Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry are ending editing work on their movie ‘Golden.’
Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were among the stars.
The film is unlikely to ever see the light of day.
It’s a hard, old truth in Hollywood and beyond that movies can hit roadblocks at any stage in the process. Some are lost forever in the deep wells of development hell. Others reach production, but money issues curtail shooting, or problems arise.
And then there are the unusual stories of movies that make it all the way through the shoot, only to fall apart at the final hurdle.
In the last couple of years, we’ve seen the frustrating behavior of Warner Bros., overseen by money-grubbing CEO David Zaslav, who has decreed that movies he and his accountants aren’t sure will be financially viable should be locked away or deleted forever, the studio instead taking a tax hit: ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ are the two that we know about.
But ‘Golden,’ the movie formerly known as ‘Atlantis,’ a collaboration between musician Pharrell Williams and visual stylist/filmmaker Michel Gondry, is a different case altogether.
According to Variety, they’ve been editing the new movie, and have decided it simply doesn’t work. And that’s despite Universal assigning a release date for May.
‘Golden’ came about following Universal’s collaboration with Pharrell on ‘Piece by Piece.’ Distributed by the company’s Focus Features arm, the unusual biopic told his life story through the medium of LEGO animation.
aTbMoBvwrLTncbSlI2r7L1
‘Piece by Piece’ was not exactly a success for the company –– it actually lost money, taking in $10 million worldwide on a $16 million budget –– but given the musician’s long connection to the studio (he’s provided hit music for the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise among others), it was seemingly happy to keep working with him.
Described as a musical expedition set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach, it was to have told more of a coming-of-age story than anything directly influenced by Williams’ story (aside from the setting).
Here’s what he told Empire about the movie and how it differs from his previous project:
“ ‘Piece By Piece’ is about my life, whereas ‘Golden’ is about a neighborhood that I grew up in. It’s a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it’s so much more magical than that. It’s a celebration of Black life, Black culture, and most importantly, Black joy.”
And while it was originally named ‘Atlantis’ after the building from Williams’ early life, he also explained the title change:
“It just speaks to the narrative, the area, the energy and literally everything about the film, which is this analysis of what being ‘golden’ is. Children and grown-ups with inner children within them can connect to it and realise that there’s a golden aspect to them too, whether it’s realised or latent.”
Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams serves as music consultant for the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer. Credit/Provider: Jam Sutton.
Unfortunately for those anticipating the new movie, it has now been shut down after unanimous agreement from producers and Gondry that the film did not live up to its developed conceit.
Gil Netter (‘The Blind Side’) was serving as producer alongside Williams and his creative partner Mimi Valdes.
Here’s what the main duo told Variety about the decision to halt work:
“When all of us got into the editing room we collectively decided there wasn’t a path forward to tell the version of this story that we originally envisioned. We appreciate all the hard work of the talented cast and crew. While we’re disappointed we can’t deliver this film, we have incredible partners at Universal and will collaborate in a different capacity again soon.”
And in case you’re wondering whether it’ll find release in some other venue, the disappointing news is that it’ll apparently never see the light of day. So your visions of Gondry and Williams somehow whipping up a hand puppet version of the story are unlikely to come to fruition.
What else are Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry working on?
Kerry Washington in ‘The Six Triple Eight’. Photo: Netflix.
It’s not the pair doesn’t have plenty of other projects to keep them busy.
Pharrell is currently serving as the men’s creative director at fashion house Louis Vuitton.
His next project is the animated ‘Maya, Give Me A Title,’ about his relationship with his daughter. It will screen at this month’s Berlin Film Festival.
(L to R) Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart in ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’ Photo: A24.
From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls hard for Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
(L to R) Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny in ‘Civil War.’ Photo: A24.
Directed by Alex Garland, in the near future, a group of war journalists attempt to survive while reporting the truth as the United States stands on the brink of civil war.
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
Opening in limited release in December 2024 and directed by by Gia Coppola, ‘The Last Showgirl’ stars Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, genius artist Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) seeks to leap the City of New Rome into a utopian, idealistic future, while his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
Directed by Osgood Perkins, in pursuit of a serial killer (Nicolas Cage), an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.
Directed by George Miller, as the world falls, young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Sweeping through the wasteland, they encounter the citadel presided over by Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). The two tyrants wage war for dominance, and Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.
Directed by Morgan Neville, ‘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.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose (Kit Connor).
Paul Mescal plays Lucius in ‘Gladiator II’ from Paramount Pictures.
Directed by Ridley Scott, years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus (Russell Crowe) at the hands of his uncle (Joaquin Phoenix), Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger) who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Directed by Coralie Fargeat, a fading celebrity (Demi Moore) decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself (Margaret Qualley).
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, a former Marine (Aaron Pierce) confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the bag of cash he needs to post his cousin’s bail.
Zoe Saldaña as Emilia Pérez in ‘Emilia Pérez’. Photo: Netflix.
Directed by Jacques Audiard, Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization.
Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
(L to R) Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtain (Kim Matula), Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) in ‘Saturday Night’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
Directed by Jason Reitman, at 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of ‘Saturday Night Live‘.
From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, ‘Challengers’ stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.
(L to R) Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), Hank Hanson (Corey Johnson), Jacques Lesgardes (Zinedine Soualem), Geoff Mason (John Magaro), Carter (Marcus Rutherford), Gladys Deist (Georgina Rich), Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Marianne Gebhard (Leonie Benesch) star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5’ the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum, during the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American broadcasting team is thrust from covering sports to reporting a dramatic hostage situation involving Israeli athletes. A young producer (John Magaro), unexpectedly leading the live broadcast, faces difficult decisions as time runs out, rumors spread, and the hostages’ lives hang in the balance.
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Directed by Justin Kurzel, an alarming surge in violent bombings and bank robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads a weathered FBI agent (Jude Law) into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a charismatic domestic terrorist (Nicholas Hoult) plotting to overthrow the US government.
(L to R) Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in ‘Wicked’, directed by Jon M. Chu. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, in the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda (Ariana Grande) at Shiz University, and the two’s unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
From director Edward Berger, ‘Conclave’ follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of The Church.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Directed by James Mangold, set in the influential New York music scene of the early 60s, ‘A Complete Unknown’ follows 19-year-old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan‘s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts – his songs and mystique becoming a worldwide sensation – culminating in his groundbreaking electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
(L to R) Mikey Madison as Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan in ‘Anora’. Photo: Courtesy of NEON.
Sean Baker‘s Palme d’Or winner ‘Anora’ is an audacious, thrilling, and comedic variation on a modern day Cinderella story. Mikey Madison captivates as Ani, a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life takes an unexpected turn when she meets and impulsively marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the impetuous son of a Russian billionaire. However, when Vanya’s parents catch wind of the union, they send their henchmen to annul the marriage, setting off a wild chase through the streets of New York.
David Howard Thornton as “Art the Clown” in the horror film, ‘Terrifier 3’, a Cineverse release. Photo: Jesse Korman/Dark Age Cinema.
Preview:
‘Terrifier 3’ won the box office this weekend.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ suffered one of the biggest second-weekend drops in history.
‘The Wild Robot,’ which is doing well for DreamWorks, has a sequel in development.
Turns out audiences do want to watch a sequel where a clown causes chaos… just not the big budget studio version.
In a major triumph for both independent filmmaking and the horror genre, clown slasher movie ‘Terrifier 3’ has topped the domestic box office with an impressive $18.3 million.
That might not seem like a huge amount in an era where the likes of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ open to north of $200 million but given that ‘Terrifier 2’ was made for $5 million, that’s still a big win.
sFgidthcQxEKgsGhIdb2L6
And it comes as the other clown on screens right now is continuing to be a huge disappointment. ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ itself with a roughly $190 million budget, saw its earnings drop 81% this weekend, one of the worst in comic book history and films in general.
Following its launch last week with an already-disappointing $37.6 million, Todd Phillips’ sequel fell to $7.05 million despite showing on more than 4,000 screens (by comparison, ‘Terrifier 3’ was on 2,514).
3vR8oDvROAOlNd8rWeImt3
What’s behind ‘Terrifier 3’s success?
Lauren LaVera in ‘Terrifier 3’. Photo: Cineverse.
The indie horror movie franchise, directed by Damien Leone, stars David Howard Thornton as Art, a demonic clown figure who terrorizes a small town with grisly killings.
While he normally strikes around Halloween, ‘Terrifier 3’ sees him appear at Christmas, dressed as Santa, but still with murder on his mind.
Yet despite all the gore and violence, the movies have built a cult following and display no little skill for classic schlockbuster marketing tactics, such as setting up a hotline for outraged audience members to decry its content.
It also spent a lot less on advertising, targeting horror fans and keeping its budget low.
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
DreamWorks has reason to celebrate, as family animation ‘The Wild Robot’ took second place, earning $13.45 million in its third weekend.
The new movie has been successful enough that director Chris Sanders, who wrote and directed based on Peter Brown’s book, is putting plans in place for a follow-up to the story of Roz the robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) and the animals she befriends on an isolated island.
‘Folie à Deux’ had to settle for third place given its dismal figure. Warner Bros. will be happier with ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,’ which slipped to fourth place with $7 million, but which has been in theaters for six weeks and is now on home VOD.
(L to R) Clint Howard as “Smokey” and Daniel Roebuck as “Santa” in the horror film, ‘Terrifier 3’, a Cineverse release. Photo: Jesse Korman/Dark Age Cinema.
Director Damien Leone has said he’s got plans for at least a couple more films, so we’ve not heard the last of Art the Clown. Perhaps Warner Bros. should consider picking that franchise up if it’s looking for a successful franchise?
Opening in theaters on October 11th is the new documentary/biopic about the life and career of Pharrell Williams called ‘Piece By Piece’, which was completely animated with LEGO.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with filmmaker Morgan Neville about his work on ‘Piece By Piece’, collaborating with Pharrell and LEGO on the groundbreaking project, making an animated movie for the first time, whether the film is a documentary or a biopic, conducting the interviews, becoming a LEGO figure himself, and the emotional connection the audience has with the characters in the movie.
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Director Morgan Neville discusses ‘Piece By Piece’.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this unique project came together and what it was like working with Pharrell Williams to tell his story on screen?
Morgan Neville: This crazy idea came from Pharrell, where he apparently had the idea that if he was ever going to do anything like a documentary, it would be in LEGO. Apparently, everybody he told this to said, “That’s a terrible idea,” or “It’s a crazy idea. It’s an unattainable idea.” Fortunately, he was a big fan of my films, and he said, “I want Morgan to do it.” I met him, and the way he pitched me was, “It would be interesting if you made a documentary about my life, and when you were done with it, you threw out all the images and just replaced it with LEGO.” When he said that, I got excited. I didn’t think it was crazy. Well, maybe I did think it was crazy. But the craziness of it is what I thought was interesting because it was so unusual. I didn’t even know what it would mean, and we just spent years in production figuring out what it could mean. But it felt like it opened so many creative doors. From that, we just had this incredible burst of creative freedom, which is what you want. I felt like that was Pharrell producing me, like, “Here are the ingredients. Now you go make it.”
MF: Before making this movie you were primarily a documentary filmmaker, what was it like for you to direct an animated movie and work with LEGO on this project?
MN: The documentary process and the animation process are opposites. The documentary process is revision and looseness. You don’t have a lot of control. You’re just trying to kind of stitch together the messiness of reality into something. In animation, you’re God. You get to build the world. You get to put everybody wherever you want them and make everybody say whatever you want them to say. So, there was a tension between those two things that I really wanted to keep. I think it was interesting. Rather than erasing the imperfections, I wanted to embrace the imperfections and keep the grammar of documentary going. There were many times in working on the film with my animation director, who is fantastic, and our studios, that they would say, “Well, you don’t do it that way in animation.” I was like, “Oh, but we are. We are. We’re going to try.” Whenever they said, “Oh, you don’t do it that way,” I’m like, “Why not? Why can’t we do it that way?” So, there was an interesting tension there that I think bore incredible fruit. It was the kind of thing where I knew my ignorance could be a bit of an asset, like let me insist on doing things this way just to see what it brings, and at the same time, also embracing the freedom of animation where, particularly when songs come in in the movie, anything can happen. So, me saying, “Well, we’re not in a documentary anymore. We’re in his head and in his head, anything can happen. We can be underwater, and we can be floating. Let’s embrace that too.” That, for me, having done this for a long time, was so incredibly liberating.
MF: While the film is an animated documentary, it’s also an animated biopic about Pharrell’s life. Was that the goal or something you found naturally through the process of making this movie?
MN: It’s a natural process and I feel like this is true of a lot of my filmmaking storytelling in documentary, is that it’s not so much that I want to give you all the achievements of Pharrell Williams, because that is an eight-hour film. It’s more like, how do I tell a story about a Black nerd from the projects who doesn’t fit in, and then suddenly he completely fits in, and what does that mean to his own creative voice, and how does he stay in touch with it? It’s a story of a creative person on this journey. That gets me excited, and that is a story that I identify with as a creative person. So that part of it, I kind of fully embraced, that we were making a movie that way. The other layer to it is that it’s a musical in that I really listened to all the music he did. In my Spotify, I have 10 playlists of Pharrell songs he sang, songs he wrote, songs inspired by, songs with his solo albums, and songs with N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes. I spent a lot of time listening to everything and trying to find songs that spoke to me or felt like they were telling a story about Pharrell’s life and then trying to really use the music to tell the story as much as we could too, which is great. Then on top of that, being able to then show the film to Pharrell and say, “Okay, Pharrell, why don’t you write some new songs based on my view of your story?” He said to me that because he was looking at himself through my eyes, it made it way easier for him to write music as opposed to if somebody just said, “Hey, why don’t you write a song about your life?” But the fact that he was able to see it through my eyes gave him a focus that allowed him to do it. I love all that. I love that creative feedback loop that we created.
MF: Can you talk about the interviews you did for this film and how did people react when you told them they would be depicted as LEGO figurines?
MN: Well, we didn’t tell anybody in the beginning that it was going to be LEGO. It was kind of a secret. It’s not that we were trying to deceive people, but we told people it was going to be a documentary and we were going to animate it. Five years ago, we started these interviews, and we didn’t want it getting out, but we also didn’t want people necessarily performing or thinking, “Oh, I’m talking as a LEGO minifigure.” So, we just tried to keep it organic like I normally would on a documentary. Then over years of animation, we started to tell people. I started to show some of the people in the film their character designs. I have to say, every single person was excited. Who doesn’t want to be a minifigure in LEGO? So, a lot of people, even people who were kind of like, “What? Really? Is this going to work,” every one of those people now wants their own minifigure. So, I think it was something that just clicked so well that turned out better than I could have expected. It was exciting.
MF: You are also featured in the film. What was that like for you as a filmmaker to be a character in the movie and what did you think about your own LEGO representation?
MN: Yeah, I’m not normally a character in my movies, but this was such an unusual movie that I felt like if I was honest about my role in the film, it helped the audience understand how we got here. So really it was a way of me solving a story point, but it’s real. That’s really me trying to figure out what this movie is. So, in that way, even though the film is a documentary, it also plays like a film about a guy trying to make a documentary about Pharrell too. All those different gears, the lines of what’s documentary and what’s musical and what’s a biopic, to me, you have a lot of those questions going in, but hopefully when you come out, it just makes sense.
MF: Finally, have you been surprised by the emotional connection audiences are having with these plastic characters?
MN: Yeah. I was worried because a LEGO minifigure is very reductive. Characters have no nose; they have no ears. You can’t see them cry or sweat. There’s a lot of restrictions. The question was, if I’m showing close-ups of a minifigure in an interview, is that compelling? Is it going to be emotional? Is it going to connect? Right when we started doing tests, it started to work. Kind of my own theory on it is that you project a lot of yourself into LEGO because it’s low resolution in that way, that you can see yourself in characters more. Now a lot of people who see the film say, “I forgot I was watching a LEGO movie,” and I love that. There are a lot of people saying that they get emotional watching it, and I felt emotional about making it, but you never know if that’s going to translate. So that’s been one of the best things to come out of finally being able to show people this film is just seeing how it connects so deeply with folks.
aTbMoBvwrLTncbSlI2r7L1
What is the plot of ‘Piece By Piece’?
The film documents Pharrell Williams’s life and musical career, incorporating Williams’s faith and expressing his artistry by means of LEGO.
