Chapter 27
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This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films. The content may change as the film's release approaches and more information becomes available. |  |
| Chapter 27 | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Chapter 27 |
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| Directed by | J. P. Schaefer |
| Written by | J. P. Schaefer |
| Starring | Jared Leto Lindsay Lohan Michael Moon |
| Release date(s) | March 2007 (United States) |
| Language | English |
Chapter 27 is an independent film depicting the assassination of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman. J. P. Schaefer, making his directorial debut, also wrote the script. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 and the Berlin Film Festival in February. Though savaged by most critics, who described the movie as a vanity project lacking in insight, it did receive positive reviews in Salon, The Hollywood Reporter, and Entertainment Weekly. The film has failed to land a U.S. distributor, but has been picked up for theatrical distribution in Europe, Asia, and South America. The film was leaked onto the internet on March 23, 2007.
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[edit] Plot and Title
The movie is intended to be a deep exploration of Chapman's psyche, without putting substantial emphasis on the murder. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J.D. Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye, which ends on chapter 26. Chapman attempted to model his life after Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book and was carrying a copy when he shot Lennon.
According to the prestigious Spanish-language newsweekly Proceso [1], and other Latin American publications, the title was also inspired by Chapter 27 of Robert Rosen's book Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon. Rosen's book explores the numerological meaning of 27, “the triple 9,” a number of profound importance to John Lennon. Lennon was obsessed with numerology, particularly Cheiro’s Book of Numbers, and 9 and all its multiples. Lennon was born October 9, 1940. His son Sean Lennon was born October 9, 1975. His wife Yoko Ono was born February 18, 1933. His songwriting partner with the Beatles, Paul McCartney, was born June 18, 1942. Lennon wrote such songs as Revolution 9, Number 9 Dream, and One After 909. Lennon received his green card, after a long legal battle, on July 27, 1976. Though Lennon was murdered around 11 p.m. on December 8, 1980, it was already December 9 in England, the country of his birth. It was Chapman’s goal, according to Rosen, to write Chapter 27 "in Lennon’s blood."
The plot of the movie itself was drawn from the Chapman biography Let Me Take You Down, by Jack Jones, who is given a screen credit. Let Me Take You Down, however, provides no information on the numerological meaning of Chapter 27, and fails to show how Chapter 27 played into the heart of Lennon’s obsession with numerology, Cheiro, the number 9, and all its multiples.
[edit] Controversy
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
There is an official Boycott Site [2] set up for the film. Sean Lennon also went on record calling his friend Lohan's involvement "tacky" [3][this source's reliability may need verification]
[edit] Stars
Jared Leto will play Chapman. In addition to Leto, Lindsay Lohan agreed to star in the movie as Jude, a friend of Chapman's. Michael Moon has also agreed to co-star in the movie. Production began on January 9th with much controversy until March 2006.
John Lennon is portrayed by actor Mark Lindsay Chapman, an actor who in the past was denied portraying Lennon because of the similarity to the name of Lennon's murderer Mark David Chapman. The actor and the killer are not related.
[edit] Cast
- Ursula Abbott — Jeri
- George Bryant II — Limo driver
- Kevin Cannon — Precision Driver/Street Hood
- Melissa Demyan — Lennon Groupie
- Jeane Fournier — European Prostitute
- Judah Friedlander — Paul
- Molly Griffith — Cover girl/Centerfold
- Matthew Humphreys — Frederic Seaman
- Jared Leto — Mark David Chapman
- Lindsay Lohan — Jude
- Mark Lindsay Chapman — John Lennon
- Katie McGlawn — Richard Nixon
- Redman Maxfield — Maître d'
- Lauren Milberger — Gilda Radner
- Matthew Nardozzi — Little Kid
- Brian O'Neill — Patrick
- Adam Scarimbolo — Clerk Riley
- Michael Sirow — Joseph Many
[edit] Trivia
- Jared Leto gained 62 pounds to play the overweight Chapman by drinking microwaved pints of ice cream mixed with soy sauce and olive oil every night to bloat himself further. At times he had to use a wheelchair due to the stress the sudden increase in weight put on his body. In addition, as a result of the weight gain and loss, Leto has now developed gout in his left foot[citation needed].
