Chapter 27

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Chapter 27

Poster for Chapter 27
Directed by J. P. Schaefer
Produced by Naomi Despres
Alexandra Milchan
Robert Salerno
Written by J. P. Schaefer
Starring Jared Leto
Lindsay Lohan
Music by Anthony Marinelli
Cinematography Tom Richmond
Editing by Andrew Hafitz
Jim Makiej
Distributed by Peace Arch Entertainment Group
Release date(s) March 21, 2008 (limited) [1] March 28, 2008
Running time 84 minutes
Country Canada
Language English
Budget CAD 5,000,000
Gross revenue $13,910 [2]
IMDb profile

Chapter 27 is an independent film depicting the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman. J. P. Schaefer, making his directorial debut, also wrote the script. The film premiered at the 2007 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 initially failed to land a U.S. distributor, but was picked up for theatrical distribution in Europe, Asia, and South America. The film was leaked onto the internet on March 23, 2007. The film saw US theatrical release in March of 2008 and won the Debut Feature Prize award for J.P. Schaefer at the Zurich Film Festival[3]. In Entertainment Weekly's 2008 Spring movie preview for Chapter 27, the movie was finally listed for release on March 28, 2008 [4], however the movie's release is limited. The film was rated R for language and some sexual content.

Contents

[edit] Plot and title

The movie takes place in the three days leading up to Lennon's assassination and 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 British music magazine Mojo (December 2007) and the Spanish-language newsweekly Proceso,[5] 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 in New York 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] Cast

[edit] Production

Jared Leto gained 67 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[6]. At times he had to use a wheelchair due to the stress the sudden increase in weight put on his body[7]

[edit] Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 43 reviews.[8] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 25 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.[9]

[edit] Sean Lennon's Personal Feelings

Sean Lennon has gone on record calling the production and making of the film, including Lindsay Lohan's involvement with the film "tacky". Lennon also stated on The Insider that Lohan understood that it was an issue she agreed to do and despite saying the involvement was tacky they were friends and he did not want to hurt her feelings. [10]

[edit] Box Office performance

The movie's US domestic gross as of June 9, 2008 is: $56,215 [1] On it's opening weekend the controversial film delivered the nations' highest per screen average of $13,900 [2]

[edit] DVD release

The film was released on April 28, 2008 in the UK.[11] The film will be released on DVD in the US on September 30, 2008 [3]

[edit] Soundtrack

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose wrote a track alongside Queen Guitarist Brian May entitled Catcher in the Rye, which is supposed to be based on the murder of John Lennon. The track was speculated to have been included on the soundtrack to Chapter 27, but this did not happen, and according to the band's guitarist Richard Fortus the track will be included on the band's forthcoming studio album Chinese Democracy.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chapter 27 (2008) - Movie Info - Yahoo! Movies
  2. ^ Chapter 27 (2008)
  3. ^ Peace Arch Entertainment's 'Chapter 27' Wins Debut Feature Prize at Zurich Film Festival for Director Jarret Shaeffer: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
  4. ^ 2008 spring movie preview | 10,000 B.C. | Movie News | Movies | Entertainment Weekly
  5. ^ PLATOS LASER: Mark Chapman, el asesino de Lennon
  6. ^ Jared Leto's Weird Weight Gain/Loss Regime - Starpulse Entertainment News Blog
  7. ^ Wheelchair-bound Jared Leto - Boston.com
  8. ^ Chapter 27 Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoess. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  9. ^ Chapter 27 (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
  10. ^ Sean Lennon Not Happy With Lindsay Lohan's New Film | Cleveland Leader
  11. ^ http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/3977588/Chapter-27/Product.html#

[edit] External links