LENNONYC: Not just another John Lennon film

Source: TopNews

In my previous post, I was right to say that biopics of musical legends will never become ‘out of fashion’. There’s something fascinating about watching the lives of those you admire unfold before your eyes. You get the chance to live their “moment” and personally discover the kind of person they were.

This time the music legend is John Lennon! But wait, hasn’t the life of the former Beatle already been told before…say countless times?

Being a huge Beatles fan, this article certainly caught my attention but I was very wary about reading what this upcoming movie has to offer. However, Ellen Wulfhorst assures us that the latest John Lennon film to be released, titled LENNONYC, stands out from the other ‘nth’ movies that were made about his life. 

She successfully captures our attention from the start by acknowledging that, indeed, “so much has been told about the Beatles that director Michael Epstein knew he needed to say something different…”

Wulfhorst connects with us by voicing, and not dismissing, what we would all think upon hearing a new Lennon movie is to be released: ‘What? Another movie about him?’. She would have bored us had she started like this: ‘A new John Lennon movie will be released…’  

She clearly mentions in order of importance the information that is relevant to her news: Epstein’s focus on Lennon’s immigration to America, the use of previously unreleased audio tapes and his infamous ‘lost weekend’. And what I’m most curious about that ‘long weekend’ is how that’s been portrayed in the film. Many films, such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono: A Love Story, have incorrectly represented May Pang, Lennon’s girlfriend when he and Yoko Ono separated. That could be controversial.

This news comes at a timely juncture with events commemorating what would be Lennon’s 70th birthday on October 9, and the US release of the film Nowhere Boy (a film about Lennon’s adolescence and the Beatles’ formation) on October 8.

Actor Aaron Johnson as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. Source: Rama's Screen

It will certainly have great impact as people – young and old – are still moved and influenced by Lennon’s artistry today. It would also be emotional as the film builds up to his death.

What’s uncertain though is whether this movie will be released worldwide. It will be a shame if this will only be shown in America. However, thanks to the internet and “legal” downloading, people all over the world would be able to access it.

The story might have been interesting but one of its drawbacks was the lack of images. Furthermore, while links were provided throughout the story, it would have been more beneficial to provide direct links to related stories as a means of credibility and for further reading.

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.

Jon Chu steps up to 3D Bieber biopic

Any news story should be factual and accurate. No matter what the topic is. Even when it concerns Justin Bieber.

Jon Chu and Justin Bieber announcing the 'big' news on YouTube. Source: Jon Chu

While countless news sites have covered the ‘Justin Bieber 3D biopic’ story, Jack Ryan’s piece
- which discloses Step Up 3D's Jon Chu as the new director for the projected movie and reveals its release date - is unfortunately innacurate, contradicting, 'old' and contains numerous typos. 

Overall, it lacks appeal and fails to immediately engage readers – despite all the commotion and excitement that has become knowns as “the Bieber fever” since Bieber’s rapid ascent to fame. 

Firstly, the lack of images creates a disadvantage for the article as it makes it harder for the audience to connect with the story. Young female teens worldwide – the principal target audience – would most likely be less inclined to click on the story link.

The adage, “a picture is worth (more than) a thousand words…” may be applied in this case. One may choose to agree, or disagree, but it seems that images are able to grab our attention much faster than a string of words can.

Secondly, the fact that Ryan affirms that Jon Chu AND then later on David Guggenheim (who was previously attached to the project but dropped out) will be the director for the biopic is an indication of poor research and editing skills. By extension, spelling mistakes including the words ‘memoir’ spelt as ‘memior’, and ‘Paramount’ spelt as ‘Paramoujnt’, only enhances and exposes the article’s weaknesses.

In terms of prose, while the beginning of the article follows the news style, the last paragraph appears to be slightly opinionated and written a little too ‘casually’, as Ryan seems “…sure plenty [of] males are going to be dragged to the opening of this film” and that Bieber won’t “…win any points with the male crowd”.

Moreover, the lengthy headline is not catchy enough and reflects a news angle that has been previously covered. Instead, it should have referenced Jon Chu as the new director. The article would have also been more effective with the addition of Chu’s YouTube video with Bieber, letting the audience know about the news.