03 декабря 2021
Съёмки фильма о Робби Уильямсе с CGI-обезьяной в главной роли начнутся в 2022 году

Съёмки биографического фильма о музыканте Робби Уильямсе «Лучший мужчина» (Better Man) стартуют в Австралии в начале 2022 года, сообщает Deadline. Певец в картине будет изображён в образе компьютерной обезьяны.

Режиссёром и соавтором сценария выступит Майкл Грэйси («Величайший шоумен»). Фильм расскажет о событиях, которые сформировали британскую поп-звезду Уильямса. Будут исследоваться его личная жизнь, а также путь к славе.

Робби Уильямс начал свою карьеру в бойз-бэнде Take That. Однако больших успехов он добился как сольный исполнитель — 11 из 12 его студийных альбомов занимали первое место в чартах Великобритании. Он также попадал в Книгу рекордов Гиннеса за продажу 1,6 миллиона билетов на концертный тур за день.

Robbie Williams struggling to cast biopic young lead

Robbie Williams is reportedly worried about his biopic after struggling to find an actor to play his younger self.

The 'Let Me Entertain You' hitmaker and director Michael Gracey recently held secret auditions to cast the lead in 'Better Man' but were stunned when they were unable to find a young actor with the confidence to pull off the role, leaving the former Take That singer concerned the project will end up indefinitely delayed.

A source told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “Michael and Robbie held top-secret auditions to find a star to play the young Robbie recently.

“They didn’t meet anyone they were confident could pull it off.

“Robbie is stunned at how difficult the project has been to get made. And now he’s starting to worry it’s never going to make it to the big screen and he’ll look foolish for hyping it up.

“The London-based studio, Rocket Science, is handling international sales on the project and is hoping for a big hit.

“Robbie has fans all over the world and his story is not short of drama. But if they can’t find a star charismatic enough to play him, the whole house of cards is going to come falling down and it’ll end up in development hell.”

The 'Rock DJ' hitmaker is due to have an upcoming Australian concert recorded for the film, with fans attending the show at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena asked to wear 90s clothing as Robbie will be digitally altered to look as he did back then.

The movie will tell the story of Robbie's rise to fame and the experiences that shaped him as he became a huge star on the back of hits with Take That and a successful solo career.

Michael has penned the script for the flick alongside Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson and revealed that the movie came about after hours of conversations with the 'Candy' singer and through his determination to tell the story of an "everyman".

The filmmaker previously said: "Unlike some people who were born prodigies or musical geniuses and you follow the narrative of the world catching up to their brilliance, this isn't that story.

"Robbie is that everyman, who just dreamed big and followed those dreams and they took him to an incredible place. Because of that, his is an incredibly relatable story. He's not the best singer, or dancer, and yet, he managed to sell 80 million records worldwide."

Robbie Williams movie 'Better Man': Cast, release date, plot, songs and more revealed
Updated: 17 June 2022, 14:37

obbie Williams is one of the biggest selling UK artists of all time. And now the 48-year-old from Stoke's life story will be played out on the silver screen in a big-budget biopic entitled Better Man Robbie Williams and Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey, who directed the box-office smash The Greatest Showman, are in charge of the project and cast and crew are said to have descended on Melbourne, Australia to start filming.

With news that the movie is well on its way, we bring you everything you need to know about the former Take That star's film's plot, cast, soundtrack, release date and more.

What do we know so far about Robbie Williams' 'Better Man' !

The film has been billed as 'a musical fantasy' and is being filmed in the Docklands Studios in Melbourne throughout 2022. Back in December 2021, director Michael Gracey made an official announcement that the Robbie Williams film was being made. "To tell Robbie William’s beautiful, distinct story, back home, in my own city, is a dream come true," he enthused. "There is a creative energy that burns across the Melbourne film industry, and I know this movie will thrive here." In typical Robbie Williams style, the singer hasn't held back in revealing the ups and downs behind the making of the film. Speaking about the biopic to fans at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena earlier this month, Robbie said: "‘The thing is about films is that it is a wonder anything gets made. ‘Everything gets held up in a bottleneck. It is always, “This person says no and this person says yes and this person is offended and this person is not offended enough.” It is agents and lawyers."

Who will star in Robbie Williams' 'Better Man' !

Robbie Williams is apparently set to star as himself in the new movie about his life. The 48-year-old from Stoke will take the lead role and British actor Jonno Davies, 29, from Amazon series Hunters, will play the younger version of Robbie. Other confirmed cast members include Australian actors Kate Mulvany, who starred in The Great Gatsby, Damon Herriman (Mr InBetween), and filmmaker-actor Anthony Hayes.

'Better Man' soundtrack: What songs will be in the film !

Insiders are being secretive about what will appear on the soundtrack to the Robbie Williams movie. With smash hits including 'Angels', 'She's The One', 'Supreme', 'Feel', 'Rock DJ' and many more to choose from, producers may be struggling to reduce them down to just a few! Speaking to Deadline in 2021, Gracey confirmed the songs will be adapted for the film.
“All Robbie’s songs will be re-sung, for the emotion of the moment,” he said. "If he’s in the depths of despair, he’s not going to sing a song as cabaret flamboyant showmanship; it’s going to be broken, acapella, stripped down, because that’s where he is emotionally. In moments of pure joy, you’ll get songs sung in this whirlwind of hysteria. "So essentially every song in the film, Robbie will sing, but it will be performed for the emotion of that moment, and that scene.”

There has been no official release date yet for Robbie Williams' Better Man. However, the film, which started production in May 2022, is likely to be released at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.

Watch this space...

https://www.smoothradio.com/artists/rob … date-cast/

'He was devastated when she died': Alison Steadman discusses her grandmotherly relationship with Robbie Williams - after playing his late nan Betty in Better Man biopic

Alison Steadman has discussed her grandmotherly relationship with Robbie Williams, with whom she has been starring alongside in his biopic film, Better Man.

The Gavin And Stacey star, 75, who is playing the singer's late nan Betty in the movie, revealed she gave the 48-year-old a big hug while appearing on Tuesday's Lorraine.

With filming taking place in Melbourne, Australia, Robbie recently revealed he will play himself in the movie after struggling to find a suitable actor.

Speaking on the ITV daytime show, Alison said: ‘I was in Melbourne recently with Robbie Williams. He was there, I gave him a hug. I’m playing his nan.

She added: 'He loved his nan and she sort of helped him through difficult times. He was devastated when she died.'

The team behind the Michael Gracey-directed flick, reportedly previously had trouble finding the perfect person to play Robbie in his younger days but an older Robbie has been found in the form of the man himself.

According to The Sun, the former Take That singer told the crowd at the Rob Laver Arena in Melbourne last week at a gig to celebrate the filming of the biopic: 'The thing is about films is that it is a wonder anything gets made.

'Everything gets held up in a bottleneck. It is always, "This person says no and this person says yes and this person is offended and this person is not offended enough." It is agents and lawyers.

'I am 97 per cent sure it will happen. I don't know who will play me when I am younger but I know who will play me when I am older. You're looking at him.'

On trying to find the perfect actor to play Robbie, an insider told the Mirror in March: 'Michael and Robbie held top-secret auditions to find a star to play the young Robbie recently.

'They didn’t meet anyone they were confident could pull it off.

'Robbie is stunned at how difficult the project has been to get made. And now he’s starting to worry it’s never going to make it to the big screen and he’ll look foolish for hyping it up.'

During a question and answer session in Melbourne last Sunday Robbie told fans the film will be a 'warts and all', adding that there are some sex scenes he does 'not condone'.

Robbie told the audience: 'There are sex scenes that I do not condone. I am like, 'If they must be in there, Michael, then you put them in there.

'He said that it is a necessity for the script that I get completely naked and I am not sure why as there is one scene where we are in a church and it does not call for it.

'It is my life and it is what I got up to. It is not anodyne, it is not vanilla. It is drugs, the ups, the downs, the women, the sex.'

The project will follow the singer on his rise to the fame and the demons he battled both on and off the stage.

Sources say Hollywood is excited about the movie following the success of other singer's lives captured on film such as Elton John's Rocketman and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Insiders believe it could help Robbie crack America, after struggling to make it big across the pond - despite success in Europe when he first went solo after leaving Take That.

A source previously told The Mirror: 'Early indications are that it may really cut through to US audiences, not least as the people in place on it have such pedigree.

'Movie chiefs think the script – essentially a stirring story about an underdog catapulted to fame – will really resonate with people, even those in America who may not know much about Robbie himself.'

Directed and co-written by Victorian filmmaker Michael, the film will offer an introspective look into the experiences that shaped the English entertainer, both on and off stage.

It was announced in December, producers would begin filming at Docklands Studios in Melbourne in early 2022.

'To tell Robbie William's beautiful, distinct story, back home, in my own city, is a dream come true,' Gracey said in a statement.

'There is a creative energy that burns across the Melbourne film industry, and I know this movie will thrive here.'

Michael said the film will not be like Rocketman or Bohemian Rhapsody, which were about musical prodigies that the world had to catch up to.

He described Robbie as an 'everyman' who has an 'incredibly relatable story' about following your dreams.

Robbie found fame as a teenager as a member of Take That and found wider success when he went solo in 1996.

Michael confirmed Robbie's music will be re-recorded for the film and producers will be looking for a studio to buy the movie at the upcoming European Film Market event.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/a … liams.html

Directed by
Michael Gracey Writing Credits (in alphabetical order) 
Oliver Cole ... (screenplay by)
Simon Gleeson ... (Writer)
Michael Gracey

Produced by
Domenic Benvenuto ... executive producer
Gianni Benvenuto ... executive producer
Li-Wei Chu ... executive producer
Patrick Correll ... co-producer
Paul Currie ... producer
Jules Daly ... producer
Michael Gracey ... producer
Dean Hood ... executive producer
Coco Xiaolu Ma ... producer
Georgina Marquis ... line producer
Craig McMahon ... producer
Thorsten Schumacher ... executive producer
Lars Sylvest ... executive producer
Mark Williams ... executive producerCinematography by
Erik Wilson Casting By
Kate Dowd ... (uk)
Kate Leonard
Alison Telford Production Design by
Joel Chang Art Direction by
Michael Bell
Tony Drew
Mark Robins ... supervising art directorMakeup Department
Helen Magelaki ... hair supervisor / makeup supervisor
Sheldon Wade ... makeup designerProduction Management
Georgina Marquis ... unit production manager
Jade van der Lei ... production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lee Cleary ... first assistant director
Rebecca Keros ... Directors Assistant
Erin Lander ... Key Second Assistant Director
Tom McCaw ... onset second assistant director

Art Department
Liam Beck ... Concept Artist
Wendy Brough ... Scenic Foreman
Nathaniel Corkery ... plasterer
Mariana Bindia Kolff ... standby props 2nd unit
Ken Perkins ... storyboard artist
Dawn Waswick ... textiles
Shelley Williams ... senior buyer/set dresser
Phoebe Wolf ... set dresser

Special Effects by
Kaiit Mosby ... special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Luke Millar ... visual effects supervisorStunts
Chris Weir ... stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Hazal Alakus ... second assistant camera: b camera
Glenn Arrowsmith ... key grip
Nils Bendix ... key rigging grip
Eilish Boyd ... camera truck loader/add 2nd ac
Huckle Cleary ... best boy rigging grip
Dan Coates ... electrician: additional
Aaron Corera ... drone coordinator
Cameron Dunn ... B Cam 1st AC
Kurtis Grimes ... grip
Andrew AJ Johnson ... Steadicam Operator: dance sequence
Flynn Kortus ... grip
Jason Morling ... A Cam 2nd Assistant Camera
Darryl Murphy ... dolly grip: "b" camera
Sam Newman ... A Cam 2nd AC
Simon Ozolins ... 2nd unit director of photography
Jacko Panagiotou ... Scorpio Crane Tech
Jack Paraha ... grip
Antonio Raiola ... Scorpio Crane Tech
Ruru Reedy ... gaffer
John Regan ... dolly grip: "a" camera
Stephen Robinson ... remote head technician
Tyron Robinson ... asst dolly grip: "a" camera
Boaz Hunter Smith ... lighting continuity (as Boaz Smith)
Keir Suggett ... A Camera 1st AC
Ryan Thompson ... best boy grip
Matt Toll ... 2nd Unit Director of Photography
Jake Tostevin ... head grip
Maurice Vy ... video assist operator
Sebastian Wihongi ... grip

Casting Department
Emma Bolton ... casting associate: uk
Leah Lawry-Johns ... casting assistant: uk

Location Management
Julian Bungate ... location manager
Ben Howell ... assistant location managerScript and Continuity Department
Merran Elliot ... script supervisor
Samantha Page ... additional script supervisor

Additional Crew
Lisa Ciniglio ... Insurance Broker at H2 Entertainment Insurance Solutions
Darius Googe ... Additional Nurse
Allison Harding ... Covid Coordinator
Victoria Liu ... base production assistant
Zachary McDonald ...

Development Assistant
Jessica Smith ... assistant production coordinator
Madeleine Wilson ... additional assistant director

Cast 
Damon Herriman Damon Herriman   
Anthony Hayes Anthony Hayes   
Kate Mulvany Kate Mulvany   
Alison Steadman Alison Steadman   
Steve Pemberton Steve Pemberton   
Mezi Atwood Mezi Atwood ... Concert Goer
Robbie Williams Robbie Williams ... Robbie
Jonno Davies Jonno Davies ... Robbie
Tom Budge Tom Budge ... Guy Chambers
Nic Layton Nic Layton ... Concert goer
Tegan Crowley Tegan Crowley   
Jeanette Coppolino Jeanette Coppolino ... Blackpool Radio Contestant
Ben Ronec Ben Ronec ... Club Kid
Tanith Martin Tanith Martin ... Paparazzi
Jamie Condon Jamie Condon ... Paparazzo
Rose Flanagan Rose Flanagan ... Melissa
Nick Owens Nick Owens ... Concert Goer
Thalia Dudek Thalia Dudek   
Nickita Knight Nickita Knight ... Driver
Matilda Evans Matilda Evans ... Concert Goer
Tom Van Looy Tom Van Looy ... Hero Paparazzi 1 (credit only)
Mert Ergec Mert Ergec ... Clubber
Victoria Babatsikos Victoria Babatsikos ... Concert Goer
Maddison Nutting Maddison Nutting ... Ella / Club Goer
Georgia Gilligan Georgia Gilligan ... Concert Goer / Celebrity Partier
Luke Dal Sasso Luke Dal Sasso ... Sus Concert Goer
Samantha Jones Samantha Jones ... Paparazzi
Georgina Potter Georgina Potter ... Fan (rumored)
Daniel Sheppard Daniel Sheppard ... Concert Goer
Mia-Rose Nuzzaco Mia-Rose Nuzzaco ... Fan
Tyler Connolly Tyler Connolly ... Concert Goer
Lucas Morgan Lucas Morgan ... Concert Goer (as Lucas Karvonidis)
Ash Campbell Ash Campbell ... Footy Fans
Tahleigha Griese Tahleigha Griese ... Football Fan
Ivy Tucker Ivy Tucker ... Daughter
Lisa Groves Lisa Groves ... Audience member / Fan
Sarah Wynen Sarah Wynen ... Paparazzo
Kacey Crowley Kacey Crowley ... Concert Goer (uncredited)

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Production Companies
Footloose Productions
Zero Gravity Management
Elevate Production Finance
Showman

Distributors
Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2022) (Switzerland) (all media)
Entertainment UK (2022) (UK) (all media)
Forum Film (2022) (Israel) (all media)
Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2022) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East, North Africa and Iran)
Lucky Red (2022) (Italy) (all media)
Lusomundo (2022) (Portugal) (all media)
Nordisk Film (2022) (Denmark) (all media)
Nordisk Film (2022) (Finland) (all media)
Nordisk Film (2022) (Sweden) (all media)
Odeon (2022) (Greece) (all media)
Roadshow Films (2022) (Australia) (all media)
The Searchers (2022) (Belgium) (all media)
The Searchers (2022) (Netherlands) (all media)
Volga (2022) (Russia) (all media) (CIS/Baltic States)

Other Companies
UniFi Completion Bonds ANZ Pty (Completion Guaranty provided by)
UniFi Completion Guarantors (Completion Guaranty provided by) (through UniFi Completion Bonds ANZ Pty Ltd)
Xm2 Pursuit (Drone Filming and Remote Head Services)

Filming Locations
Docklands Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia