered in their life

was a Beatles song.

That's the Beatles.

One of the greatest
moments for me

was sitting at the piano with
him and teaching him the song.

Hearing him sing next to me,
that was really a thrill.

- ♪ Then I'll kiss your eyes ♪

♪ And thank God
we're together ♪

♪ Well, I just want
to stay with you ♪

- Diane nailed it.

She got the exact emotional
tone we wanted for the movie.

- ♪ I don't want
to close my eyes ♪

♪ I don't want
to fall asleep ♪

♪ 'Cause I'd miss you, baby ♪

♪ And I don't want
to miss a thing ♪

♪ 'Cause even when
I dream of you ♪

♪ The sweetest dream
will never do ♪

♪ I'd still miss you, babe ♪

♪ And I don't want
to miss a thing ♪

- That song was Steven Tyler's
first number one hit.

- I don't want anybody
kissing my eyes.

I don't want anybody
to stay up all night

and hear me breathe,

and I don't want
anyone to kiss my eyes.

What the fuck are you
kissing my eyes for?

[chuckles]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- She knows the power of love.

She knows the
heartbreak of love.

She knows all the emotional
qualities surrounding it.

But it's fantasy, you know.

Because, to my knowledge,

she's never
really been in love.

- She writes all
this stuff out of...

I don't know where
it comes from.

Not her life.

- She's a great storyteller,
and she makes the stuff up.

- Is she projecting?

Is she just fantasizing?

- I don't think
she has fantasies

about a love life at all.

I've known her for 45 years.

That is not the priority.

- You know, she's had a couple
of relationships with men.

- She'll call me at like,
2:00, 3:00 in the morning,

go, yo, Big Daddy.

[laughs]
No, I'm just kidding.

- I think she has
the capacity to fall

in love with a man or a woman.

- I'm straight.

Everybody thinks
I'm gay, but I'm...

I don't care what I am.

Whatever.
It doesn't matter.

I don't want to be
in a relationship.

It's not for me.

It never was.

I don't think you
have to be in love

to write a great love song.

To me,
it's like method acting.

Like, I'm...when I'm
writing these songs,

I'm the character.

I feel everything.

Here, check this out.

Guy, why are you over
there and not over here?

- Guy, she's getting
separation anxiety.

This is the reunion.

Are we about
to have a wedding?

- All right,
so this is a reunion.

All three of us used
to work together.

- Well, this is complicated,
this stuff about Diane.

- Yeah.
I mean, I kind of had one.

You know?
- Had one what?

- One boyfriend.

- I was fresh off
the boat from Tahiti,

and I took a job in
a small, seedy, little studio

in Hollywood,
and in walks Diane.

Somehow she heard
that I was starting to do

demos for other songwriters.

And so she said,
you know, I want

to maybe try a demo with you.

- Guy was my friend, and
we've done a lot of records

together, and we used to
go out a long time ago.

And Mario used to work
with Guy in the studio,

and we used to all have
big fights in the studio

all the time.

And Guy was sometimes
a dick to Mario.

[laughs]
- And to you.

- And me.

- And you,
you were the biggest.

- I guess I was a dick,
too, so I get it.

- Really?
Oh, you do get it?

- No, I get it.
I get it.

I wouldn't want
to deal with me,

but I have to because I am me.

- Well, are you better,
you think...

- Now?
- I'm gonna get Guy a trophy.

- Yeah.
- I don't know.

- I mean, yeah, people
always ask...you had...

you know, how close were you?

I feel like we
were the closest,

you know, for a while,
working in producing her demos

and later producing
records with her.

- He was a producer.

They worked together.

They owned a studio together.

I think she was
with him for nine years.

- What if you had a son
with Diane Warren?

- Oh, God, no.
- What would you tell him?

- I wanted to at one time.
- Ew.

OK, I'm singing a song.
I don't know what...

OK, whatever.

- I love the face.
- OK, cool.

- So was it just one day
sparks just happened?

- You know, with
Diane, actually,

you know, we'd go in,
and usually on the weekends.

- Uh-huh.

- By 1:00 in the morning,
it's all mixed.

We'd actually be dancing.

- You and her would
be dancing?

- You know, yeah.

We'd actually be dancing.

- D-Dub.

You guys would be
dancing in the studio

after finishing a song?

And since it was all ballads,

it must have been
very romantic.

- That's not true.

- You'd do other
things beside dance?

Oh, Lord.
- No, besides ballads.

- Oh, no, I know, Diane.

[laughter]

That was my next question,
was, her rhythm is so off,

how did you guys get
in a groove, man?

[laughs]

- ♪ Everything
you're feeling now ♪

♪ Won't always keep you down ♪

♪ There'll be better days ♪

- He was lovely.

He was just...
he was just really

terrific, and brilliant,
and talented, and stuff.

But, you know, I think
it's just really difficult

to be with this powerhouse
of Diane Warren, whose focus

has always been on music.

- Her life was
a little barren.

She says no man, no interest,
no kids, no interest.

- No, and I don't think
that that's right.

- I've really put blinders
on like this, you know,

just where I'm, my work,
my work, my work.

You know, any time
something gets in the way,

I just kind of block it out.

- She will hound you,
she will pound you,

and make sure she
gets what she wants.

- When you work with Diane,

there's chaos
that comes with it.

She might give the song
to multiple artists

while you already have
an artist in mind.

- ♪ How do I live
without you ♪

♪ I want to know ♪

♪ How do I breathe ♪

♪ Without you ♪

♪ If you ever go ♪

- Everybody hated me.

Jerry Bruckheimer was never
going to work with me again.

Kathy Nelson, the music
supervisor, she hated me.

Trisha Yearwood hated me.
LeAnn Rimes hated me.

I mean, everybody
fucking hated me.

- She thinks it's funny.

- People got
their feelings hurt.

You know, there was drama.

But ultimately, at the
end of the day, we like,

all drama'ed it to the bank.

So it's all good.

- She comes in
with really interesting

songs no matter what.

So you have to put up
with some of the chaos.

- There was a period
of quite a few years

where I just didn't want
to deal with Diane anymore.

It is like guerrilla
warfare sometimes.

I know one or two
artists that just really

cut her out of their lives.

Even though they were
desperate to have

those great songs from her,
it wasn't worth the battle.

- Diane took the call.
Hi, Celine.

Hi, Diane.

I loved three out
of four songs that you sent.

Instead of being
elated that Celine Dion

liked three out of four,
she is sat

there arguing over the fourth.

- Did you really like it?
Isn't that beautiful?

Do you guys like it?

- Do you think this
is good enough?

Do you think this
will be a hit?

- Is this a good bridge?
Do you like this hook?

- Do you like it?

- She still has some of that
in her, I'm not good enough.

- There's more songs.
Did you like 'em?

- I think once you kind
of pick that up as a kid,

you don't shake it.

- The rejection level
in music is horrific.

- Yeah. No, I get it.

- I've been in the
trenches with her

when things didn't work out so
well with some of her songs.

And it was heartbreaking.

- It's emotional for her
because it's something

that came out of her.

It's her pride and joy,
and she wants to make

sure it gets a good home.

- What she's showing on the
outside, the poker face,

is not what's going on
on the inside.

She's extremely sensitive.

People do use their sense of
humor as armor and a wall.

I think that's what she does.

- Next question, Your Honor.

[scoffs]

- I think that's
where everything is,

is right in between there.

Right where the humor comes
from, the lyrics come from,

everything comes from there...

the part that we don't
get to see really.

- You have a big wall.

- I do?
- And I'm trying to...

- To break it through?
- Yeah.

- Good luck.
Get the sledgehammer.

- Even her women friends...

I don't think she
trusts anybody 100%.

She loves us and knows
that we're there for her.

But there's a little,
bitty seed down there

somewhere that,
you might do something to me

and hurt my feelings,
and how do I protect that?

So since she really
doesn't trust people,

they're not...she doesn't
think that they're

unconditional love to her.

What's the thing that gives
you unconditional love?

♪ ♪

- I love that cat
more than anybody.

I've had Mouse for 15 years.

She's my best friend.

I'm just in love
with that cat.

She's my little baby,
right, Mouse?

She sleeps with me
and everything.

[cat meows]

See?

My songs could all
be about my cat.

I got her from my trainer
of 30-some years.

[cat meows]

- So we brought Diane
the cat on her birthday,

and it was in this
little cat cage.

And we brought it out.
And she said, oh, my God.

It's the ugliest thing
that I've ever seen.

And she loved it, though.

And that's the thing
about Diane.

She likes weird,
quirky looking things.

So I think it was
a perfect kind of a match.

- Come on, eat something.

- I've never seen anybody...

anybody attached to an animal
like she is with Mouse.

- Her love of animals
can't be underplayed.

- She has a lot of friends.

But she'll tell you
that she prefers

the animals over people.

- That's Buttwings.

Buttwings is 28 years old.

Only the good die young.

No, I don't mean that.

He doesn't talk
or do anything.

I had a bird named
Casper that talked.

I tried to get him to learn
how to say "fuck you."

But every time I would
say, come on, Casper,

say "fuck you,"
he would go, "I love you."

I'm like, ah.

He used to go to
restaurants with me.

He'd go on my shoulder.
He'd be under my jackets.

- And people were going,
who's the woman

with the bird that's
yelling obscenities

across the restaurant?

I mean, she gives zero fucks.

[phone line trilling]

- Hey, Michele.

- Hi, listen.

So you're on speakerphone,
and just a couple questions.

- Sure.

- Was Diane always different?

- Yes.

- OK, how?

- How?
- How?

How was she different?

- Well, Janice
and I were normal.

Diane was weird.

- [laughs]
OK.

- She's hard to understand.

- And nothing was...
- But I wasn't around.

We got out as soon
as we could.

- Why didn't you guys
have happy memories?

- [scoffs]

I don't know.

It wasn't a lovable...

you know, my father was always
very lovable and huggable.

My mother, never mind.

- Her mom...
you know, we would go

to these formal
events where Diane

would be getting these awards.

And her mom just had this
thing where she would take

home silver or, like,
the breadbaskets,

or whatever it was, food.

It was just this thing.

- She never threw
away anything...

plastic bags, all over,
plastic silverware

from restaurants, salt and
pepper shakers, all over.

It was crazy.

- Hi, Grandma.

- This party was made
especially for you.

- Want to wish you
a very happy birthday

and many, many more,

from your oldest and
bestest daughter.

- I'd just like to say that I
know you told me that I should

take shorthand and
typing and that'd I'd

never make it as a songwriter.

And I just like to show
you that you were right.

Pool.

Take...show the
view and all this.

That's all
because I listen to you.

It's all because I
listened to your advice.

It was very, very good advice
I know I should have taken

to heart and listened to.

But since I didn't,
I'll have to just

accept the life I have.

Well, it's hard. You know?

You want to win their
approval or win their love

or something sometimes,
you know?

And sometimes you can't.

- Her mom was not a nurturer.

She's not affectionate,
nobody hugging.

And Diane doesn't like
people to touch her.

- She doesn't like
people to hug her.

She hugs like that.

Like, she'll be like, hi.

Like, don't come too close.

You had a big problem
socializing with people.

You used to keep your head
down in your BlackBerry.

- Yeah.
Yeah.

- When the BlackBerry...
she would meet somebody.

- I still got it.
- Yes.

And this is how she would
look...meet somebody.

- Wait, don't do anything
to it, though.

- So if I said...this is
Diane, she'd be like, hi.

Yeah, what do you do...
and not look at people.

- Yeah.
- Because she had a problem.

- Yeah.
- So...

- A little Asperger's
thing going on.

- A little Asperger's.

- Diane was diagnosed
with Asperger's.

Does she like crowds
and does she like people?

Does she like small talk?

Absolutely not.

- If you take her out of her
routine, she's miserable.

She has to have
the same routine.

I get the same phone call
every morning, 8:00.

- Every single day is
exactly the same Diane

with the same obsession.

- She'll get antsy.

I got to go.

I got to write.
- I'm sorry.

I'm just...I'm getting a
little nervous because I

don't...I've never met this...
with this artist before.

I kind of have to learn
the song I'm playing.

- Oh, well, can we film
you doing that?

- No.
Come on, I need my brain.

I need a guitar,
and it's not here.

[groans]

- Steven Spielberg called
her one day and said,

Diane, I figured it out.

I figured out how
to describe you.

You were born without brakes.

Because that is
Diane, you know?

She has no filter.

- How would you like
your Asperger cooked?

- She had a little Asperger.

- I'll have a vegan
Asperger, thanks.

- She has no filter.
She's totally impulsive.

- Fucking boring.

These artists drive me nuts.

I don't care if you use this.

I've learned to be better.

- And then she gets
on a piano, and it's like,

forget it, like no other.

- Songs speak for me.

- Yes, they do.

- Lots of people
don't quite understand

people on the spectrum.

People find them
odd and strange,

and they don't know
how to deal with them.

But I think it's...
it's part of the genius.

And I think
it's just something

that she's made work for her.

- Hey, Diane, right here.

- The combination
of the things that she is

is so bizarre.

I mean,
she's socially awkward.

She's really shy.

She doesn't like
to speak in public.

This is the same girl
that's teaching

her bird to say "fuck you,"

writing "Unbreak My Heart."

- ♪ Unbreak my heart ♪

♪ Say you love me again ♪

♪ Undo this hurt you caused ♪

♪ When you walked out the
door and out of my life ♪

♪ Uncry these tears, baby ♪

♪ I cried so many,
many nights ♪

♪ Unbreak my, unbreak
my heart, sweet darling ♪

♪ Without you,
I just can't go on ♪

♪ Oh, darling, yeah ♪

- I came up with the title
of "Unbreak My Heart."

I just knew I had something.

I was like...
I kind of remember...

[vocalizing]

I was in this key.

[vocalizing]

I was like, oh, shit.

That key change,
like, oh, my God.

I was like...like, blown away
by something I was doing.

I was like, ooh,
this is so good.

So that felt right to me,
and then it became a hit.

- ♪ Unbreak my heart ♪

♪ Say you'll love me again ♪

♪ Undo this hurt you caused ♪

♪ When you walked out the door
and walked out of my life ♪

- I think of all the songs
she's ever written,

and I'm partial.

I think "Unbreak My
Heart" was her most

masterful of all of them.

It's...everything about
it was so clever...

the lyrics, the modulation.

She comes up with these
incredible melodies.

And she allows
people like me

just to breathe
a little soul in them.

- ♪ Uncry these tears ♪

♪ I've cried so many,
many nights ♪

- She draws from so
many different places.

The sign of greatness is
there's no fingerprints on it.

When you hear one of her
songs, it's just a great song.

Everybody can relate
to those moments

of hurt or vulnerability.

And I don't want to
play psychiatrist.

But it's easier to
write about heartache

when you don't have to
live it but you fear it.

- ♪ Without you,
I just can't go on ♪

- ♪ Say that you love me ♪

♪ Say that you love me ♪

♪ Tell me you love me ♪

♪ Unbreak my...♪

- I was in therapy
for a while.

I remember people telling me,
if I go to therapy, it's going

to fuck up, you know,
my songwriting

and, you know,
you're going to find

out too much about yourself.

Meanwhile, I think, you know,

I started
writing my best songs

right when I got into therapy.

You know, it was...

I'm talking about like,
"Because You Loved Me."

- ♪ For all those times
you stood by me ♪

♪ For all the truth
that you made me see ♪

♪ For all the joy you
brought to my life ♪

♪ For all the wrong
that you made right ♪

- The one that I wish
I would have written

is "Because You Loved Me."

And I know that I came from
a very deep place for her.

- "Because You Loved Me,"
I wrote it for the movie

"Up Close and Personal."

But I was thinking about
my dad and thanking

my dad for believing in me.

- ♪ You're the one
who held me up ♪

♪ Never let me fall ♪

♪ You're the one
who saw me through ♪

♪ Through it all ♪

- Unfortunately, he really
didn't live long enough

to see her great success.

But he saw
the beginnings of it.

- By the time he died,
he knew that she would have

a nice career as a songwriter.

He could never have imagined...
because almost

no one can imagine...
the height of her career

over these years.

- ♪ You gave me faith
'cause you believed ♪

♪ I'm everything I am ♪

♪ Because you loved me ♪

- Within that movie,
"Up Close & Personal,"

it was a different meaning.

It's personal to me, but it's...

it's such a universal thing,
sentiment.

My songs are like that.

They're open.

Leave it open.

Then it's everybody's song,
you know?

- ♪ Have you ever
loved somebody so much ♪

♪ Makes you want
to break down and cry ♪

- ♪ You taught me to run ♪

♪ You taught me to fly ♪

♪ Taught me to free
the me inside ♪

♪ Helped me hear
the music of my heart ♪

♪ Helped me hear
the music of my heart ♪

- ♪ For a shield
from the storm ♪

♪ For a friend ♪

♪ For a love to keep me
safe and warm ♪

♪ I turn to you ♪

- ♪ You can try to resist ♪

♪ Try to hide from my kiss ♪

♪ But you know,
but you know ♪

♪ That you can't fight
the moonlight ♪

- ♪ Keep a part of you
with me ♪

♪ And everywhere I am ♪

♪ There you'll be ♪

- From "Pearl Harbor,"
"There You'll Be,"

music and lyric
by Diane Warren.

And the Oscar goes to...

Randy Newman,
for "If I Didn't Have You,"

from "Monsters, Inc."

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- She's won the Golden Globe.

She's gotten an Emmy.

She's gotten Grammys,
a songwriter star.

- We proudly welcome
to the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Diane Warren.

- But the elusive butterfly
for her is the Academy Award.

[indistinct chatter]

- I love the Oscars.

I used to watch them
with my mom and dad

when I was a little kid.

I mean, what's bigger
than the Oscars?

Nothing.

But I've never won.

You know,
now it's kind of a joke.

I'm the most nominated woman
in any category

in Oscar history
to have not won yet.

♪ ♪

This is the night
before Oscar nominations.

They'll be at 5:20 a.m.

And for the last five years
in a row, I've been nominated.

And yeah, it's fun.
I have my friends over.

I'm way too nervous to sleep,

so I call it
a slumberless slumber party.

This is my lucky sweater.

I'm wearing
really comfortable pants

because you know what?

I'm gonna be up all night.

♪ ♪

- I can't explain
why the Oscar

holds some special pull
for her, but it does.

She's unstoppable about that.

♪ ♪

- That's something
that's like the prize,

the grand prize
that she's always wanted.

- Here are the nominees

for Achievement in Music,
Original Song.

"Be Alive"
from "King Richard."

- "Dos Oruguitas"
from "Encanto."

- "Down to Joy"
from "Belfast."

- "No Time to Die"
from "No Time to Die."

- And "Somehow You Do"...

[all screaming and cheering]

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- I'm gonna start crying.

I kept looking
at the picture of my dad.

The Oscars
are on my dad's birthday.

I'm gonna start crying.
[laughs]

You know, so...and yeah,
so it's very meaningful.

And I kept looking at him,
looking at him.

See, it's my dad.

I kept looking at him.

♪ ♪

- I don't think
she's writing songs

only to win an Academy Award.

But I've been her "date"
for at least three of them.

It ain't no fun.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

Because the intensity
and the desire to win

is so great

that when they announce
someone else,

the rest of the evening is not

what you would call
fun and delightful.

- What happens
when she wins this Oscar?

Does that mean,
OK, I've done it?

I've proven to the world now
that I'm a great songwriter.

I've proven to my mom.

And my dad,
you believed in me.

You were right.
Look, I got my Oscar.

- I'm always grateful
to be here.

It's not easy to get nominated
for an Academy Award.

It's the tough...it's tough.

There's five...five songs...
in my category, five songs.

There's hundreds of songs
released every year

in hundreds of movies.

Then you're...
it's not the Grammys,

where there's lots
of song categories.

One song category.

If I can get...if I am chosen
to be one of those songs,

I've already won.

- "Somehow You Do," music
and lyric by Diane Warren.

[applause]

- And the Oscar goes to...

- [chuckles]

Billie Eilish and Finneas.

[cheers and applause]
- Oh, my God.

- Oh, fucking A.

- OK.

- I'm so pissed off.

Really pissed off.

- I don't believe...

I really don't believe it.

I don't.
I'm sorry.

♪ ♪

[line rings]
- She's not gonna answer.

She's not gonna answer.

- This is Diane's voicemail.

♪ ♪

- No one wants to be
one of the goods, right?

I mean, you want to be
one of the greats.

- She so deserved it.

- But what are the chances?

Not a lot.

Probably one in million,
you know,

that I'd be where I am today.

♪ ♪

OK, so Beverly's
lived next door.

She knew my mom.
You knew my dad.

What do you remember
about my mom and dad?

You remember?
- Only thing your mom...

I didn't like about your mom
was because...

when you used to send trucks
here with...with...

clothing for her to be
at the awards with you...

- Yeah.
- And she'd always refuse.

And she never
wanted to do that,

and I just couldn't
figure out why.

You know, but those
are mothers sometimes.

- Yeah.

It's been a long time.
- Your mom's been gone...

- She's been gone for 20...
almost 20 years now.

- 20 years, yeah.

You used to sit right
under that tree over there.

- Yeah.

- And you used
to play that guitar.

And I will tell you
what I said to myself.

I said, Diane,
you need to get a life.

- I see me.

I see me right now
by that tree.

I'd always be there, or I'd be
in the shed in the back.

♪ ♪

♪ Trust me ♪

♪ All of the pain
is all gonna fade ♪

♪ You might think
you can't do it ♪

♪ But you're gonna
get through this ♪

♪ Everything
will be alright ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ That's what I'd say to you ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

Wow.
That got me kind of emotional.

I was kind of singing
that song to me in that room.

Wiener's crying. Get her.
Get it. Get it. Get it.

Look.
- My lashes will come off.

Oh, my God.

That...I mean,
right in front of the window.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- You know how,
like, you experience

some things and you...
they burn in your memory?

I knew Mouse was really sick.

I knew that she
was getting sicker.

- She's breathing OK now.

She's eating.

OK, she seems better today.

How you feeling, Mouse?

- I called the office,
and they said,

Mouse isn't doing well.

I could see what was coming.

I called Diane,
and she didn't pick up,

so I drove over to her house,
and I knocked on the door,

and I said, I'm coming in.

- [sniffles]

- And I'm so glad I went over.

- Everybody loves this cat,
right?

Everybody loves her.
Everybody loves you, Mouse.

Do you know how loved you are?
Do you?

I love you so much.
You changed my life.

[sniffles]

You were my best friend.
[sniffling]

And I don't want you
to be in pain anymore, OK?

[sniffling]

You can let go.

I love you.

♪ ♪

Yeah.

And I'm not crying
because I think

every tear came out of my...

I've never cried.

Like, right now,
it's almost this weird...

I go back and forth from being
super numb to being...

like, crying like...
like I can't stop.

And then I'm numb.

And right now, I'm, like,
just very matter-of-fact.

But it actually
ripped my heart out.

You know.

♪ ♪

- In all the years
that I've known her,

I've never seen her
that upset.

♪ ♪

- The cat loved her
every second.

And that kind of love,
she mourned the loss of.

♪ ♪

As a child,
except for her father,

she really knew nothing
except either coldness,

abuse, or rejection.

♪ ♪

- You know, she told me
about some dark things

in her life, and...

and dark spots
in her life, in her soul.

And the music
was one of the things

bringing her some peace.

[gentle piano music playing]

♪ ♪

- It shows in Gaga's life,
too, some

stuff that she's had to deal
with and she's talked about.

- I just heard that Gaga
had talked on Howard Stern

that she'd been sexually
assaulted by a former record

producer of hers.

- We had talked
about doing something

together for a long time.

And so I texted her.

I said, I got to
play you something.

It's really important.

She goes, OK, call me now.

I played her the
song on the piano.

♪ Till it happens to you ♪

♪ You don't know
how it feels ♪

♪ ♪

♪ How it feels ♪

♪ Till it happens to you ♪

♪ You won't know ♪

♪ It won't be real ♪

♪ And we won't be real ♪

Gaga is crying.

She was just sobbing.

She was like,
I have to do this song.

Yeah.

I never talked about that
I was molested as a kid.

I didn't tell my mom
or dad at the time.

I didn't tell anybody.

- ♪ You tell me
it gets better ♪

♪ It gets better in time ♪

♪ You say pull
myself together ♪

♪ Pull it together ♪

♪ You'll be fine ♪

♪ Tell me, what the
hell do you know? ♪

♪ What do you know? ♪

♪ Tell me, how the
hell could you know? ♪

♪ How could you know? ♪

- "Till It Happens to You"
was a surprise to her.

Because I think,
doing press for it,

it brought up stuff that
just overwhelmed her.

And so she did end
up speaking about it.

- I don't really talk about...

I was molested
by a friend of mine's dad.

I've never said that in front
of...hardly told anybody.

I'm saying this
in front of people, wow.

- It's OK. That's so brave.

- Whoa, OK.

So...ah, I'm going
to start crying.

I never told my friend,
and I never...

you know, and their...
her parents are still alive.

And it's like, you know.
But I never said anything.

I never...I told my mom,
like, you know,

before she passed away.

And I said something.

And she goes,
why didn't you tell us?

And I go, I don't know.
And I thought about it.

It's because, you know,
I felt somewhere

it was my fault or something.

- ♪ Till it happens to you ♪

♪ You won't know how I feel ♪

- It's me.

Listen, they're filming
the documentary about you,

and they're interviewing me.

And they want to know
about the different stories

and, like, the night
of the Gaga thing, and...

- Yeah, that's fine.
That's fine.

Just say what you want to say.
- OK.

So I can just tell the
stuff about happened?

- Tell the stories,
especially the funny ones.

- [laughs].
OK, bye.

- All right, all right. Later.

- Hollywood Boulevard is
nearly ready for the film

world's glitziest night.

The nominees now soon
to walk the red carpet,

hopeful of Oscar victory.

- Diane!

- We went into that
Oscars pretty confident.

Gaga did this performance
that was unlike anything.

She had 50 survivors
behind her on stage...

men, women,
girls, transgender.

- ♪ Happens to you ♪

♪ Happens to you,
happens to you ♪

- A long standing ovation.

[cheers and applause]

And then...

- And the Oscar goes to...

Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
for "Writing's On the Wall."

And she lost.

[somber music]

The camera cut to me somehow.

People have told me
that my face was like,

are you fucking kidding?

Now, she poured out her guts.

She wrote this song
where she relived

her pain from her childhood
and shared it with the world.

♪ ♪

Show ends.
We go backstage to find Gaga.

Gaga is out in the hallway
hugging everyone.

No one there cares if the song
won an Oscar or not.

[cheers and applause]

But Diane just wants
to go backstage and sit.

And she won't move.

She's devastated.

So we were there a good
2 hours, maybe 2 1/2 hours,

where she just won't
even go into the hallway.

She doesn't want
to be seen publicly.

It's almost like she
was reliving the shame

of the eight-year-old kid.

By not winning this Oscar,
it was a shameful experience.

And at that moment, she
couldn't see the empowering

part of it, and the greatness
of what she'd done,

and all the people who
she was going to help.

And, certainly,
Diane knows that now.

- It wasn't just me, you
know, it's a lot of people.

If that song gave people
strength to talk about it,

then I'm really
happy about that.

♪ ♪

- There's no other
pure songwriter,

for sure of the last 30 years,
who comes close to the number

of songs she has written
and the level of success

that she has obtained
from purely writing songs.

- Publishing is the real
estate of the music business.

And if you're Diane,
it's evergreen.

It keeps coming,
and coming, and coming.

- As it turns out,
she's the most

valuable single person owner,

female, of a catalog ever.

- I remember saying to her
like 10 years ago...

Diane, your catalog
probably is worth,

like, a quarter of a
billion dollars right now.

And that was back then.

She was like, why would I...
why would I sell?

She would never, I don't
think, sell her catalog.

So her animals will have to do
it after she's dead and gone.

- So there's a list of
songwriters, the top 10 most

influential songwriters alive.

And they...
number one, Bob Dylan.

Number two, Paul McCartney.
Number three, Elton John.

Number four, Neil Young.

Number five, Springsteen.

Number six,
me for some reason,

which I don't think I belong
in that list, not yet.

Paul Simon, Brian Wilson,
Leonard Cohen...

I'm the only girl
in there, too.

That's weird.

But where's Carole King,
you know?

Where is Laura Nero?

Where's Joni Mitchell?

I don't know.
Why am I there?

But it's cool.

I mean, that's why I framed
it, because it's fucking cool,

even if it's not true.

What I really hate
is when someone goes,

you know, you're
the best female songwriter.

And I'm going like,
you know, why are

you putting me in that box?

Tell me a lot of guys
that have done what I do.

So I wrote this song
called "I Was Here."

I kind of sat there
and came up with this line,

"I want to leave my footprints
on the sands of time."

I was like, ooh,
that's so good.

It's like, the best
line I ever wrote.

So I sent it to Simon Cowell.

I didn't hear back.

And then I called Jay-Z.

He said, like,
you said in 3 1/2 minutes

what I wanted to say
my whole life.

So that was really
amazing that he said that.

He said,
just stay by your phone.

Beyoncé is going to call you.

- Diane played the song
on the guitar over the phone.

And I said, oh, my God.

I have to have this song.

- I think her album
was supposed

to come out that week.

She stopped her whole album.

- ♪ I want to leave
my footprints ♪

♪ On the sands of time ♪

♪ Know there was
something that ♪

♪ Meant something
that I left behind ♪

- I was in the studio
with her.

And hearing her
capture that song

and capture the meaning of it
was one of the best

experiences of my life.

- ♪ I've done everything
that I wanted ♪

♪ And it was more than
I thought it would be ♪

♪ I will leave my mark ♪

♪ So everyone will
know I was here ♪

- I just saw this thing on
Serena Williams, you know,

where they were
actually using my song.

And while the song
is playing, they're

saying, so, what does
it feel to be, you know,

the number one female athlete.

And she...and then
the music stops.

And she goes...

- I prefer one of the
greatest athletes of all time.

♪ I was here ♪

- I loved that she said that.

Because it's not, like,
about being female or male.

It's about your work.

♪ I did ♪

♪ I've done everything
that I wanted ♪

♪ And it was more than
I thought it would be ♪

- I have one of the
biggest publishing

companies in the world.

And that's not
because I'm a girl.

It's because I
write great songs

and I work my ass off at it.

♪ ♪

♪ I was here ♪

- I said, I always wanted to
be here when you got an Oscar.

- Is that crazy?

Is this crazy or what?
- Well, it's well-deserved.

♪ ♪

- I am so thrilled
to present this to you.

You've waited so fucking long.

[laughter]

[cheers and applause]

- Thank you, everybody.

Mom, I finally found a man.

[laughter]

Wait.

Thank you so much.

My dad is saying to my mom,
see, I told you so.

The kid has talent.

And now look, Flora,
she's getting an Oscar.

See, Mom?

See, Dad?

My mom is saying...

because she always used to
say, when I'd play her a song,

that's really
a beautiful song, Diane.

Now, go to Ralph's
and see if they'll give

you some groceries for it.

She's...she did.
She really did.

But I know she was proud.

She was just trying
to protect me.

Because, really, when
you think about it,

what were the chances
a kid from Van Nuys,

who knew no one in the
music or movie business,

would ever succeed?

I can't believe I'm
standing here right now

and that this is
really happening.

Thank you, everyone who has
helped me along my journey.

Some of you are here tonight.

Thank you so much
to all of you.

You guys know who you are.

I wouldn't be here
without you.

And I'd like to say
one more thing...

the words I thought I
would never get to say

but always dreamed I would...

I'd like to thank the Academy.

[cheers and applause]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- You would think
after so many years

being blessed
with all those hit

songs she'd slow down a bit.

But she's actually
working harder now.

- In my mind,
I have a long way to go.

I'm still, like, hungry and
wanting to write my next song

and, you know,
have people hear them.

I have, like,
my biggest hit right

now with the song on TikTok,
with "Only Love Can

Hurt Like This."

- ♪ Only love can
hurt like this ♪

My manager called and said,
you're having the biggest

hit of your career.

I think it's in the billions.

The hashtag
#OnlyLoveCanHurtLikeThis

is in the billions.

- Wow.

Oh, this is my
favorite, you guys.

Watch this.

Watch the girl and her
friend in the back.

- ♪ Only love can
hurt like this ♪

♪ Only love can
hurt like this ♪

♪ Your kisses burn
into my skin ♪

- Angela!

- We'd be here for like,
you know, like a few days

if you want to see all these.

- Maybe she doesn't
have what is

considered a fully
rounded life because she

works all the time.

But can you imagine doing
what you love intensely,

as she does every day, and
making a great living at it,

and bringing joy
to people's lives?

It's a great payoff.

- Now I have this new baby
that came into my life.

Mouse got "rein-cat-nated."

She came back
in my cat Rabbit.

She did.

She came back.

- She'd probably kill
me for saying this,

but she's
actually really kind.

She gives a great deal of
money to animal organizations.

You know, she does a lot
for animal charities.

- This is my Rescue Ranch,

named after a particular
donkey named Rebel.

I started out with two.

One was pregnant.

And now, because of Rebel,
there's seven of them.

There's seven...
ass, ass, ass, ass, ass.

There's 58 animals here.

That's Quincy and Barbie.

They're living
their best life.

These are three
rescue pygmy goats.

They smell, but they're cute.

This one was named Cotton,
the one in the middle.

We got a restraining order
against a slaughterhouse,

and we saved him.

That's Moonbeam.

She was pregnant,
and they were just

going to give us the baby.

And I convinced them
to give the mom too.

You know, the butterfly effect
is if you change anything

in the past
that it fucks up the future,

like even the little...
like, a butterfly...

the flap of a butterfly wing.

So if you ask me if I want to
change anything, I'd say no.

I don't want to change,
you know, like anything,

even if it was
something fucked up.

Because it got me here.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

I think if my mom
and dad supported me,

it wouldn't have been good.

I've made it because I
had to prove her wrong.

My mom...you know, it's funny.

You know, I know
she was proud of me.

She didn't always say it.

But after she passed
away, I found a box

that had all the press clip...
my press clippings,

that she saved everything.

I don't sit and write songs

about myself, but I wrote

a song called "Dear Me."

I'm talking to the young me.

I couldn't just
pick any singer.

Like, it's a very
personal song.

It has to be someone that
could really connect with it.

Kesha, she's...first of all,
she's a great singer.

Second of all, this feels
authentic to her life.

- Hi.

- "Dear Me" was her story too.

It's so meant to be.

- I listened to it
on the way here,

and I was, like, tearing up.

This speaks to me very,
very much.

- You know, as a writer,
when your song

connects with the right
voice, it's like, ah.

You know, the heavens open up.

And that's what that
was for this song.

It's one of my best songs
I ever wrote.

- ♪ If I could write a note
to my younger self ♪

♪ Here's what I'd say ♪

♪ Everything
you're feeling now ♪

♪ Won't always keep you down ♪

♪ There'll be better days ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

♪ Don't worry about it ♪

♪ You're gonna be all right ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ You'll see, dear me ♪

♪ It's gonna be all right,
all right ♪

♪ Trust me ♪

♪ All of the pain
is all gonna fade ♪

♪ You might think
you can't do it ♪

♪ But you're gonna
get through this ♪

♪ It'll all get better soon ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

♪ I know you feel like
nobody understands ♪

♪ What you're going through ♪

♪ You just want
to run and hide ♪

♪ Every day feeling like the
whole world's against you ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

♪ It gets better ♪

♪ You're gonna be just fine ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ You'll see, dear me ♪

♪ It's gonna be
all right, all right ♪

♪ Trust me ♪

♪ All of the pain
is gonna fade ♪

♪ You might think
you can't do it ♪

♪ But you're gonna
get through this ♪

♪ It'll all get better soon ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ That's what I'd say to you ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

- What I did with the song is,
I came up with the ending,

where I want to go with the
end, before I have the rest

of the song, which is unusual.

But I wanted it to be,
you know,

really anthemic at the end.

- ♪ Dear me, dear me ♪

♪ I'm writing you
this letter ♪

♪ To let you know ♪

♪ It's gonna get better ♪

♪ Everything's
gonna be all right ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ Oh, that's what
I'm saying to you ♪

♪ Dear me ♪

- It's magical.
It's so good.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

♪ They'll use their
words like weapons ♪

♪ To cut us down ♪

♪ But don't you let them ♪

♪ Stand proud ♪

♪ They'll make you
feel you're worthless ♪

♪ Pain all mine, 'cause
they're not worth shit ♪

♪ Stand tall ♪

♪ Rise above it all ♪

♪ Place in this world
for the freaks like us ♪

♪ There's a place in this
world for the freaks like us ♪

♪ There's a place in this
world for the freaks like me ♪

- We'll be working out,
and a phrase will come up.

That's a great idea
for a song.

- Which reminds me,
can I get off of this

and go to work right now?

I think you got some
good stuff just now.

- We did.
We got some really good stuff.

- OK, break. Break time.

I think we're good
for right now.

We'll go...we'll do more.

- You see how her body moves?

Her foot taps first,
and then it

works its way up to her head.

- ♪ Yeah to the freaks
like us ♪

- OK.

You know, with the
lighting, this is not

going to be a good lighting.
- Uh...

- If I could just break
for a few minutes.

Let's go.
We got some good stuff.

Can we, like,
break for a second?

- You're so cute.

Hi...whoa, OK.

A little closer
than I thought.

- ♪ Always the crazy ones ♪

- Watch out.
Watch out.

Watch out.
Jesus, Wiener.

Pay attention.

[horn honks]

- Excuse me!

- Where is he, Wiener?

- Where's the...where's
the overweight pig?

- Right here. Right here.

They're all beautiful.
You're a big cow.

Peeing a lot.

- All I have to do is tell her
I'm making an album right now,

and she'll jump
through the phone.

- Oh, my God, it's Cher.

- Shut up.
- What are you gonna tell me?

What are you gonna tell me?
- I'm making an album.

- You're making an album?
- Yeah.

- All right.
Do you want songs?

- [laughs]

- She had given
a song to an artist.

They recorded it.

Then she got this letter from
the artist's manager saying,

you know, he wants
his name on it

and he wants a piece
of the publishing.

And Diane's like,
hand me a Sharpie.

She takes the letter
and she writes, "Eat me,"

across the front of it.

- ♪ Ooh, even the bad days ♪

♪ Were the good days ♪

- Look what I brought,
a martini mixer.

- My friends
are fucking crazy.

Look at Paul.
Oh, my God.

- Safety first, bitches.

- This is unbelievable.

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ Here's to the crazy ones ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

- She said, I'm going to write
you a heartbreaking ballad.

And cut to
a couple weeks later,

I get a text from Diane
Warren saying, I wrote it.

And it's called
"Prized Possession."

Mind you, I've never
sung this before,

and we've never recorded it.

- I know, at all.
- But let's do it.

♪ Let my heart be ♪

♪ Your prized possession ♪

♪ Always treat it gently ♪

♪ Always keep it safe ♪

- ♪ Hold it close to you ♪

- ♪ Protect it from a world
that's so cruel ♪

♪ And never, never, never ♪

♪ Let it break ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Your prized possession ♪

♪ Always treat it gently ♪

♪ Always keep it safe ♪

♪ Keep it close to you ♪

♪ Protect it from
a world that's so cruel ♪

♪ And never, never, never ♪

♪ Let it break ♪

♪ Mmm ♪

♪ No, never let it break ♪

- Whoo!

- We've never sung
that song before.

- It's the first time.
You guys caught that?

That's never been sung before.

Can I take this off now?
- One last thing.

One last thing.
- OK.

- And then I
promise we're done.

- Yeah.
OK, let's go meet the cow.

- ♪ Dear me ♪

♪ I'm writing you
this letter ♪

♪ To let you know ♪

♪ You might think
you can't do it ♪

♪ But you're gonna
get through this ♪

♪ It will all get better ♪

♪ Dear me, dear me ♪

♪ I'm writing you
this letter ♪

♪ To let you know ♪

♪ It's gonna get better ♪

♪ Everything's
gonna be all right ♪

♪ You'll see ♪

♪ Oh, that's what
I'm saying to you ♪

♪ Dear me ♪