Sydney11

It has left cinemas in my city :)

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'How I became Robbie Williams' chimpanzee' 27 December 2024 Danny Fullbrook It's 2001 and nine-year-old Jonno Davies is standing in the crowd as Robbie Williams entertains 65,000 people at the Milton Keynes Bowl. "He was just this symbol of cool, and that stuck with me for a long time... He was like the rock star of the day for me," he recalls. Now 32, Davies is appearing in cinemas around the world in Better Man, a musical biopic in which he plays his childhood hero. But he is far from recognisable, partly because of his hard work studying and recreating William's voice and mannerisms, but mostly because he's represented on screen as a computer-generated chimpanzee. Director Michael Gracey, who previously made The Greatest Showman, says the decision was inspired by conversations with Robbie Williams where he described himself as a performing monkey. On set, Davies was dressed in a performance capture suit, and later he was transformed into a primate by Weta FX - the same company behind Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Davies says: "I play Rob from the age of 15 right the way through to the end of the film... It's full body, voice, dancing - the whole shebang." He adds: "I feel the audience aren't watching it going: Do I believe that's him? Does that look enough like Robbie? Does that sound like Robbie? Because there's a monkey, we've already gone beyond that idea of comparison. "It meant I didn't have to be vain. I wasn't looking at the monitor going 'Oh god, the double chin'... It was just about being truthful to the storyline." That said the actor says his face can be seen for a "tiny split second" at the very end of the film: "Kudos to anyone that actually sees that." The Chesterfield-born actor was cast as the Angels singer about a week before production was due to begin. Actor Kate Mulvany, who plays Williams' mother Jane, suggested Davies after having worked with him on the Amazon Prime series Hunters. When The Greatest Showman director phoned Davies inviting him to audition, the actor was working a "side hustle" performing at children's parties as PT Barnum - Hugh Jackman's character from the film. He recalls: "I was kind of going 'Okay, this is a weird but wonderful turn of events'". Auditions took place in Australia, where he ran scenes with Raechelle Banno who plays All Saints singer Nicole Appleton in the film. He recalls: "I thought I mucked it up. Then a few hours later [Gracey] called me into his office and he said 'look we'd love you to play Robbie'. "You know, you dream of these roles. You dream to lead productions like this, to be in such huge scale films. But as soon as that penny drops, and you know that you are actually the one to do it, there's a sense of pressure. "They're gonna actually find out that I'm rubbish. And all this time I've just been sort of lucking through it. And that's actually something that Rob feels a lot. And so, it was a really useful connection for me to have." In 2022, Davies is rehearsing for a scene on stage at the Royal Albert Hall when Williams, who he has not met yet, is in the audience. "I was about to sing and in he steps, plonks himself in the middle of the front row," the actor says. "Wow that's Robbie Williams, that's who I'm playing, don't mess it up. I probably did because voice was going and knees were buckling." He didn't mess it up. Not according to Williams himself who describes the performer as a "fantastic human being". The musician says: "He's such a lovely person, and he's immensely talented. Watching him do his thing – which is my thing – was very interesting, confusing, wonderful, and a weird thing to watch. He's amazing." Davies, who grew up in Milton Keynes, attended Bedford School between 2001 and 2010. While attending he took part in musical productions of Bugsy Malone, Fiddler on the Roof and History Boys. He says: "If it wasn't for Bedford School, I don't think I would've become an actor. "I was applying for university and our head of drama approached me and said 'I don't think this is what you want to be, you want to be an actor'. "Having somebody say that really made me think it might be a possibility... I think a lot of people had that support, it wasn't just a one off." Now the actor's name is on one of the seats at the school's theatre and he likes to return to visit the pupils. "Anything I feel that I can learn I'd love to pass on to them," he says. "Maybe we can do like a motion capture day somehow. Do some animal studies, as it were." n the same year he started at Bedford School he went with his parents to watch Robbie Williams play at Milton Keynes Bowl. "I was just looking at the epitome of cool strutting about, giving it large," he recalls. "I just thought that is someone that exudes confidence and I kind of want to be a bit like that. "So, then meeting him, working with him on this piece, and then being the one to have the privilege of playing him- it's nuts how life can kind of come around in weird circles." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrw0qnvl1go

Some new folk getting to know The Robster , it's all good ! :) @1885757204914905277

Ok , so just like Rob's soundtrack album I am expecting a big drop for us this week in the rankings . After topping the AF chart for the month of Janoary I am all posted out :zzz: :lol:

This is what you want to read , people like Rory finding Robbies music again @1885609550742430178

:wub: @1885586853052768612

YES !, I also wonder about the T-Shirt -_- @1885579290840097241

@1885204654595989677

@1885143359804891260

Are we comparing apples with apples as the saying goes :unsure: Over what period of time How many venues etc Very different age profile between artists in terms young people going to their concerts. Taylor appeals to a very wide age group, her shows are suitable for all age groups , Robbie not so ...

From what I am reading so far Dune 2 is being predicted a winner in this category . Remember where I said that somebody I was speaking to thought the Better Man posters indicated it was some kind of King Kong movie , In the snippet from the article in the link below I can probably see how they might have had that thought . I keep my fingers crossed for Better Man though . :) However, while it’s potentially shaping up as a battle between “Kingdom” and “Better Man,” Wētā hasn’t won the Oscar for its ape work since “King Kong.” The acting branch, which has a dislike for performance capture, could make it a race between “Wicked” (which has a lot more going for it than flying monkeys) and “Dune: Part Two.” https://wdcnews6.com/2025-oscars-best-visua...ts-predictions/

For those who do bot know the song ;) , it's a great tune .... "Swing Supreme" by Robbie Williams: This 2013 song by English singer Robbie Williams plays around the 42-minute mark as the film advances four years into the future when Rita reencounters Emilia in London. https://screenrant.com/emilia-perez-movie-soundtrack-songs/ aRDgFag8Mz4?si=33W9F1YGVWefLVFz

I & O of C has become quite popular recently , nice album ;)

Angels . nice one :)

That is just hilarious :lol:

Robbie Williams says Aussie indie films better than Hollywood box office hits Better Man didn’t fire at the box office but Robbie Williams defends his indie biopic and says Hollywood is “killing the film industry.” Kathy McCabe Robbie Williams is the subject of one of the most talked-about biopics of the year but he confesses he’s not a film fan. The Angels pop superstar, who will lend his star shine to the 2025 AACTA awards where Better Man leads the nominations, said he had turned off movies because of their predictability. Australian film-maker Michael Gracey has changed the mind of the English entertainer with his bold and bonkers biopic which cast Williams as a CGI chimp and features big musical numbers reminiscent of old Hollywood. “I don’t like films. We (already) know the story and nobody is taking a risk or a gamble on giving us fresh things that we haven’t seen before because there is too much anxiety about everybody losing their job and their money,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s killing the film industry. “But, it takes an independent movie, like Better Man, to remind people that audacious examples of humanity and great storytelling, done in a f***ing unusual way, still exist. Go Australia, go Robbie Williams.” The audacious independent biopic’s production budget was reported to be $110 million, with some of that funding secured via the Victorian Government’s VicScreen program and other Australian film investors. Gracey shot many scenes in Melbourne. But it failed to fire at the box office and has taken in about $28 million worldwide since its Boxing Day release because of his lack of profile in the US and the ongoing musical film juggernaut that is Wicked. Better Man has a record-breaking 16 nominations for this year’s AACTAs with Williams up for Williams up for Best Original Song for Forbidden Road, which he penned for the film.# It is likely he will perform that song at the awards on the Gold Coast on February 7. That song also scored a Golden Globes nomination but was disqualified from the Best Original Song shortlist at the Oscars because the Academy ruled it “incorporates material from an existing song that was not written” for Better Man. The Academy’s music branch ruled Forbidden Road bears similarities to I Got a Name, a 1973 Jim Croce song penned by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel - the theme for the film The Last American Hero. Fox happens to be one of the three Music branch governors for the Oscars. Williams shrugged off the Oscars disqualification on the Golden Globes red carpet, saying a nomination would have been nice “but also, as an introvert, it’s another party I don’t have to go to.” He told news.com.au Forbidden Road was written after Better Man director Michael Gracey rejected several songs Williams sent him to close the film. “I sent several songs to put at the end of this film that Gracey was ‘no’ about. And I was like, ‘You’re f...ing wrong, Gracey,’” he said. “And then I saw the film, and I realised that what I sent was wrong, and at the end of the movie, you need a cuddle and you need to be told it’s alright, because as a viewer, you’ve been through a lot. And so it is musical Xanax. The film’s soundtrack, which reimagines some of his signature hits including Angels, Feel and Rock DJ, landed at No.5 on the ARIA album charts in the weeks after his New Year’s Eve performance in Sydney. https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movie...7d42b612b694fa6

A great tune from Under The Radar Vol 3 Robbie Williams | Good People bgpS73jjc0U?si=iGmAgDSqKe5jdm3-

Good on you for getting his songs out there Alex .

Rob explaining why he was up a tree naked :lol: plus explaining other thins on the album Part 1 & Part 2 below ; NFnvcinIy5E?si=mx_8n0LKY1ubMm7j DpMcq5lt2hw?si=0RNwi5DeakA5eJRa

That is actually a really nice song. Thanks for reminder .. As you say the big hits are easy to fine online, these little nuggets not so