TORONTO (AP) ā Many of the expected conventions of music biopics are present in āPiece by Piece,ā about the producer-turned-pop star , and āBetter Man,ā about the British singer . Thereās the young artistās urge to break through, fallow creative periods and regrettable chapters of fame-addled excess.
But there are a few, little differences. In āPiece by Piece,ā Pharrell is a Lego. And in āBetter Man,ā Williams is played by a CGI monkey.
If the music biopic can sometimes feel a little stale in format, these two movies, both premiering this week at the attempt novel remixes. In each film, each Williams recounts his life story as a narrator. But their on-screen selves arenāt movie stars who studied to get a part just right, but computer-generated animations living out real superstar fantasies.
While neither Williams has much in common as a musician, neither has had a very traditional career. Their films became reflections of their individuality, and, maybe, a way to distinguish themselves in the crowded field of music biopics like and
āThis is about being who you are, even if itās not something that can be put in a box,ā Pharrell said in an interview Tuesday alongside director Morgan Neville.
Also next to Pharrell: A two-foot-tall Lego sculpture of himself, which was later in the day brought to the filmās premiere and given its own seat in the crowd.
The experience watching the crowd-pleasing āPiece by Piece,ā which Focus Features will release Oct. 11, can be pleasantly discombobulating. A wide spectrum of things you never expected to see in Lego form are animated. Virginia Beach (where Pharrell grew up). An album of Stevie Wonderās āSongs in the Key of Life.ā Jay-Z.
āIām just so grateful that everybody said yes,ā says Pharrell. āMorgan said yes. Lego said yes. Focus said yes. Universal said yes. When you get to all those yeses, you realize how impossible this is.ā
Neville, the filmmaker of ā20 Feet From Stardom,ā and , made āPiece by Pieceā like a documentary. When he interviewed people for the film ā everyone from to ā he spoke to them by Zoom and told them theyād be animated. But he didnāt share how.
Pharrell as a Lego is surprisingly winning. Itās a way to represent Pharrell as, at heart, a playful builder of beats, a man hellbent on fame who assembled his own destiny.
āI felt like everything we were doing in the film was totally reflective of the subject of the film,ā Neville says. āWeāre not doing Lego because itās a gimmick. Weāre doing it because itās the only way to tell this story right.ā
āPiece by Pieceā will be the unusual film to potentially vie in both the best documentary and best animated film categories at along with the best song category. (Pharrell made several originals for it.)
The high concept of āBetter Manā began with a query by filmmaker Michael Gracey, who directed the hit musical āThe Greatest Showman.ā He approached Williams, the bad-boy balladeer, with a question.
āI said: āWhat animal do you see yourself as?āā Gracey told the crowd, introducing āBetter Manā at the filmās Monday premiere. āAnd with a big grin he said, āLion.āā
After a moment, Williams reflected and acknowledged the truer answer ā for an entertainer who started out in boy band Take That ā was a monkey.
In the film, the actor playing Williams is Jonno Davies ā only we donāt see him, either. Not unlike the process on the āPlanet of the Apesā films, Davies performed in a motion-capture suit. Later, digital effects teams placed the chimpanzee of the film on top of him. One part is Williams himself: the eyes of the monkeyās face. Every other character, meanwhile, is human.
While āPiece by Pieceā is a more all-ages release, āBetter Manā is R-rated and doesnāt skimp on the rock ānā roll debauchery. Itās the most cocaine youāve ever seen a chimp ingest.
It also makes for a peculiar viewing experience. Is Williams a more sympathetic figure as a wounded animal than he is as a human? Either way, Williams is delighted by the result.
āFor a narcissist, itās a wonderful treat,ā he beamed at the screening. āIāve seen it three times. Itās not enough.ā
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For more coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival, visit .
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
