Chapter 27 Murders John Lennon Again
by Jaden
The internal life of a famous murderer is an interesting high concept screenplay that is usually an easy sell, 
but for some reason, Chapter 27 is not appealing to the critics. The reviewing public (possibly Internet users born after 1980 who do not comprehend the importance of John Lennon or for what he stood) seem to like the film.
Why kill? Why kill a peace preaching person who is adored by the world over? It is the burning question we all want to know and why we would go to see a movie like this. Does this movie answer that question? A little bit.
There are many conspiracy theories and endless explanations for John Lennon’s death. He was one of the strongest voices for peace of all time who was globally in conflict with politicians and religious leaders. Many see Lennon’s death as the end of a major movement towards peace.
Chapter 27 is about Mark David Chapman who went to New York, stalked, and killed John Lennon of The Beatles. This story takes the angle that Chapman’s mentality floated somewhere between mental illness and religious zealousness.
Not mentioned in Chapter 27 is why would a Christian hate the peace-loving Beatle?
On March 4, 1966, Lennon said to the London Evening Standard, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I do not know what will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. We’re more popular than Jesus now. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary.”
Did the young 25-year old religiously-turmoiled killer Mark David Chapman know about this statement in 1980? I don’t think Chapman was even a Christian yet when Lennon made that comment.
Chapman was obsessed with J.D. Salinger’s outstanding book Catcher in the Rye wherein the narrator goes on about how “phony” everyone is. According to Chapter 27, Chapman decided that Lennon was a wealthy phony and should therefore be killed.
Relating the ever-inspiring Catcher in the Rye to this sicko is not something I enjoy having in my brain file. According to Leto, for rights reason, they were unable to use much of what was written in the screenplay that tied the murderer’s actions and thoughts to the Salinger novel. Thank heavens for that! I’m already traumatized.
Whereas I thought the title Chapter 27 was a reference to law and murder, researching the matter, I discovered otherwise. Catcher in the Rye has 26 chapters, so supposedly Chapman was writing the 27th chapter with John Lennon’s death. Also, John Lennon is said to have been into numerology and multiples of 9. Lennon and his son were born on the 9th and he wrote a few songs with the number 9 in the titles. His first home address was 9 Newcastle Road. Lennon was murdered in the evening of December 8th in New York on what would be the 9th in his English homeland. (27 is 3 times 9, in case you didn’t do the math on that one.)
Author Robert Rosen wrote a book called Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon that elaborates on the numerology. Rosen states that the movie’s title “comes from the section of the book called The Coda, which includes Chapter 27. The producers claim to have based their story on the Chapman bio Let Me Take You Down, by Jack Jones. The problem with the Jones book, however, is that it doesn’t explain how 27 numerologically connects Chapman and Lennon. As has been reported in Mojo magazine (and various other publications), only Nowhere Man fully explains what Chapter 27 means.” The Coda section, Rosen explains,”is based on original research, including interviews with people who’d interacted with Chapman outside the Dakota. I also attended Chapman’s court hearings, but I did not interview him.”
Before Chapter 27 was made, a British version of the film called The Killing of John Lennon came out by writer/director Andrew Piddington, based on official court transcripts, journals, depositions, and interviews with Chapman himself. On a small budget, Piddington’s film faired a little better with the critics than Chapter 27, but it was still met with mixed reviews. Piddington welcomed the “controversy, adverse criticism, and scorn.”
Watching these kinds of movies about real killers makes me a bit uneasy because I don’t want to be part of the machine that glorifies and encourages freaks. Oh yay, you shot someone, wow, you are really f’n special. Way to make a name for yourself.
Here’s the clincher that really chaps my hide. Not only does this murderer of one of the greatest most beautiful musicians of all time get to live, but Chapman is also currently eligible for parole! Ain’t that a kicker? And who has been paying for this guy to live in prison for the last 28 years? Us! The American taxpayers. Chapman probably costs us about $4,000 a month; more than we spend on ourselves! I don’t get it.
With so many important issues to discuss, the hour long interview I attended with Jared Leto (where I was clearly not the one asking questions) only focused on the actor’s weight gain for the movie.
In two months, Leto gained 67 pounds for the role and required a wheelchair because he was so out of sorts and had troubles walking. To gain the weight, he said he stuffed his face with fast food constantly. On the Internet are reports that he drank pints of melted chocolate ice cream and olive oil — aack!
How exactly he lost that 67 pounds, Jared never really answered. Was it cocaine? Anorexia? Bulimia? Carrot juice? What? All that his interviewers and presenters kept saying was that he was “sick.” My friend said that there is probably some secret Hollywood drug diet that they don’t want leaked to the press. I don’t know, but actors sure do turn it around quickly. Jared joked: Like a pregnant woman, the bulk of the weight came off quickly, it was those last few pounds I couldn’t get rid of.
Jared said that no one forced him to gain the weight, that he chose to do it himself and that it really helped him to get into the psyche of his character. The weight altered his gait, his voice, and his emotions. At the end of the work day, there was no going home and taking off the uniform.
By the time I saw him, Jared was as skinny as a rail again. How he lost the weight — who knows?!
Jared Leto and Lindsay Lohan give quality believable performances that truly merit recognition.
Writer/director J.P. Schaefer’s screenplay Chapter 27 is not faulty, it is just not great. It plainly walks us through three days of a mildly disturbed person’s life.
I could not find out much information on Schaefer, but Leto said he was 20 years old when he wrote and directed the script. Schaefer looks much older in pictures, but if he is or was young, then he did a pretty good job with Chapter 27, all things considered.
The fact that writer/director Schaefer was not even born yet when John Lennon died could explain his irreverence to the human being who is now a mythical legend.
To be fair, I don’t have a negative review of Chapter 27. If it was not John Lennon about whom we are speaking, if it was not someone who gave his life to worthy causes and who charmed the world with his gift of music, if Chapter 27 was just another stalker movie, I would tell you that it is a fine movie.
The problems I have with Chapter 27 are 1) who we are talking about here, John Lennon, is far too important to be a nonentity in this film, and 2) there are far more interesting and in-depth ways to tell this story.
As a film unrelated to the truth or a real person, it is a satisfactory movie. Though it would not get as much press, I would have enjoyed this film far more as fiction with a man who stalks and kills an undisclosed celebrity. The way this story is told, and because we don’t see or learn anything about John Lennon, it could have been anyone. In this case, it would have been to the filmmakers’ advantage to make it fiction.
Writing this review makes me feel sad and empty because I want to give credit to the filmmakers and actors for their valiant efforts, but something feels wrong about it; there is a lack of respect. The film and its entities come across as purely financially driven and naïve.
Someone as special as John Lennon warrants a better explanation for his untimely death than what Chapter 27 bestows upon him.
A distant dead star, John Lennon’s brilliant light continues to shine, and no little energy-sucking black hole is going to snuff it.
photo credit: Atari, Gracinha & Marco
In Bruges: The Sleeping Beauty of 2008
by Jaden
For the past two months, every time I look at the list of movies, I cannot find a single film worth my $10. This weekend, I was visiting a friend in a small town. “We could go to the movies, but I don’t think anything good is playing,” I said. “Read me the list of what’s playing here.”
He read the list to which I answered, “No. No. No. No. Wait, stop; read that one, I haven’t heard of that one.”
The movie was “In Bruges.” He read, “Two hitmen in Belgium–”
“Say no more!” I said. Those few words alone were more interesting than any synopsis I have heard in a long while. (My readers’ pitches on my Sunday Picture Posts are far more interesting than any of the other movies playing.)
All the Oscar hopefuls release their films in December in an effort to be fresh in viewers minds for the Academy Awards. It is impossible to see all the good movies within the one month period of December. I end up missing several exceptional movies and cannot cast my vote fairly when the time comes. This frustrates me every year. In an ideal world, I would like to see one great movie per week. The movies released January through October are generally disappointing.
With renewed hope of seeing a good film, off we went to see In Bruges, knowing only that it was about some assassins in a foreign country. I like to see movies knowing as little as possible to get the full effect of surprise.
Like a heavy European locomotive, In Bruges starts off slowly; un-American with a patient screenwriting formula, it picks up speed and suspense with each scene, until it reaches an exciting multi-climatic ending.
The cast is enjoyable, each bringing his or her own personality to well-written diverse characters. Giving a sensitive performance, Brendan Gleeson stars as the lead assassin. Colin Farrell plays a hitman new to the business. Ralph Fiennes plays the scary top assassin. Clémence Poésy plays the sexy adorable fun love interest. Jordan Prentice, who looks like a short Matt Damon, plays the dwarf and star of the film within the film.
Written and directed by witty Martin McDonagh, In Bruges is the sleeping beauty of 2008. It is a film about which I have heard little and yet have enjoyed the most as we round the bend of the first quarter of 2008.
London-raised Irish writer/director Martin McDonagh won an Oscar (among several other awards) for his film short Six Shooter in 2004. He has no other publicly attributed film credits, though he has received many awards for his theatrical play writing. To me, this signals the start of an amazing film career for Martin — a punk rock fan (yay!) — and I look forward to his future cinematic works.
For people like me who can’t tolerate the usual meaningless gibberish that is unloaded on today’s audiences, In Bruges is a delightful break from the norm of Hollywood’s insulting drivel. Elements in this story are art, culture, travel, filmmaking, history, religion, morals, prejudice, relationships, assassins, family, and midgets — I mean, dwarves.
One of the many themes McDonagh interweaves into his story is the famous 500-year old painting by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights. Mounted in the Museo Del Prado in Madrid, Spain, I have been blessed to see this magnificent oil on wood triptych painting. Based on bible stories, it depicts the Garden of Eden, Earth, and Hell on Earth. Imagery that still influences artists today, The Garden of Earthly Delights is nothing like the art of its contemporaries from the 1500s. McDonagh dreamily brings Bosch’s astounding work to life while tying it into his story seamlessly.
If you are the typical American trying to keep your brain cells operating at an absolute minimum, In Bruges might not be the film for you; but for those who choose to brave the contemplative first half, you will be rewarded by a violent action-filled second half.
In Bruges is intellectual and entertains; it is a strange breed and therefore ranks high on my respect-o-meter.
Martin McDonagh, I promise not to forget In Bruges come voting season 2009! Thank you Focus Features, Blueprint Pictures, Film Four, and Scion Films for the early release and spicing up this drab film quarter of 2008; wish others had your courage!
Paris Hilton and Britney Spears: Lesbians, Murder, Drugs
by Jaden
Paris Hilton and Britney Spears team up to write a screenplay together in which they both will star called: Betty in Paris.
“Who’s more popular than us? We’re the Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield of our time.” Paris says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s bad, we’re hot. But don’t worry, it’ll be good.”
An anonymous screenwriter who is working with them on the script says, “The story has something to do with lesbians, murder, and drugs; that’s all I can tell you.”
This will be Britney’s first fully nude sex scene. Britney says, “Paris has got a great body; I am excited. I just hope she has more fun with me than she did in that porn.”
They expect the script to be finished by April 1, 2009 and shooting to start on December 21, 2012, when the world is supposed to end, according to the Mayan calendar.
**If you are not from America, I guess I should inform you that this post is a joke. It is tradition in America on April 1st, also known as April Fools Day, to play jokes on people. Did anybody believe this? Suckers!**
News Today is a Crock of Crap:
Searching for the Depp-Dali Screenplay Competition
by Jaden
Kindly, a friend tipped me off to this exciting news bit on the wire about Johnny Depp looking for a screenplay about Salvador Dali.
Floating on countless news websites is this:
A source said: “He’s open to working with anyone - from housewives to pensioners - if the script is right.”
A lover of Dali, Depp, Paris, and screenwriting, I looked further into it, but could not find a single word legitimizing the statement.
WHO is the “source?”
The best I could trace the statement back to is Bangshowbiz out of London — London, gossip capital of the world! Who at Bang wrote this? Who was their source?
Talk about rumors! Here we have this mystery source — probably some Parisian waitress — who overheard Depp talking casually at dinner to his gorgeous wife how he’d like to play Dali if only he could find the right script.
Is it news when one person tells one person who tells another person who tells another person something the first person overhead when she was eavesdropping on what one person was saying to another person in a private conversation?
Or is this just another piece of sensational gossip?
Today’s news is hearsay. For something to be news today, one person just has to print it and call it news. Then everyone else picks it up and reprints it.
Does anyone do investigative reporting anymore? Everyone just accepts whatever they are told. Reprint. Reprint. Reprint. All I could find was the exact same article on tons of different websites.
The Internet permits news to become a receptacle for sewage.
Gone are the days when reporters moved from their chairs! Now we just get lazy reporting from people sitting at their computer digging up dung off the Internet and reprinting it.
Where are the official entry address and guidelines for this script Depp supposedly wants? Who is going to read all these scripts flooding in from around the world? Does his representation back this statement? Anyone ask Depp or his reps about this? I’d like to hear what they have to say.
Around the world, people are now writing scripts for Depp about Dali, without ever considering the source of this news piece, or I should say, the lack of source.
According to Bangshowbiz:
Al Pacino and Peter O’Toole are being lined up to star in rival movies, Dali and I and Goodbye Dali respectively.
Depp would be perfect to play Dali, but if two movies are already in the works about Dali, is Depp really going to make the massive financial commitment to a third?
I wanted to tell my readers about how to submit for this awesome screenwriting opportunity, but it doesn’t exist! From what I can see, it is just another trashy traffic-attracting hoax.
If anyone can validate the source and Depp’s desire for this Dali script, please do! We would all love to know.
Bad Attitudes Will Sink You in Hollywood:
The Ingénue
by Jaden
One time, I worked with this actress on a terrible B-movie for over a month. 
We had to work with each other from 12 to 20 hours per day. She hardly said a single word to me, not even “hello” or “thank you.” When male actors sat with me at lunch, she called them to come sit with her. If a high level crew member like the AD or DP was talking to me, she would call them to come help her with something pathetic, like walking — not kidding.
When lower level crew asked her questions, she ignored them.
The crew nicknamed the film The (actress’s name) Witch Project.
One time between shots, two excited little girls on the street asked if they could take her picture. “I only give autographs,” she said. Autographs? Who needs her name scribbled on a napkin? Keep it and blow your snubby nose with it, lady.
To the lead actor and director, this actress was gushingly nice.
Just before this movie, the ingénue had starred in a film as Brad Pitt’s leading lady. She was on her way to being the next Gwyneth Paltrow or Angelina Jolie. She was equally pretty and as good of an actor, but by being unpleasant and ungrateful, the actress smudged out her future.
The ingénue’s career has been like amber fossilizing insects. Every film in which this woman has starred is a shelved artifact.
Bad attitudes cause negativity on the production set which transcends the film.
Happy casts and crews make box office hits!
At panel discussions with actors, writers, and directors, before Oscars are ever given, I can always tell who will win. The winners have a contagious positive spirit and speak kindly of each other.
Talking about how much fun they had and how hard they worked, the cast of Chicago
Be genuinely kind and appreciative if you want to succeed.
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