Original subtitles

- 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 ♪