Piece by Piece director on how Pharrell and Robbie Williams bonded over unusual biopics
Both musicians are having their life stories told in unconventional ways – one using LEGO, the other using a CGI monkey.
2024 has become the year of the unusual music biopic – with the lives of both Pharrell and Robbie Williams being told on the big screen in rather unconventional ways.
On Boxing Day, fans will be treated to the highly unorthodox Better Man – which sees a CGI monkey take on the starring role of Robbie – but before that, there's Piece by Piece, a documentary about Pharrell's hugely successful and influential career in the industry that unfolds entirely in LEGO animation.
And it turns out that the pair have already bonded over the unusual films, as Piece by Piece director Morgan Neville explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com when asked about this new trend.
"Without a doubt, I think people are trying to figure out new ways to tell stories, which I love," he said. "You know, I think being creative and figuring out new ways to get closer to the essence of these people... that's fascinating."
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And speaking of the pair uniting over the films, he exlained: "We actually did a panel with Robbie Williams and Pharrell – the two Williams – at the Telluride Film Festival.
"They'd never met each other, and it was so fascinating, because they're so different, on the one hand – because Robbie is a performer at his essence, and Pharrell is the Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain, at his essence, who's so uncomfortable being in the middle of the attention.
"But they also had been through the same machinery of the music industry and totally bonded over that. It was actually fascinating to see."
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Neville added that he loves this "new kind of new storytelling" where filmmakers weren't just adopting a "same old, same old" approach to telling musicians' stories.
"It allows you to kind of be inside of these characters in people's heads in a new way, and I just think, you know, we need to evolve film more," he said. "That's what's exciting to me at this point.”
The official synopsis for the film reads: "Piece by Piece is a unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams.
"Told through the lens of LEGO animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds."
Piece by Piece is in UK cinemas from Friday 8th November 2024.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
