Better Man

Well, this t-shirt in US I'm talking about!

VERY good response from on Better Man on this US UV channel Fox 2. "It's not a movie, it's a film!" P76cn44jAUg

I really liked this article. Adam made a good job with his singing and shared some interesting points of the process how the movie had developed. I think I will use this interview for some of my project of Robbie...

More words and interview with Adam Tucker now. => Exclusive: 'I sang with Robbie Williams on his Better Man biopic – here's what it was really like' Robbie Williams' critically acclaimed biopic Better Man explored the true story behind the musical legend, now singer Adam Tucker, who sang on the movie as Williams has opened up about it By Daniel Bird Assistant Showbiz Editor 11 Jan 2025 With a voice that's so recognisable to millions – how hard could it be to sing Robbie Williams' tracks for his Better Man biopic? Norfolk-born singer Adam Tucker took on the voice of Robbie on a string of tracks from his earlier days for the movie. The movie which came out on Boxing Day saw Robbie transformed into a CGI monkey, playing into his cheeky yet creative persona. But while the film has been a roaring success, parts of it were not easy for Williams, 50, who relived some of his darkest times, including his fall out with former Take That bandmate, Gary Barlow. Stoke on Trent born Robbie dramatically left the band in 1995, sparking heartbreak and tears across the nation. But behind his decision, he had been secretly battling a drug addiction and rising tensions with his bandmates – Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange. It also explores his relationship with All Saint's singer, Nicole Appleton, who "wept" after watching hte movie. Williams said he felt "shame" over the way he treated the singer during their relationship after seeing it play out. But just how involved was he in the movie? Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Adam, 30, revealed how he got the part. Thankfully, a friend of the singer lived next door to one of the casting agents working on Better Man. "It took a while," he said of his audition process. He went on to add: "Next thing, I'm having a phone call with these guys," before explaining he sent over a string of recordings of himself singing Angels, Feel and Let Me Entertain You. "When they said yes, I was straight in the studio on and off for maybe 18 months, we started in February 2023 and the film came out this Christmas. It's been in the works for a while but when you're doing CGI, it's quite complicated." But how involved was Williams throughout the process? Adam explained: "He provided the stories and voiceovers and what needed to happen. The help that he gave us in the studio, there are some bits – there had never been a recording of Land of 1000 Dances, nobody has heard him sing Take That in terms of Relight My Fire, these versions. "I know how he sounds in general but it was specifically on things, there are some voice notes that we'd had from him to guide ous on the right path of how it sounded, or how he would sing. He's from Stoke but he doesn't necessarily sound like he's from Stoke. It's his own voice, it's not an obvious voice, if you have an Elton John you can change your pronunciations, whereas Robbie is quite specific, his voice is really unique but not glaringly obviously different. "He was able to give us references for singing." But away from the studio, Adam somewhat glued his headphones to his head as he delved into the Robbie archive, rewatching live footage from his early days as a solo artist, including THAT performance at Knebworth. "Let Me Entertain You is live, obviously it was recorded in the studio," Adam said before continuing: "But that was jumping around in the studio with a microphone – it was the only way you can capture the voice and microphone." "He was involved but not load. It's very honest," Adam said when asked to what extent Robbie was involved. Since its release, Williams admits he's "almost the bad guy" in the movie due to his levels of honesty. This, however, is something Adam praises the legendary musician for. "I think that's his biggest asset, being completely open about him and he way he thought at the time," he said, before continuing: "Times have changed, he's matured quite a lot and he thinks differently about certain people now in a more positive light. It's a really dark film, it's so raw and obviously a lot more emotional. "People I've spoken to were like 'I was crying' at the end, when he's singing My Way, reuniting with his dad, people are in tears. It's very interesting, a lot of people are very shocked – obviously the monkey, people thought 'Why is a monkey?' they never address it in film, why is he a monkey? But it just works." Despite taking on the role of Robbie, Adam joked that he'd never been a Robbie tribute act, despite dozens of people asking him. "You close your eyes and it sounds like Robbie Williams but you open them and it looks like Ed Sheeran," he laughed. While many people question if he changed his voice to take on Robbie, he revealed that there had been slight changes – but almost everything was natural. At his audition, Adam was keen to not try and attempt to impersonate Robbie and instead showed off the real him. "I never thought I sounded like him, maybe little bits because I'm singing a Robbie song or something," he said. He went on to add: "Obviously when I watched the film, I knew what bits I sang, I knew what bits Robbie sung, but I was like 'Oh wow that does sound like Robbie,' not that I should have been shocked because that's the reason I got hired, it's crazy." Entering the audition room, Adam made the brave decision to sing Angels, one of Rob's most defining songs. "With Angels, I remember sitting there when I was four or five with the cassette player, playing Angels on repeat and pretending to sing as Robbie Williams," he proudly recalled. "For me it was huge, it's weird, I've done this in the studio for the last 18 months with four people. You sort of forget that it's going out to the world because you're so engrossed in going the studio. It's sort of like going to the studio everyday with your mates, the whole thing was just fun – there was no pressure, I the only permission I felt was what I put on myself. I auditioned straight into singing Angels and I was like 'Oh my God, this is the biggest song, especially in Europe but one of the biggest songs ever. "You just never like, feel like, the gravitas of what you're doing when you're in a studio, because you just don't know how It's going to be receptive, with people and you don't, I'd never thought about that." Six months after wrapping his parts of recording, Adam knew that people had been working behind the scenes on the movie but was secretly getting to grips with millions of people across the world hearing his voice – and seeing his name on the film credits. He said: "I managed to camouflage myself in the role of singing, I was quite proud of that. I think it sort of makes that shock back to when people are turning around and going 'Oh now someone else is singing. There are some songs in the film that is me and him singing, it cuts between both of us, most people would not know, obviously there was a lot of work that's gone into it. That's how seamless I think our voices would have sit. Some of the songs are completely remade and different. "Obviously he didn't write these songs with the intention that they were ever going to be in a film and they were going to be to a specific narrative. That's sort of why I was hired, to bring that narrative to life in the singing – when he's driving a car when he's just been fired from Take That, or Angels when his grandma dies. It's these emotionally charged scenes that are not specific in the original recording, so they had to re-record these and wanted me to come in. "Obviously Rob's voice has changed, you get older, your voice changes, so they wanted someone who could play the younger versions of him." But Adam's not slowing down any time soon. Following the ongoing interest in Better Man, he's taking some time to work on his own music. https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news...better-34460454

Talking about Oscars rules :lol: Well, but having Star Wars with 6 of 9 nominations of Best Score is fine on other side =)))

I've seen cool t-shirts in USA cinemas: Robbie Williams - Better Man - World Tour. Very interesting, is it pre-advert or just a fictial t-shirts of super heroes as American like to wear everywhere? ---- Better Man Grosses Domestic (1,2%) $103,187 International (98,8%) $8,615,277 Worldwide $8,718,464 Budget: $110M => 7% gross of budget (before wide release in US) // 16 days since release IMDB - 7.7 (6.5K marks) vs. The Brutalist (maybe the best movie of 2024) Grosses Domestic (99,4%) $1,354,377 International (0,6%) $8,054 Worldwide $1,362,431 Budget: $10M => 10% gross of budget (before wide release in US) // 21 days since release IMDB - 8.1 (4.1K marks) p.s. By the way, more correct number is 1 291 theaters (for 10 Jan in US).

Really don't remember this news (2006). Anyway Gary did it first in the end! :) So now give up! 1jQF2VUghIw

Still love this b-side so much but still don't know a good story behind this song... RW Rewind also haven't helped me... Don't know how to find out the info about it without Robbie himself. Well, again, it was a great b-side from Sin Sin Sin single. Would be great to get this song in credits of any movies even. And what's your opinion about One Love? tPX6W-B9eLE Just Like We Told Ya Our Love Is Better Then Their Love We Can Make You Famous Why Don't You Come And Join Us You Don't Need Anyone To Know That You Exist You Don't Want Anyone To Know You Can't Resist All This Time All Those Breath All This Hanging Around All This Hopes All This Fears All This All This Our Love Is Better Then Their Love We Could Give You More Love Just Not Enough Of This Thing Called Love, Love Do You Believe Their Love Will Make Everything All Right? Do You Believe Stars Disappear When It Gets Light? All This Dreams All This Lies All That Sleeping Around More Receptions Empty Rooms All This All This Our Love Is Better Then Their Love We Can Make You Famous Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Aren't We Cruel Isn't It All So Cruel The Things We Do With Love And The Things We Do Without Love You Don't Need Anyone To Know That You Exist You Don't Want Anyone To Know You Can't Resist Just Like We Told Ya Our Love Is Better Then Their Love We Can Make You Famous Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us Why Don't You Come And Join Us You Want Love You Got It You Got Love You Want It

Making Of the Better Man is the reason why we can wait for Blu-Ray release sooner but... better do not see its release for a while ;) @1877811722087510126 ---- ---- Rob's reaction on TIFF ovation OZrqsYUnJ5k

Well, waiting for first eight numbers in a few days =) ---

PfNMnIU5TcQ sa97aNZZURI + I translated the lyrics in Russian

So, US TV tells about BM since today. FOX Seattle gives 3 of 4 stars and suggest to watch. WsctPXxzueg CTV This Morning enjoys the movie and recommend to whom who like LaLaLand or Rocketman foICdtTSp5w Fox 4 Kanzas names the movie as interesting but still don't understand 'why ape': 2 of 5 - 3 of 5 stars 4ZvGjAMOA-Y KOLR10 & Fox49 will explain who is Robbie Williams but don't understand the movie. FSG6gdT8lZs WGN News names the movie really original. 9hR8aEzsr9E + Some US popular blogger (over 2M subs) reviewed the movie as perfect one - AWESOMETACULAR status GOjJ8gUpE-4 + Interview what was broadcasted on some US TV ENOFmOsG_90

ta7sZnUZmuQ We sit down with one of the UK’s biggest ever pop stars to discuss his new biopic, Better Man. One of the coolest things to happen to me when I was covering TIFF back in the fall, was that Paramount invited me to interview the iconic singer Robbie Williams, who was at the fest for the premiere of his big-screen biopic, Better Man. If you’ve read my review or seen any of the ads, you’ll know this isn’t a conventional film. Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film represents Williams in a highly unusual way – a CGI Chimpanzee plays him. That’s right, Williams is a monkey in the movie, while everyone else is human (although the character is meant to be human as well – it’s more metaphorical). While I’ll grant you that aspect might make people tune out, it works tremendously well. I was lucky enough to sit down with Williams for an extended chat, in which he explained to me why he was down for this crazy approach. One thing Williams noted (with good humour) is that he’s nowhere near as well-known in North America as he is in Europe, and he hopes that folks who don’t know his turbulent life story might see some of themselves in this CGI monkey. I also spoke to Jonno Davies, the actor who plays Wiliams in mo-cap, and director Michel Gracey, who was more than happy to explain why he wanted this famous pop star to be played by a CGI monkey. As I told Gracey, when I heard the premise, I thought he was crazy, but in the end, he turned out to be crazy like a fox because the movie is damn good. https://www.joblo.com/better-man-interview-...google_vignette ------ Same interviewer wrote the review. Better Man Review: Robbie Williams played by a CGI Chimp? The craziest thing about this movie isn’t that Robbie Williams is played by a CGI chimp – but that it works so well. By Chris Bumbray January 10th 2025, 10:17am PLOT: The life of international pop star Robbie Williams, from his early days as a member of Take That to his breakthrough as a solo artist and his struggles with addiction. REVIEW: There’s one way that Better Man is completely different from any music-based biopic you’ve ever seen. The director, Michael Gracey, depicts Robbie Williams as a CGI chimpanzee, with cutting-edge VFX from WETA, with actor Jonno Davies playing him in a mo-cap performance (although they use Williams’s distinctive eyes). The singer himself provides the narration. It’s risky and a big swing, but here’s the thing. The craziest thing about Better Man isn’t the fact that Robbie Williams is presented as a CGI chimpanzee but rather that this risky conceit works quite well. Here’s the thing – when an iconic person is impersonated in a biopic, we get caught up over various surface-level things, with the biggest being whether or not the actor looks like the person they’re playing. By having Williams represented as a monkey, you get over that aspect much quicker than you would otherwise. Strangely, it helps you invest more in the character. It’s an inspired choice for Gracey, who has a comprehensive background in VFX and directed one of the more popular recent musicals, The Greatest Showman. It also may help the movie attract a larger North American audience than it would otherwise. Despite being a European household name, Robbie Williams is still largely unknown in the United States. This all adds up to a highly unique musical biopic that tells a story many readers of this site may not be familiar with. The movie charts Williams’s rise to fame, with him initially the bad boy in a band called Take That, which was gigantic in the nineties all throughout Europe. He was a household name, but as the movie shows, he was kicked out due to his growing substance abuse issues and tensions with the rest of the group. He re-emerged as a solo artist, with his fame eventually dwarfing that of the group he left, but his demons did not let up on him as he continued to struggle mightily with addiction. The film depicts Williams’s life in a pretty unsparring way, with him often coming off as a brat burning bridges relentlessly. Yet, the film also has empathy for the fact that his greatest enemy was himself, visualizing his demons as other versions of himself mock him from the audience. Gracey depicts this all in a bold, energetic way. The movie climaxes with a major action sequence where Williams literally battles different versions of himself in a moment I didn’t see coming. Through it all, Gracey often dazzles the audience with set pieces, such as an amazing musical number where Williams and the rest of Take Take dance down Regent Street performing “Rock DJ.” Gracey throws in everything but the iamspamspamamisink to entertain his audience. While Williams may not be so well known in North America, the movie does feel like it has the potential to be a solid hit, even if the hard-R rating may keep it from the audience that made The Greatest Showman such a hit. Then again, given Williams’s struggles, could you do a watered-down PG-13 version? Who’d want to see that? While the visual spectacle aspect of the movie will probably be what sells this as a potential blockbuster, it also has a lot of heart, with a lot of it revolving around his fractured relationship with his father, played here by Steve Pemberton, who’s a frustrated, wannabe performer who imparts his love of showbiz on Robbie. While I went into Better Man with a raised eyebrow, wary of the chimpanzee aspect, to my delight, it worked wonderfully. As far as big-screen biopics go, this is a pretty deliriously entertaining one, and I had a blast watching it. It’s definitely one to keep an eye out for. 9/10 https://www.joblo.com/better-man-tiff-review/

Thanks Tess. Wow! TIME interview. I will read later, of course. --- One more interview at SPIN looks fresh and fine. Robbie Williams on His Touching Reception as a Pan Troglodyte A fabled entertainer appreciates being humanized in fur Written by Karen Bliss | January 10, 2025 Better Man, chronicling the warts-and-all rise-and-fall — and rise again — career of UK pop phenom and self-described self-loather Robbie Williams is unlike any other biopic. While Williams, now 50, narrates the story, he is portrayed by actor Jonno Davies as a chimpanzee. Better Man is directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), and if it sounds odd that’s because it is, but somehow this CGI-primate with the singer’s facial expressions and mannerisms is both endearing and an ass. We accept him, root for him, laugh with his cockiness, gasp at his self-destruction. “I don’t want to be a nobody,” he says as the adorable kid chimpanzee, a desire that dominates his life — probably to this day. For the unfamiliar, Williams got his break at age 16 as a member of ’90s boy band Take That, before his quitting the group led to a phenomenal solo career in which he played to a record-setting 375,000 people over three nights at the Knebworth Festival in 2003, and sold over 75 million albums thanks to hits like “Angels,” “Old Before I Die,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “Come Undone,” “Rock DJ,” “Kids” and “Millennium.” His success was accompanied by a shitstorm of depression and mental illness intertwined with booze and drug habits. All this is told with a mix of grit and sensitivity in a multi-layered film that dazzles by its sheer technological achievement and storytelling that covers his complicated relationship with his entertainer dad, his loving encouraging nan, the ego-driven band rivalry, and tumultuous whirlwind romance with Nicole Appleton. Better Man opens January 10, and might spur a menagerie category at a future Oscars: Swift as a giraffe; Madonna as a Panther… SPIN spoke to Williams about the film. [Publicist on Zoom call] Please say your name and outlet and you can begin. SPIN: My name is Karen Bliss. My outlet is SPIN. Hi Robbie. How are you? Robbie Williams: Hi Karen. My outlet is self-sabotage and sugar. That’s a nice combo. I’ve seen the film twice. The first time was during TIFF [Toronto International Film Festival], so I went in cold and I was like, “What the f***? He’s a monkey?” And then like 10 minutes in, I’m like, “Sure, he’s a monkey.” You go with it. I even got a little teary in certain parts. You got very emotional after the screening. Why? I wasn’t expecting to get emotional after because I’d seen the scenes as they were being stitched together and I’d done my crying then. No spoilers, but it’s the greatest hits of my grief. And then I watched the movie for the first time, hoping and praying that it was good, and it was. And then I get to TIFF and I’m just incensed on soaking in the moment. And I sit with Jonno, who plays me, and Michael Gracey, who directed it, and I feel very proud that I’m sat in Canada; there’s 2000 people watching my story, and I get to soak it all in and be grateful of the moment. And then what happened was at the end of it, having me expose all of my demons and all the worst aspects of myself, 2000 strangers turned around and clapped me and Jono and Michael that were on a balcony. And in that moment, something unexpected happened, but I completely understood that I was being seen and heard and forgiven and loved, all in one, by a bunch of strangers that know nothing about me. And that touched me on such a profound level. Has that changed over the months since? Is it as healing, as cathartic or re-traumatizing or are you like, “Oh, there’s me as a monkey. Aren’t I cute?” What is great is I don’t have to worry about the film being good or touching people because I know the magic that I have felt is being felt by the people that actually see it too. So now I’m comfortable [with] the aspect that the movie is better than shit; it’s actually something that I can be really proud of. I mean, look at the Rotten Tomatoes; there is 91% journalists and 98% audience reaction. This is not lost on me, but there’s so many aspects that this movie in particular has wrapped up and what it means to me as a fat 11-year-old with no self-worth at all. It’s very easy to get wrapped up with the expectation train, get on that train and be led into oblivion yet again, and what that means for my psyche if I pull all the levers and the machine doesn’t work. It is extraordinary because the film could’ve been crap. The whole concept is wacky. It could have been Howard the Duck. I don’t cry watching Planet of the Apes but I did in this. I’m sure there’s people that go in to Better Man and they’re completely lost. I think you have to have a self-deprecating kind of humor to get it and not walk out going, “Why the f*** is he a monkey? I don’t get it.” Has there been a different response in US versus UK? The “what the f***, I don’t get it “ happens to the people that haven’t seen it. If I go with general reaction, it seems that 98% of people leave the movie not only getting it, but completely embracing it and being completely moved by it. Let me ask you about the language in the script. The C-word [c**t] is widely used over in the UK, but it can get you cancelled in America, I think. You use the work “twat” a lot too. Also, a great word for certain occasions. Was using it in the script ever questioned? No, if you’re going to take a huge swing and have your movie be R-rated, you better make it worth it. Otherwise, if we were going to cut that out, why wouldn’t we cut out lots of other things too? We could have made this a whole lot easier and more commercial for ourselves if we’d have made it PG. As it happens, to tell my story authentically, I didn’t live a PG life. And I don’t have PG verbiage. This is how I speak. That is how I was. This is a representation of me. It may not have happened in that order, but everything was how it felt. How did you end up writing a new song for the film? There needed to be a hug at the end of this movie, a hug in the form of a musical hug. I’d sent a bunch of songs to Michael Gracey having not seen the movie and he kept sending them back saying, “No, this is not right.” And I’m sensitive. So, I was upset that he was telling me it wasn’t right. Then, I saw the movie and I completely understood that what was needed was not what I was sending. And the song that we wrote — me, Freddy [Wexler] and Sacha [skarbek] — was a musical hug to let you know that I know I’ve just put you through an awful lot, but we’re all okay. Let me ask you about fame. Now there’s kids that think they just want to be famous. There’s TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans. In retrospect, do you think you can enjoy fame without the pitfalls of drug addiction, being an asshole, self-isolating, being arrogant, all those things? No, because you’re contracting mental illness. That’s what you’re doing. And how you act and behave towards it is how you act and behave towards it; you can’t contract fame and not be bemused, affected by it on such a profound unconscious level that you spend the life trying to figure out how to put it in its right box. Now, what I will say, for most people that I meet in the entertainment industry that are forward-facing, that are on camera, most people aren’t egoic and twats, but the people with the ego and the twats really stand out and give the entertainment industry a bad name. But I’ve also met people in the energy industry; I’ve met people in the clothing industry that are huge — forgive my language — c**ts. They just don’t get the attention that people in the entertainment industry do because people in the entertainment industry, their bread and butter is attention. And the worst aspects of every part of society will make the most noise. The world’s worst 2% make 98% of the noise. You say in the film that you thought the fame would solve everything. When did you come to the realization that it doesn’t? Was it in sobriety? Was it in advanced adulthood — you’re still young [50], but you know what I’m saying [laughs]? I’m good. I’m an old pop star now. It’s okay. It’s fine. It’s reality. When did it happen? When did it? So, I remember I had this house on a lake. It had its own lake. And I remember as this [enormous fame] was happening, there was these patio doors onto this giant veranda that overlooked this lake. And like a scene from a movie, I was on my knees sobbing, looking at what I’d acquired and feeling how f***ed up and how unhappy I was. And I could see it, like a camera from above coming in at this moment. It was very cinematic. But I suppose that you only realize, consciously, what you’re seeking consciously when it breaks you. And in that moment, I was broken. I realized that I’d got to the top of the mountain and it was desolate and I was lonely and my subconscious came to the front and went ‘Hahahahahaaaa, it didn’t do it.’ [laughs]. Well, we are all rooting for you. What are your plans for this year? We want new music. We want to see you in concert over here. What is happening? I want to come to North America. Hopefully, if the success makes an indent, I will do that. I will be touring. Tickets have gone on sale already in the rest of the world [uK, Europe]. They’re doing great, thank you. And, yeah, I’ve got so many things that exist outside of the entertainment industry that happened because I’m in the entertainment industry. I’ve got loads of aspects of business that I want to do. So I need to exist in the public’s attention for me to facilitate everything else that I want to do. You also have a solo art exhibit [Confessions of a Crowded Mind]. In Barcelona, Amsterdam, and one’s gonna happen in London, too. I also want to build a university of entertainment and create the syllabus. I want to build hotels with their entertainment venues in them. I have entertainment venues separate to that that I’m doing. I want to buy a soccer team. I also have drinks coming out and I have clothes coming out. I’m very busy. Wow, that is a lot. In the film, without giving too much away, there are the “nasty monkeys” in the audience, that negative inner voice, kind of imposter syndrome. Do you still get that? Yeah. For example, I did a live 30 minutes on TV in Australia on New Year’s Eve. And I got a cold that’s kicking my ass on top of jetlag, and then getting up in front of 11 million people that are watching, and then however many millions of people that could dissect a viral moment if I let my crazy out. So, while I’m on stage, I’m enjoying myself, while also at the same time thinking about Twitter, and the sewage that is on there, and how they must be responding to my performance, whilst also at the same time having a left nostril that is dripping because of the cold, whilst thinking that people will think that I’m on cocaine, whilst having a good time at the same time [laughs]. That’s a lot of inner voices. I do love your humor though; when you’re walking through Hyde Park in your pink suit, trying to see if anyone would recognize you [laughs]. And no one was recognizing me. It was scary. So, are you a big deal now, again? Yeah, yeah, I am. I am. I’m trying to put everything in the right box and have everything be the right size. And I can only guess at what my future is. And if Rod Stewart is anything to go by — I’ve had a Rod Stewart style career, and he still gets to be Rod Stewart. I hope that the general public allows me to be Robbie Williams when I’m Rod Stewart’s age. https://www.spin.com/2025/01/robbie-williams-on-better-man/

Better Man: Inside Michael Gracey’s Apeshit Robbie Williams Musical The Greatest Showman director on the influence of Bob Fosse, Terry Gilliam, and the thrill of acting on a crazy gamble. by Prabhjot Bains Published on January 10, 2025 In a cinematic slate inundated with music biopics, precious few leave a mark as exhilarating and as purely insane as Michael Gracey’s Better Man. Visually ambitious, oozing with style, and boasting some of the most frenetically seamless editing in recent memory, the rise-and-fall tale of British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams tightly grips the tired biopic formula and makes it shine beyond our wildest dreams. Oh, and then there’s the matter of him being portrayed by a computer-generated ape. -- Better Man brims with such madcap decisions that in any other film would amass eye rolls, but like Williams himself, it keeps us hooked to the limelight. Like its subject, it’s a musical that exists on the edge of coming apart, and it’s only in embracing that precarious fine line that the real wonder, charm, and beauty of the experience wash over audiences. For Gracey, the thrill of acting on that gamble informs every facet of his bonkers vision. “A musical already has a heightened reality… you add a monkey on top of that and now you’re in a very heightened reality,” Gracey tells RANGE. “And the great thing about it is you can step between that and pure imagination pretty seamlessly. That is what I enjoy about the fact that it is a musical and the lead is a monkey: it allows you to step between the two worlds without being jarring for the audience.” It’s a feat that somehow makes the sight of a monkey doing lines and getting a hand job in a nightclub the least ludicrous of its many outrageous sequences. Better Man tracks Williams’ childhood in the shabby town of Stoke-on-Trent, to his stint in the boy band Take That, to his meteoric rise as a solo pop star—and all the drugs, infidelity, and crushing fame that came with it. But in doing so, Gracey maintains “a want to explore Rob’s internal and external life.” Each precisely crafted musical number is armed with a surreal timbre, plunking us into Williams’ amorphous, drug-addled mindscape with verve, vigour, and dizzying panache. Whether it be a record-breaking performance at Knebworth transforming into a medieval battle royale or Williams submerged in a frozen lake surrounded by a school of shark-like paparazzi, our overloaded senses are gloriously thrown into the gauntlet of pop superstardom. “In a number like ‘Come Undone’… as Williams is driving away into the fog, is it at that point he’s going into the fog of his mind? I don’t know.” Gracey continues. “At a certain point… we are 100% in this guy’s mind…but somewhere in between we transition from the external life and into the internal life.” The wonder of making sense of those shifts is where the true ecstasy of Better Man takes hold. To see it is the only way to believe it. These sonic dives into the psyche of its subject, including Better Man’s Broadway-styled titling, draw directly from the musicals of Bob Fosse. “I was very inspired by films like All That Jazz…for me, it’s like Fosse meets Terry Gilliam,” Gracey says. “I love the way Fosse choreographs the camera and his rhythmic editing, he’s such a masterful creative force and the same goes for Gilliam… the design work in something like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen [stands] as the most beautiful art-directed film of all time. These are the sort of films I grew in awe of and when you get older you lean into those points of inspiration.” When RANGE suggested a double feature of Better Man and Gilliam’s own simian-centric Twelve Monkeys, Gracey was all in on the idea: “Ha ha ha! That’s very funny.” While Better Man serves as a snapshot of the late 90s Britpop scene, full of MTV red carpets and run-ins with the (in)famous Liam Gallagher, its delirious lens remains firmly fixed on Williams’ personal journey. “The time plays a big part in the style, art direction, hairdos, and costuming because you are going through those distinct eras, but for as much that front-facing side is there, I favoured the personal story,” Gracey notes. “I don’t relate to standing in front of 150,000 people, but I do relate to the voices in my head, to looking in the mirror and finding faults in myself, the love of a nan, and the acceptance of a father—these parts of Rob are universal.” Williams’ significant involvement in the project renders Better Man a more intimate and, surprisingly, self-effacing experience. In a cinematic climate full of sanitized stories, as Gracey says, “Rob is fortunately an over-sharer and was adamant it be a warts-and-all experience.” He continues, “We did a year-and-a-half of interviews that formed the basis of the script, which is why you really do hear Rob’s voice in the film.” “When I tried to recreate them, they never sounded as good, they sounded like a performance… that’s why you feel the hand of Rob throughout, because it is him telling you the story from a spontaneous recording,” Gracey says. “I was sure when Rob watched it back he was going to take out some of the scenes, but he did not change one single shot of the film.” It all culminates in an experience that is as emotionally resonant and vulnerable as it is completely mad. While Robbie Williams’ fame didn’t quite translate across the pond, it’s time we all go bananas for his apeshit musical. https://readrange.com/better-man-michael-gracey-interview/

10.01.25 update Awards Nominations (39) 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) Critics Choice Awards 2025 - 12.01 - Best Visual Effects (Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs) The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards 2025 - 07.02 - Best Film - Best Direction in Film (Michael Gracey) - Best Screenplay in Film (Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, Simon Gleeson) - Best Lead Actor in Film (Jonno Davies) - Best Supporting Actress in Film - Best Supporting Actor in Film - Best Cinematography in Film - Best Sound in Film - Best Original Score in Film - Best Soundtrack - Best Original Song (Robbie Williams - Forbidden Road) - Best Visual Effects or Animation - Best Editing in Film presented by Spectrum Films - Best Production Design in Film - Best Costume Design in Film - Best Casting in Film The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) International Awards 2025 - 07.02 - Best Film - 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) - Best Screenplay in Film (Michael Gracey, Oliver Cole, Simon Gleeson) 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) 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) 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)

Let's hope they will catch some additional vibe from next 2-3 days (it should be!) and go to the cinema. -- Well, I'm not sure Australian figures have been calculated correctly before. At least based on this message about box office for BM there. -- Well, still 7.7 at IMDB but interesting point that within this week an average mark in USA shifted from 6.3 to 7.0 right now. Looking for more! :P https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14260836/ratin...?ref_=tt_ov_rat --- Robbie's feelings on the movie reaction at TIFF in Canada since weeks OZrqsYUnJ5k

Let's give our credits to these great singers in the movie! She's The One. Very very beautiful singing. https://www.tiktok.com/@ohhkaeli/video/7456721489048456481 Angels https://www.tiktok.com/@_adamtucker/video/7...899739909459233 --- Norfolk singer the ‘Better Man’ in biopic A Norfolk singer has a starring role in a new biopic – but you might not see him. Adam Tucker from King’s Lynn provides the voice of Robbie Williams in the film Better Man. He tells Chris Goreham about the role of a lifetime. Listen here (4-minutes interview): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0khc2gw

Thanks, Laura. Please keep it going with that data! ---- The latest videos for tomorow - too late! 7EV8n1DMvW8 FnQg6fF-ujU Qh_rr_PUXZg

A lovely message about bad situation in LA HmrCaQIRvbY

According to this video it looks like all the Team of BM must be at the premiere in LA. Very pity it wasn't... RxxGY8Cp7XA LOL - very funny first answer from Rob here :) m9NvSe626_0

Better Man Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play 6EkLpnnPPnY

Well, one day before US release there were out a new tons of the interviews... Not easy to catch them all but let us try :) Well, I already put it in US topic but do it again, because it's a good interview with some new details about. YTrS5SERNfk And then the same interviewer did his job with Jonno and Ms Banno too. What a lovely couple they are... Well, and yes, Jonno could play Justin T too - he has a chance to do it because nobody recongised him in CGI image.. :) 9QubjyZKOk4