Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury

The show must go on for Freddie Mercury. And it has…or should I say, it will.

But how, you may ask? Queen fans, brace yourself.

According to Luke Buckmaster’s article, a biopic on one of the greatest rock bands of all time is in the works. Yep, unlike Joaquin Phoenix’ mockumentary I’m Still Here, Queen’s biopic will be indeed about the band. No hoax. 

The author successfully informs readers everything there is to know at this stage about the upcoming film. Of particular interest is Borat actor Sacha Baron Cohen signing on to portray the band’s theatrical frontman Freddie Mercury. And boy does he have big (if not humongous) shoes to fill!

Can Cohen pull it off? Source: Perfectpeople (left), Crikey (right)

This is exciting news, particularly for die-hard Queen fans. And while most agree Cohen looks the part, this does not guarantee the movie’s success. What could be controversial is the way Mercury will be portrayed. How accurately will Cohen be? The singing could also prove problematic (remember Pierce Brosnan's singing in Mama Mia! ?).

I’m hoping that the movie will successfully convey the way Queen and particularly Mercury have touched and moved so many people with their music. The impact the band has had globally is still evident. Need proof? Check out the comments made to some of their YouTube videos.

I might be bias, but their music was incredible and so was Mercury’s voice. Aside from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Love Of My Life’ remains one of my fave songs. Poignant and simply beautiful.

Back to the biopic though, what might come across as a little unusual is the fact that it will be penned by Peter Morgan, who has mainly written non-fiction political dramas including The Queen, The Special Relationship and The Last King Of Scotland.

Regarding the article, the author successfully uses the inverted pyramid structure. His casual tone engages readers as he shares his news with us, and despite his informality, he remains factual by providing a credible source to these facts – GK Films. Moreover, the inclusion of a snippet from the GK Films press release cements the article’s credibility.

In terms of graphics, the accompanying photoshopped image definitely helps the audience to physically visualise Cohen as Mercury, supporting Buckmaster’s claim. Perhaps if the author wanted to emphasise on their likeness, he should have instead included images of both Mercury and Cohen and compared them side by side.

This news comes at a timely time as it appears that biopics of music artists are becoming a trend, with the release of The Runaways, I’m Not There and La Vie en Rose, and upcoming biopics on Tupac Shakur, Aretha Franklin and as mentioned in an earlier post, Justin Bieber. In my opinion though, biopics will never be "out of fashion".

And while we are on the subject of biopics of music legends, how long do you think till someone suggests writing a biopic on Michael Jackson? That would surely be interesting.

Justin Long: from Hollywood to porn industry?

Any recognised actor or actress who would consider turning their backs from the Hollywood industry to try their hand at porn sure sounds ludicrous. Controversial even.

But that is what actor Justin Long (below) is allegedly inspiring to do, as disclosed in Andrew Murfett’s article.

Source: Zimbio

This “…startling admission about his future”, although cleverly stated in the headline, is not revealed at the start but at the end of the article. One would expect the headline to be elaborated on within the first few paragraphs of the article, however it appears that the author is more interested in discussing Long’s on and off relationship with Drew Barrymore and his new movie Going The Distance first rather than divulging the rather unusual piece of information.

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in a scene from their film Going The Distance. Source: Zimbio

Yet it is understandable why Murfett has written in this manner. Had he mentioned it straight up, the article would have been short, pretty straightforward and let’s face it, a little boring. Moreover, mentioning their relationship and the movie itself draws readers in as most individuals are able to relate to a certain degree to some of the ups and downs of relationships. It may then be interesting to compare the article with Francis Kindon’s short and matter of fact piece. Which is more effective?

Although this article may not follow the traditional ‘inverted pyramid’ structure of a news article, it engages readers as it gradually builds up to the ‘big news’. By extension because it is soft news, it allows the author to be a little humorous and somewhat witty.

And indeed, it is comments suggesting them “making out between takes” that animate the story (guess sex – or anything suggesting it – does sell). The image of the pair is also essential in helping readers connect to the content of the story.

Murfett’s story appears to be a cross between a news article and a film review. The embedded video – a visual and aural review of the film – complements the author’s review and allows readers to get a taste of what the movie is about.

Although the video contains relevant information, its major drawback lies in the inclusion of two other movie reviews – movies that have nothing to do with the actor. Why couldn’t they edit it?! It would have been more effective than wasting 90 seconds of our time (sorry, 105 seconds actually...don't you love those ads that precede the actual video and CANNOT be skipped!), wondering where exactly Tomorrow When The War Began fits in the story.

'Life in a Day': citizen journalism at its best?

Source: Overallsite

If you haven’t heard of YouTube's ‘Life in a Day’ project by now, where have you been? Seriously.

For those who really haven’t, no need to worry because Jeremy Scott’s article gives you the low down on the project. Additionally, the embedded trailer is an effective way for those who are foreign to the project to find out what the excitement is all about.

For those who have, don’t worry either, this article is no waste of time as it provides a significant update on the project’s progress.

‘Life in a Day’ is thrilling, exciting and everything in between. And for a number of good reasons, we understand why Scott still finds it definitely worth talking about even two months after its launch.

Firstly, it is HUGE – a worldwide venture that has been made possible by YouTube. The task was simple: YouTube users were given 24 hours to capture a slice of their life on camera on July 24 (yep, that easy).

Secondly, it has never been done before. If it’s successful, it will become the “world’s first feature-length user-generated documentary” (Connelly 2010) to “…document one day, as seen through the eyes of people around the world” (Partridge 2010).

The real beauty about this project is that it was open to everybody and moreover, it didn’t require users to possess any technical ability to participate. No wonder this project has made the impact it has with over 80,000 video submissions from 197 countries (with many having been released online now).

YouTube users’ close involvement and participation in the project have also demonstrated a new level of citizen journalism. Willingly showcasing a glimpse of their lives is also an intentional means of reporting.

Lastly, the individuals attached to the project are none other than Gladiator director Ridley Scott and Last King of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald – two award-winning filmmakers. Guess their prominence reassures us this project is in good hands.

Kevin MacDonald (left) and Ridley Scott (right). Source: NYDailyNews.com

 

This is no typical news article. Scott successfully weaves fact and opinion together and while his fondness for the project shows, his comments are always constructive. The images included are also used to illustrate his remarks and give readers a ‘visual’ taste of how they can interact with all the video submissions that have been released so far.

One of the interactive ways of viewing the video gallery. Source: lifeinaday, YouTube

In concurrence with Scott, it has been great to see how YouTube has pushed the “envelope on what their service can be used for”. Do you agree? With projects like ‘Project: Report’, channels such as ‘CitizenTube’ and tools including ‘YouTube Direct’, it’s exciting to speculate what will be thought of next…

How we know Reese Witherspoon is looking stunning...

…Well from Sophie Forbes’ article of course. Thanks Mail Online. But is this relevant? I’m afraid not.  

Witherspoon looking 'stunning'. Source: Mail Online 

While it is understandable that this article was written for the sole purpose of promoting Witherspoon’s upcoming movie How Do You Know, the headline has no significant relation to the content and comes across as a little opinionated.

Granted, the subject is new, but whether Forbes is right or not about Witherspoon’s looks, it is not a place for the author to make such claim (a small but still biased claim, mind you!) and include it in her article (sorry Sophie, but not too sure if everyone will find her “beautiful in clips from the movie” even if she is looking good).

The rest of the article is nothing too unusual, covering novel and (slightly) more relevant information such as the encounter between Witherspoon’s children with Robert Pattinson and two of her other upcoming movies.

Perhaps it would have been more interesting to know whether the movie will be a success or a flop – similarly to how The Guardian covered it (however that story is a blog post and not a news story, essentially welcoming opinion).

And maybe it would have been more relevant if the story actually focused on the movie for more than four sentences.

Or even better…if it dug up controversial information surrounding the movie – something as ridiculous and untrue as the actress living out the storyline of her movie and having to choose between her real beau Jim Toth and say Jack Nicholson or the movie’s director James L. Brooks.

Anyway, this article is more pointless than informative. It creates little impact.

Yes, Witherspoon may be a famous and prominent figure in Hollywood but even her status can’t drive this story. If only Forbes had used Pattenson’s name in the headline, it would have created more traffic.

Nonetheless, the use of links, images and the movie’s official trailer allows the audience to engage with this short and sweet article, making it more entertaining. The story is also somewhat current with Witherspoon having previously appeared in the news regarding her relationship with Toth around the time the article was written.