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Better Man • Robbie Williams Biopic (2024)

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in Robbie Williams and Take That

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  • Better Man
    Better Man

    Btw, just wanted to say thanks to Joseph & Philip for unlimited by pages threads nowadays. So I suppose you have already noted now the Better Man thread is combined and not divided anymore :)

  • Sydney11
    Sydney11

  • Better Man
    Better Man

    Better Man review by Bobby Blakey Throughout the years there have been a ton of biographical films focusing on the careers of musicians and bands. Within them there are a select few that took a more

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I really have no words how to describe all great work Jonno and all WETA staff have done around him.

I think it's really strange to see nowadays when everybody around the movie were concentraiting so much and were focused to make some art.

They did it. No doubts.

 

I'm happy this exception is Better Man.

 

Yes, one of the great scenes :)

But of course don't watch this video if you still haven't watched the movie itself ;)

 

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I updated this post on a 1st page, copying this as well.

In a case I missed something, please let me know and we will add it.

 

 

Events

 

Festivals:

30.08.2024 - Telluride Film Festival (US) -
World premiere
+
with Robbie

10.09.2024 - Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) (Canada) - Canadian premiere +
with Robbie

25.09.2024 - Fantastic Fest (US)

10.10.2024 - Mill Valley Film Festival (US)

16.10.2024 - Santa Fe International Film Festival (US)

18.10.2024 - Middleburg Film Festival (US)

22.10.2024 - Chicago International Film Festival (US)

~26.10.2024 - Philadelphia Film Festival (US)

29.10.2024 - SCAD Savannah Film Festival (US)

02.11.2024 - Miami Film Festival GEMS (US)

09.11.2024 - St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (US)

20.11.2024 - International Film Festival of India (IFFI) (India) - Asian premiere

04.12.2024 - Festival International De Cine De Los Cabos (FICC) (Mexico) - Latin America premiere

08.12.2024 - Whistler Film Festival (Canada) - Western Canadian premiere

14.12.2024 - Red Sea Film Festival (Saudi Arabia) - Middle East premiere

31.12.2024 - Haifa Film Festival (Israel)

02.01.2025 - Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) (US)

05.01.2025 - Festival Opatija (Hungary)

15.02.2025 - Festival Velenje (Slovenia)

More dates of the Festivals:

 

Special premieres:

27.09.2024 - UK & European premiere (London, Odeon) +
with Robbie

04.12.2024 - Spain premiere (Madrid, Capitol Cinema) +
with Robbie'

06.12.2024 - Italian premiere (Rome, Auditorium Parco della Musica) +
with Robbie

08.12.2024 - German premiere (Cologne, Cinedom) +
with Robbie

10.12.2024 - Dutch premiere (Amsterdam, Royal Theater Tuschinski) +
with Robbie

11.12.2024 - Australian premiere (Melbourne, Village Cinemas Crown)

13.12.2024 - French premiere (Paris, Le Grand Rex) +
with Robbie

19.12.2024 - Belarusian premiere (Minsk)

21.12.2024 - Russian premiere (Moscow, October)

29.12.2024 - UAE premiere (Dubai, Dubai Mall's Reel Cinemas) +
with Robbie

07.01.2025 - Ukranian premiere (Kyev)

04.02.2025 - Chilean premiere (Santiago)

18.02.2025 - Argentinian premiere

 

Other dates:

09.10.2024 - AACTA - Members Screening (Australia)

25.10.2024 - Film Independent - Members Screening (US)

16.11.2024 - Deadline Contenders Film (US) +
with Robbie

26.12.2024 - Better Man - Worldwide cinema release

17.12.2024 - Golden Globes Nominee Luncheon (LA, USA) +
with Robbie

02.01.2025 - Better Man - Pre-Screening Party + Q&A GALA with Robbie (Melbourne, Australia)

08.01.2025 - Better Man - DIFF - Advance Screening (Dallas, USA)

10.01.2025 - Better Man - US wide cinema release

12.01.2025 - Better Man with In-Person Q&A (New York, USA) +
with Robbie

06.02.2025 - AACTA Festival - In the Director's Chair: Michael Gracey on Better Man (Australia)

06.02.2025 - AACTA Festival - Meet the Nominees: Actors (Jonno Davies) (Australia)

06.02.2025 - AACTA Festival - Meet the Nominees: Writers (Simon Gleeson) (Australia)

08.02.2025 - AACTA Festival - Actor on Actor (Damon Herriman and Kate Mulvany) (Australia)

More dates of the premieres per country:

 

The most important Awards dates:

05.01.2025 - Golden Globes Award +
with Robbie

07.02.2024 - AACTA Awards +
with Robbie

16.02.2025 - BAFTA nominations

03.03.2025 - Oscars Ceremony

More dates of the Awards:

Oscars predictions:

do we have any idea how Better Man movie is doing in South America or on pre-orders for the DVD?

No, it's too early.

The release in some SA countries will be on Thursday.

DVD will be released in ~1.5 months.

23.02.25 update

If I forget something, please let me know.

 

All Awards Wins (14) & Nominations (51) for Better Man by far:

 

Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) 2024
- 20.11

- Best Original Song - Feature Film (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road)

- Best Music Themed Film, Biopic or Musical (Paul Currie, Michael Gracey, Craig McMahon, Coco Xiaolu, MaJules Daly)

 

Rolling Stone UK Awards 2024
- 28.11

- The Film Award (Better Man) -
Winner

 

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards (WAFCA) 2024
- 08.12

- Best Motion Capture (Jonno Davies)

 

Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards 2024
- 16.12

- Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance (Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies)

- Best Stunt/Movement Choreography (Slavisa Ivanovic, Ashey Wallen, Nicholas Daines, Spencer Susser, Tim Wong)

- Best Special Effects (Luke Millar, Scott MacIntyre)

- Original Vision Award

 

Critics Association of Central Florida Awards
- 02.01

- Best Hybrid Performance (Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies)

 

DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award (DFGFCA) 2024
- 04.01

- Best Visual Effects

 

Golden Globes 2025
- 05.01

- Best Original Song (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road)

 

Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA) Awards
- 06.01

- Best Visual Effects

 

Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Awards
- 06.01

- Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance (Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies)

 

The TomMCJL Awards
(personal) - 07.01

- Best Soundtrack -
Winner

- Best Original Song (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road) -
Winner

 

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards 2025
- 07.02

- Best Film -
Winner

- Best Direction in Film (Michael Gracey) -
Winner

- Best Screenplay in Film (Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, Simon Gleeson) -
Winner

- Best Lead Actor in Film (Jonno Davies) -
Winner

- Best Supporting Actress in Film (Alison Steadman)

- Best Supporting Actor in Film (Damon Herriman) -
Winner

- Best Cinematography in Film

- Best Sound in Film

- Best Original Score in Film -
Winner

- Best Soundtrack

- Best Original Song (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road)

- Best Visual Effects or Animation -
Winner

- Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films -
Winner

- Best Production Design in Film

- Best Costume Design in Film

- Best Casting in Film -
Winner

 

Critics Choice Awards 2025
- 07.02

- Best Visual Effects (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs)

 

Annie Awards 2025
- 08.02

- Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Live Action Production (Shaun Freeman, Luisma Lavin Peredo, Carlos Lin, Seoungseok Charlie Kim, Kaori Miyazawa)

 

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) International Awards 2025
- 11.02

- Best Film -
Winner

- Best Lead Actor in Film (Jonno Davies)

- Best Supporting Actress in Film (Alison Steadman)

- Best Supporting Actor in Film (Damon Herriman)

- Best Direction in Film (Michael Gracey) -
Winner

- Best Screenplay in Film (Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, Simon Gleeson)

 

Visual Effects Society Awards
- 11.02

- Outstanding Visual Effects In a Photoreal Feature (Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs)

- Outstanding Character In a Photoreal Feature (Robbie Williams)

- Outstanding CG Cinematography (Blair Burke, Shweta Bhatnagar, Tim Walker, Craig Young)

- Outstanding Composing & Lightning In a Feature (Mark McNicholl, Gordon Spencer de Haseth, Eva Snyder, Markus Reithoffer)

 

Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) Award 2025
- 12.02

- Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road)

 

Australian Writers' Guild Awards
- 13.02

- Feature Film - Original (Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey)

 

The BAFTA Film Awards
- 16.02

- Special Visual Effects

 

Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Awards
- 17.02

- Best Visual Effects (Keith Herft, Luke Millar, Peter Stubbs, David Clayton)

 

Online Film & Television Association
- 23.02

- Best Visual Effects

 

Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE)
- 23.02

- Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing – Feature Motion Picture (Supervising Music Editor: Timothy Ryan; Music Editors: Craig Beckett, Lena Glikson, Cory Milano, Liam Moses, Joe E. Rand, Chris Scallan, Emily Rogers Swanson; Vocal Editors: Noah Hubbell, Anna Muehlichen)

 

Guild of Music Supervisors Awards nominations (GMS)
- 23.02

- Best Music Supervision in Major Budget Films (Jordan Carroll)

 

Oscars Academy Awards
- 02.03

- Best Visual Effects (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs)

Film of the Week: Better Man

 

Sunday, February 23, 2025

 

Early on in Better Man, Michael Gracey's Robbie Williams biopic starring a CGI ape (not a monkey, as the marketing and memes claimed), a young Robbie Williams (played by the man himself) listens to his father (Steve Pemberton) discuss celebrity and what it takes to make it. "You either have "it"," explains the older Williams, a deadbeat wannabe comedian as he ruffles the young ape's hair, "-or you're nobody." While a crucial moment in the psyche of Williams, a normal biopic would've treated this moment as the obstacle for the hero to overcome, showing everyone that he's not a nobody, but Better Man makes this Williams's drive, his defining belief that (for better or worse) steers his entire career. Better Man is a story of someone desperately chasing the spotlight, doing whatever it takes to stay in it even as it completely eats him alive. Does Williams have "it", the inherent talent to succeed, or is he just desperate enough, just charming enough, to fake it and force his way there? The film largely leaves this up to you, but even when one strips away the fascinating quandary at the heart of the story, it is an undeniably entertaining experience.

 

Better Man is fascinating in that it's a biopic that largely does away with the "inspirational great man rises from nothing" narrative that makes up so much of the genre. Williams gets lucky again and again, impressing the right person at the right time, and he's often so desperate to stay in the spotlight that he's willing to do effectively anything. "Robbie" is the character, a mask that "Robert Williams" can hide behind in his pursuit of fame and fortune. It becomes increasingly clear that Robbie is both a stage persona and a means for Robert to bury his pain, demeaning himself for a cheap audience laugh. Be it turning a pratfall on stage into a comedic spot as a child or jokingly stealing a melon to hide the suicidal rage and grief at being fired from Take That, the boy band where he got his start, "Robbie" is Williams refusing to be genuine, a chance to turn his pain into a laugh and keep up the persona of the arrogant hotshot pretty boy. It even reflects in his art, as he chooses to make throwaway, impersonal pop in hopes of drawing the largest audience, ignoring that it's only when he gets genuine that he's truly able to live up to his own potential.

 

It's often said that musical numbers are characters singing to express the feelings that words simply could not. In Better Man, there's a similar sentiment, each song representing the moments where the "Robbie" persona melts away and he speaks how he really feels. From the jubilation of success in "Rock DJ" to the soaring love and crashing heartbreak of "She's The One", each track is a narrative unto itself, depicting the highs and lows of stardom. They're also incredibly well-directed, Gracey masterfully and creatively makes each song feel like witnessing a dream, larger than life and bursting with color and creativity. "Rock DJ" is a creative oner, cleverly playing into Take That's destructive tendencies through the people hurt and stolen from over the course of the ostensibly celebratory song, while "Let Me Entertain You" is an honest to god battle sequence, a literal slaying of demons that becomes so overwhelming and thunderous that Williams's final victory feels less like a triumph and more like just barely regaining your breath.

 

Of course, we have to talk about the singing chimpanzee in the room. "All my life," explains Williams at the start of the film. "I've always felt less evolved than other people." The ape is, effectively, a literal representation of that inferiority, that crushing desire to be liked that overwhelms all else. In Williams mind, he's nothing more than a singing monkey, a novelty act that people will get bored of if he doesn't do whatever it takes to keep their attention. The actual effects of the ape, painstakingly brought to life by WETA, are largely seamless, acting and moving alongside regular humans in a variety of environments without the effect ever being jarring. You never quite forget he's an ape, but the large, expressive face and matted fur makes Williams struggle that much more effecting. Of course, you can also see how excited the artists are to flex their creation, showcasing the ape from a child to a fully grown "man" in a variety of outfits inspired by the various looks of Williams careers. (Particular favorites are the skinless ape, an homage to Williams's inexplicably disturbing "Rock DJ" music video and an albino ape as representation of Williams bleaching hir hair.)

 

Better Man is a fascinating biopic, one willing to let the star confront the numerous flaws and shortcomings with an earnest honesty, never sugarcoating their mistakes. It's also easily the best musical of the year, gorgeous and ambitious in it's design. I'll doubt we'll ever see another biopic like it, but, hey, let's not worry about that. Let's just sit back and enjoy the show.

 

https://sociallyunbalanced.blogspot.com/202...better-man.html

Still here xD. My eyes are still adjusting to the changes. I'm adding this monkey to be on topic.

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