The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story
Lou Pearlman created the boy band craze of the 1990's. He assembled the most popular acts of the time, including NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. He was also the mastermind behind one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in United States history (The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story). It is not an easy task to track the downfall of a man who reached the peak of his career.
A panel of interview subjects, including musicians Lance Bass and Aaron Carter, elucidate the complexity of the man. Many refuse to speak ill of him, and strain in their attempts to explain his obvious duality. Others believe him to be the most egregious crook they ever met.
Operating out of Orlando, FL, Pearlman sifted through the ambitious young talents of the region, many of whom were employed as entertainers in the city's popular theme parks. He had a vision, and enticed teens who were otherwise a million miles away from the global success they would soon enjoy. That vision would pay off to the tune of billions.
Pearlman wasn't the typical music mogul. He was gregarious and charming, and he didn't pretend to be anything else. His trust in his artists was genuine, and it made them trust him, too. But when the checks came in, Pearlman wasn't sharing them. He was paying his artists minimum wage, even though they were selling out stadiums and selling millions of records around the world. It was just one lie after another, until the whole thing collapsed.
The film traces Pearlman's beginnings as an outsider who didn't fit in, the shady tactics he employed to gain favor with his young clients, and the FBI probe that finally brought him down. It's a fascinating portrait of a conniving criminal mind, and it's set against the dizzying backdrop of global celebrity and all its trappings.
