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Greg Evans
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Ever since David Bowie passed away in 2016 there has been constant chatter about who should play him in a biopic of his life.
Surprisingly no one has played Bowie in a film yet so rising star and musician Johnny Flynn, who will be taking on the formidable role of one of the most iconic individuals ever, had a lot to live up to.
Stardust, which will look at Bowie's first tour across the United States in 1971 before he became a major star and invented the Ziggy Stardust character, unveiled its first trailer on Wednesday and its safe to say that it has not gone down too well.
Much of the problem would appear to be Flynn's lack of resemblance to Bowie and almost no effort to actually sound like the star at all.
when you order David Bowie from Wish https://t.co/DxXdoHemeP— ari (@ari) 1603953315
This guy looks nothing like Bowie. It's just a guy wearing a Halloween costume of David Bowie. Seriously, there are… https://t.co/otgJIKPsJO— The Timeless Pop Culture Fan (@The Timeless Pop Culture Fan) 1603962006
- can we have bowie? + we have david bowie at home david bowie at home: https://t.co/18yrrHv3Wq— sol BOWIE DAY (@sol BOWIE DAY) 1603907674
bowie on his way to haunt the ppl that made the st*rdust film https://t.co/DKdVcf06a1— thalia (@thalia) 1603903460
Just when you thought 2020 couldn't get any worse https://t.co/UbUkTgAkLM— Greg Evans (@Greg Evans) 1603904186
i don't say this lightly, but i think it's time to ban the concept of movies. just cancel them. no more of this. https://t.co/kGk8cUuscy— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Gavia Baker-Whitelaw) 1603902239
Director, Gabriel Range, has said that Flynn's performance is not supposed to be an impersonation of Bowie. He is quoted by the PA News Agency as saying:
It was really important to me to cast a musician to play David and also when I met Johnny and discovered he was a huge Bowie fan, it just felt really right.
"Johnny could really connect emotionally with that experience of setting out on your career as a musician and playing to those half empty rooms. It's important [Johnny's performance] not be an impersonation of David.
However, despite the misgivings of Flynn's lack of resemblance to Bowie, the film has another hurdle to overcome in that it hasn't been given the rights to any Bowie songs. Back in January 2019, when the movie was first announced, Duncan Jones, the son of Bowie and a film director in his own right, stated that the film had not been given consent from his family and that it won't have any of his father's music in it.
@MarkClarkMov Im not saying this movie is not happening. I honestly wouldn't know. Im saying that as it stands, th… https://t.co/totgtWOZyM— Duncan Jones (@Duncan Jones) 1548965193
Even if Flynn doesn't look like Bowie, going to see a film without any of his songs would appear to be make or break for some fans.
Why would people make a David Bowie biopic without his family's consent? Why? How do you make a biopic without his… https://t.co/VEs1EmUDbh— Princess Consuela Bananahammock (@Princess Consuela Bananahammock) 1603957253
Hey look, a David Bowie biopic without any David Bowie songs! https://t.co/JULheL2vhU— Stephen Sajdak (@Stephen Sajdak) 1603903059
I cannot wait for the shitshow that occurs when general audiences see this film and then slowly realise the david b… https://t.co/daYcvolG7A— Jack Saint (@Jack Saint) 1603921612
i still can't believe they made a david bowie biopic without the rights to any of his songs that's objectively hilarious c'mon— hannah strong (@hannah strong) 1603899545
Halfway through this trailer for "David Bowie Taught Me It Was Okay To Be Weird: The Movie" I realized that they di… https://t.co/RrL5ZQpeA5— Will Sloan (@Will Sloan) 1603900741
Some fans are already calling for a boycott of the film.
#boycottstardust and stream this instead 🏃🏃 https://t.co/RYZ4HFk58R— the goblin king (@the goblin king) 1603903258
genuinely thought this was sharon osbourne tbf #Boycottstardust https://t.co/MVuUbZ3fi9— ruby (@ruby) 1603907478
It should also be noted that Bowie was a fine actor in his own right and starred in acclaimed films like Labyrinth and The Man Who Fell to Earth. He was also something of a prophet so maybe just watch some of his old films or old interviews instead.
Stardust, which also stars Marc Maron, Aaron Poole, Roanna Cocharne and Jena Malone does not have an official release date yet but has been screening at film festivals during October so maybe we should wait before completely writing the movie off.
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