Chapter 27 Development When did the film begin development? I don't know. Why did they decide to do a film about this? to understand "how someone could be inspired to kill anyone as a result of being exposed to this kind of beautiful art. Who said that? Schaefer What else did Schaefer say? It really bothered me, because Lennon and Salinger have always made me feel so much better, and so much less alone." Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? The real Mark David Chapman is currently incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility, on a guilty plea. How did they get the details to make a movie? However, Chapman did reveal the mechanics of his unraveling during those three days in New York City to journalist Jack Jones. When did the book come out? The interviews were published in 1992 as Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, How did the book do? The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye,
Why is The Catcher in the Rye brought up so often?
Why is The Catcher in the Rye brought up so often relating to Chapter 27?
The real Mark David Chapman is currently incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility, on a guilty plea. Aside from two interviews with Larry King and Barbara Walters, both in 1992, he has not spoken with the media. However, Chapman did reveal the mechanics of his unraveling during those three days in New York City to journalist Jack Jones. The interviews were published in 1992 as Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, a book of Chapman's recollections of his act of violence. Chapter 27 is based on this text. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has twenty-six chapters, and which Chapman was carrying when he shot John Lennon. Chapman was obsessed with the book, to the point of attempting to model his life after its protagonist, Holden Caulfield.  According to the British music magazine Mojo, the title was also inspired by Chapter 27 of Robert Rosen's book Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon (2000). Rosen's book explores the numerological meaning of the number 27, "the triple 9", a number of profound importance to John Lennon. Lennon was deeply interested in numerology, particularly Cheiro's Book of Numbers, along with nine and all its multiples. It was Chapman's goal, according to Rosen, to write Chapter 27 "in Lennon's blood".  Like Chapman, Schaefer is a fan of both The Beatles and J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, and said he began the script to try to understand "how someone could be inspired to kill anyone as a result of being exposed to this kind of beautiful art. It really bothered me, because Lennon and Salinger have always made me feel so much better, and so much less alone." CANNOTANSWER
Chapman was carrying when he shot John Lennon.
Chapter 27 is a 2007 biographical drama film depicting the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman. It was written and directed by Jarrett Schaefer, based on the 1992 book Let Me Take You Down by Jack Jones, produced by Robert Salerno, and stars Jared Leto as Chapman. The film takes place in December 1980, and is intended to be an exploration of Chapman's psyche. Its title is a reference to J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has 26 chapters, and suggests a continuation of the book.

As an independent production, it was picked up for distribution by Peace Arch Entertainment and premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it received polarized reactions from critics. It later went into limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2008. Chapter 27 was cited as one of the most controversial films of 2007. It received the Debut Feature Prize for Schaefer at the Zurich Film Festival, where Leto also won Best Performance for his portrayal of Chapman.

The similar film The Killing of John Lennon was released in the United States the following year.

Plot
On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman shocked the world by murdering 40-year-old musician, former member of The Beatles and activist, John Lennon, outside The Dakota, his New York apartment building. Chapman's motives were fabricated from pure delusion, fueled by an obsession with the fictional character Holden Caulfield and his similar misadventures in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In one instant, an anonymous, socially awkward and mentally unstable 25-year-old fan of The Beatles, who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him, altered the course of the history of music.

A man whose painfully restless mind thrashes about uncontrollably between paranoia, sociopathic lying and delusion is summed up in such character revealing comments as "I'm too vulnerable for a world full of pain and lies" and "Everyone is cracked and broken. You have to find something to fix you. To give you what you need. To make you whole again."

From his lies to cab drivers (identifying himself as The Beatles' sound engineer) to his socially unacceptable behavior around Jude, a young fan he meets outside The Dakota, to his argument with paparazzi photographer Paul, Chapman keeps the psychoses bubbling below the surface as his grasp on reality deteriorates into a completely misguided rage.

Production

Development
The real Mark David Chapman is currently incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility, on a guilty plea. Aside from two interviews with Larry King and Barbara Walters, both in 1992, he has not spoken with the media. However, Chapman did reveal the mechanics of his unraveling during those three days in New York City to journalist Jack Jones. The interviews were published in 1992 as Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, a book of Chapman's recollections of his act of violence. Chapter 27 is based on this text. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has twenty-six chapters, and which Chapman was carrying when he shot John Lennon. Chapman was obsessed with the book, to the point of attempting to model his life after its protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

According to the British music magazine Mojo, the title was also inspired by a chapter of Robert Rosen's book Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon (2000) called "Chapter 27." Rosen's book explores the numerological meaning of the number 27, "the triple 9", a number of profound importance to John Lennon. Lennon was deeply interested in numerology, particularly Cheiro's Book of Numbers, along with nine and all its multiples. It was Chapman's goal, according to Rosen, to write Chapter 27 "in Lennon's blood". Rosen wrote on his blog, in late 2006, that "the inherent truth of my contention that the film’s title was inspired by Nowhere Man remains unchallenged—because it’s self-evident to anybody who’s read the book."

Like Chapman, Schaefer is a fan of both The Beatles and J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, and said he began the script to try to understand "how someone could be inspired to kill anyone as a result of being exposed to this kind of beautiful art. It really bothered me, because Lennon and Salinger have always made me feel so much better, and so much less alone."

Cast

The script took Schaefer four years to write, but when it was finished, the film came together quickly. With the help of producers Alexandra Milchan and Robert Salerno, Schaefer cast Jared Leto as Mark David Chapman. For his role, Leto gained  by drinking microwaved pints of ice cream mixed with soy sauce and olive oil every night. Gaining the weight, he said, was tougher than dieting himself into skeletal shape for his role as drug addict Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream (2000). The abruptness of Leto's weight gain gave him gout. He had to use a wheelchair due to the stress of the sudden increase in weight put on his body.

After the shooting of the film, Leto quickly went on a liquid diet. He explained, "I've been fasting ever since. I've been doing this very strange, like, lemon and cayenne pepper and water fast. I didn't eat any food for 10 days straight; I think I lost 20 pounds that first 10 days." Losing the excess weight after Chapter 27 proved a challenge. "It took about a year to get back to a place that felt semi-normal," he said; "I don't know if I'll ever be back to the place I was physically. I'd never do it again; it definitely gave me some problems."

Twenty-two years prior to this film's production, actor Mark Lindsay Chapman, while professionally using the name Mark Lindsay, had been almost cast as John Lennon in the biopic John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985). Yoko Ono had been deeply involved in the production and had herself been initially impressed with his audition and approved his casting prior to discovering his full name was Mark Lindsay Chapman. She then nixed his casting on the grounds it was "bad karma", and a great deal of press attention was given to his having almost gotten the role. The director of Chapter 27, Jarrett Schaefer, auditioned many Lennon impersonators, but was especially impressed with Mark Lindsay Chapman's tape because he conveyed the "tough town" street-smart quality of Lennon that the impersonators failed to convey, as they always played Lennon as larger-than-life. Schaefer described Lennon as having a "chip on his shoulder and always cracking these cynical one-liners", and felt that actor Chapman was best at conveying this quality. Schaefer had some difficulty negotiating the casting with the film's producers because of Chapman's name. After Chapman was cast, he asked Chapman how he should be billed to which Chapman replied "Mark fucking Lindsay Chapman. That's my fucking name." Schaefer remarks that this was so reflective of how Lennon talked, it just reinforced his sense that Chapman was right for the part.

Filming

The film began shooting in Manhattan, New York in 2006. "I don't have much to compare it to, but the challenges were daunting," said Schaefer, who directed several sequences outside The Dakota, the site of Lennon's assassination. "I had to go into a place that was very sensitive to our story, with trucks, a crew, and a limited amount of time. It wasn't easy."

"It was important to Jarrett that we didn't glorify this event," said Salerno. "He didn't want to shoot any of the scenes with John Lennon at The Dakota out of respect for the residents that were there at the time John was killed, so all of that footage was shot separately at another location that we were able keep closed and controlled." These scenes were shot at the Steiner Studios in Brooklyn.

Release

The studio held Chapter 27'''s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007. The film was subsequently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, Athens Film Festival, Festroia International Film Festival, Waterfront Film Festival, Mediterranean Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, Oslo International Film Festival and the Denver Film Festival.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave the film a Restricted rating for language and some sexual content. Chapter 27 had a limited release in the United States on March 28, 2008 and earned $13,910 in a single theater over the opening weekend. The film's revenues increased by 11.4% in its second weekend in domestic markets, earning $15,500 in five theaters. Chapter 27 grossed $56,215 in the United States and $131,273 overseas. In total, the film has grossed $187,488 worldwide. Its international releases include Mexico ($107,443), Portugal ($20,433), and France ($3,397).Chapter 27 was released on DVD on April 28, 2008 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released on the same formats on July 1, 2008 in exclusives, and everywhere September 30, 2008. The British edition contains a making-of and the trailer of the film, while the American edition includes only a behind-the-scenes.

Critical reception

When Chapter 27 premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the film was debated fiercely by critics. MTV wrote that "the audience's reactions made it obvious that some people would love it and others would not." On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 18% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 4.0/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Despite Jared Leto's committed performance, Chapter 27 fails to penetrate the mind of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer."  On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Andrew O'Hehir from Salon wrote, "Some viewers may well find Chapter 27 sleazy or distasteful, and I won't argue the point. But Schaefer's movie creates its own highly compelling world, which is pretty much the prime directive in filmmaking." He stated that "Leto almost makes you feel how it happened," and called his acting a "highly compelling performance on many levels." He also enjoyed Lohan's performance. Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Chapter 27 is a smart attempt to distill the twisted psychology and motivation of Mark David Chapman, which we've all superficially gleaned through mass-media reports and intermittent updates on Chapman's incarceration." He praised Leto's acting saying, "Jared Leto is mesmeric as the bloated, deranged Chapman. It's a brilliantly measured performance, evincing the tale of a madman through his own awful rhyme and reason." He also praised Schaefer's direction, the other cast and crew. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three out of four stars saying, "By the end of this modest, strange venture, Leto made me believe it was worth being forced to hang out on the sidewalk with this man, if only to get a creeping sense of what that might've been like."

Upon the film's theatrical release, Richard Roeper wrote, "This is a very tough film to watch, especially for Beatles fans that worshipped Lennon, but it does provide a thought-provoking take on the inner workings of Mark David Chapman's twisted mind." San Francisco Chronicle's Joel Selvin praised Schaefer's direction writing, "The film is impressively mounted and Schaefer has made a directorial debut of distinction, but it is an uncomfortable ride from the opening scenes of Chapman arriving in New York to the inevitable, inexorable final scene." He also called Leto's performance utterly convincing. Rex Reed gave the film a positive review writing, "Even if you are only moderately curious about the events that led up to the pointless death of a musical icon, I think you'll find it a film of arm-twisting fascination." He praised Leto calling him unforgettable and writing, "it is the pulverizing concentration and almost somnambulistic intensity of Jared Leto that gives the film its life and pulse." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B saying, "Chapter 27 is far from flawless, but Leto disappears inside this angry, mouth-breathing psycho geek with a conviction that had me hanging on his every delusion." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News described Chapter 27 as "a claustrophobic drama that gets uncomfortably into the head of Mark David Chapman," and praised Leto saying, "Leto's drawling, blotchy, creepy performance sets it apart."

Accolades

Cultural impactChapter 27 was one of the most controversial films of the 2000s. In April 2006, an on-line petition group calling themselves Boycottchapter27.org campaigned to "pressurise movie theatres not to show the film, to stop the glorification of a murderer." Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, expressed her thought saying, "This is another thing which will hurt me, I'm sure. I would rather not make a story out of Mr. Chapman at all, although I sympathize with the actors. They need to work. It's not just films, you're always talking about it [Lennon's murder]."

Sean Lennon, Lennon's son, has gone on record calling the production and making of the film, including Lindsay Lohan's involvement with it, "tacky." Lennon also stated that Lohan understood his feelings and, despite his criticism, they were friends and he did not want to hurt her feelings.

The film received accolades from critics who praised the depiction of the mental state of Mark David Chapman in the days leading up the murder of John Lennon in December 1980.

See also

 The Killing of John Lennon'' (2006 film of same theme)

References

External links

 
 
 
 

2007 biographical drama films
2007 films
American biographical drama films
Biographical films about criminals
Canadian biographical drama films
Canadian films
Canadian docudrama films
English-language films
Films about John Lennon
The Beatles in film
Films based on non-fiction books
Films set in 1980
Films set in Manhattan
Films shot in New York City
American independent films
American films
Cultural depictions of John Lennon
Cultural depictions of Yoko Ono
Films scored by Anthony Marinelli
Films about murder
2007 independent films
Canadian independent films
2007 directorial debut films
2007 drama films
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by  J. D. Salinger.

The Catcher in the Rye may also refer to:

 Catcher in the Rye (band), a Chinese punk rock band
 "Catcher in the Rye", a 2008 song by Guns N' Roses from Chinese Democracy

See also 
 Catcher in the Wry, an autobiography by Bob Uecker
 Coming Through the Rye  2015 film directed by James Steven Sadwith The 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger has had a lasting influence as it remains both a bestseller and a frequently challenged book. Numerous works in popular culture have referenced the novel.
Factors contributing to the novel's mystique and impact include its portrayal of protagonist Holden Caulfield; its tone of sincerity; its themes of familial neglect, tension between teens and society, and rebellion; its previous banned status; and Salinger's reclusiveness.

The Catcher in the Rye has inspired "rewrites" which have been said to form their own genre.
On the other hand, there are examples of similarities between the novel and other works that were not intended by their authors, which suggests that the novel is "present, at least spiritually, in ... any story line that involves quirky young people struggling to find their places in a society prone to reward conformity and condemn individuality."

While the novel is linked to several murders and murder attempts, it has been claimed that the novel's overall effect on society is "far more positive than negative."

The novel also helped popularize the slang verb "screw up".

From the late 2000s into the 2020s, there has been a discussion of depression as exhibited in Holden Caulfield.

Shootings
The best-known event associated with The Catcher in the Rye is arguably Mark David Chapman's shooting of John Lennon.
Chapman identified with the novel's narrator to the extent that he wanted to change his name to Holden Caulfield. On the night he shot Lennon, Chapman was found with a copy of the book in which he had written "This is my statement" and signed Holden's name. Later, he read a passage from the novel to address the court during his sentencing. Daniel Stashower speculated that Chapman had wanted Lennon's innocence to be preserved by death, inspired by Holden's wish to preserve children's innocence despite Holden's later realization that children should be left alone.

After John Hinckley Jr.'s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981, police found The Catcher in the Rye in his hotel room. Hinckley later admitted to being an admirer of Chapman and studying his attempt on John Lennon. Hinckley's possession of the novel was later dismissed as an influence, as a half dozen various other types of books were also discovered in his possession.

Robert John Bardo, who murdered Rebecca Schaeffer, was carrying the book when he visited Schaeffer's apartment in Hollywood on July 18, 1989 and murdered her.

Films
Although Salinger had refused a film adaptation, many Hollywood films have based characters on Holden Caulfield. Holden has been identified as "one of the most reproduced characters on film." Furthermore, many such films reference each other.

Anthony Caputi, a specialist in dramatic literature at Cornell University, claims that the novel inspires both "variations" and "imitations", comparing it with several coming-of-age films.
 In The Collector (1965), which is based on the John Fowles novel, Clegg cannot understand why Miranda likes The Catcher in the Rye.
 In the 1990 play and 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation, the impostor Paul gives an analysis on the novel in a monologue. According to him, the novel, a "manifesto of hate" against phonies, would have been the excuse or defense for Chapman and Hinckley's shootings.
 In Conspiracy Theory (1997), Mel Gibson's character is programmed to buy the novel whenever he sees it, though he never actually reads it.
 Chasing Holden (2001) is named after Holden Caulfield. The protagonist Neil relates his life to Holden's, skips class to go to New York City, goes on a road trip to New Hampshire to find Salinger, and contemplates killing Salinger.
 Screenwriter Mike White regards the novel as "part of a literary trend that goes back to Goethe's The Sorrows of Werther (1774) ... I don't think Salinger discovered it. He just did the quintessential American version." He thought the influence of the novel may rise in Hollywood, and two of his 2002 films reflect this. In Orange County, protagonist Shaun searches for the professor who wrote the book that changed his life.
 In The Good Girl, protagonist Thomas Worther calls himself Holden and is seen reading the novel.
 Igby Goes Down (2002), originally intended to be a novel, has been interpreted as being inspired by The Catcher in the Rye, but director and screenwriter Burr Steers said it is not a direct influence and the story is more of an autobiography. On the influence of the book, Steers "liken[s] it to being a musician and being influenced by the music ingrained in you, like the Beatles."
 The Catcher in the Rye deeply influenced the 2017 biographical drama film Rebel in the Rye, which is about Salinger. It is a visual about his life, before and after World War II, and gives more about the author's life than the readers of The Catcher in the Rye learned from the novel.
In Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, the protagonists, Wendy and her son Danny,  are introduced sitting at a kitchenette, with Wendy smoking and reading The Catcher in the Rye as they eat white-bread sandwiches and Danny watches TV.
In the 2019 anime film Weathering with You the protaginist Hodaka Morishima reads The Catcher in the Rye and has themes about it.

Television
 The main plot for the Japanese anime television series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002) hinges on elements from The Catcher in the Rye from which a character uses a digital logo representing Holden Caulfield, and the quote "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." These themes and some additional quotes are also expressed in Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG (2004), although the characters and plot have changed.
 South Park episode "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" (2010) makes particular reference to The Catcher in the Rye and shows that its once-controversial use of vocabulary has no impact among young readers nowadays, and pokes fun at literary critics reading deeper meaning into books. It also references its connection towards the series of high-profile assassination attempts in the 1980s, with character Butters Stotch expressing a desire to kill John Lennon after reading the book until his father tells him that Lennon was already killed.
In an episode of Family Guy, supporting character Glenn Quagmire launches into a tirade regarding reasons he doesn't like main character, Brian Griffin. One such reason is that he believes that Brian is the sort to lecture a woman with a primitive interpretation of The Catcher in the Rye and how Holden Caulfield is "some profound intellectual", while Quagmire actually perceives Caulfield as a "spoilt brat". Quagmire then goes on to compare Brian to Caulfield, believing that the reason Brian tries to paint Caulfield in a positive light is because Caulfield is quite similar to Brian himself.

Books
The Catcher in the Rye has had significant cultural influence, and works inspired by the novel have been said to form their own genre. Sarah Graham assessed works influenced by The Catcher in the Rye to include the novels Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Ordinary People by Judith Guest, and the film Igby Goes Down by Burr Steers.
 John Fowles's 1963 novel The Collector uses The Catcher in the Rye as "one of the most brilliant examples of adolescence" in popular culture, possibly under a moral light. In it, Miranda encourages her kidnapper Clegg to read Catcher, thinking he might relate to Holden's alienation. However, Clegg finds Holden's actions unrealistic given Holden's wealth and status, and "[doesn't] see much point in it." In the film adaptation of The Collector, this conversation and Clegg's attitude toward the novel and popular culture is subdued. The novel has itself been linked to several serial killers.
 Alberto Fuguet's first novel Mala onda (Bad Vibes, 1991), which is set in Santiago, Chile three months before the John Lennon assassination, references The Catcher in the Rye extensively. Like Holden, Matías Vicuña (the 17-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel) is a cynical, alienated, upper-class teenager who feels fed-up with the blandness of his friends and family. After reading Salinger's book, Matías feels a special connection with Holden. He attempts to replicate Holden's self-inflicted isolation by fleeing home and locking himself up in a hotel room, and he even purchases a red hunting hat to complete the persona.
 Lawrence Block wrote a novel called Burglar in the Rye (1999) in his series on burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. The plot focuses on an auction of a reclusive writer's letters, and Bernie works to track down the character based on J. D. Salinger.
 In Galt Niederhoffer's novel A Taxonomy of Barnacles (2005), Bridget and Billy think about Holden's question as to the whereabouts of ducks during winter.
 John David California wrote 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye (2009), an unauthorized sequel in which seventy-six-year-old Holden escapes a retirement home for a journey in New York.

Comic strips and magazines
 The Frazz character Caulfield is named after Holden.
 In issue #4 of Daredevil, Bullseye the villain quotes Catcher in the Rye during the fight with Daredevil.

Music

 The Ataris' song "If You Really Want to Hear About It" from their album End is Forever takes its title from the novel's opening sentence. The final lines paraphrase those of the book with "Don't ever tell anyone anything or else you'll wind up missing everybody." Several other specific references are made within the lyrics.
 Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions the novel as a historic item of note during his lifetime.
 Green Day's "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" from their album Kerplunk (1991) is named after and is about the novel's main character, Holden Caulfield. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong recalled being forced to read the novel in high school and despising it. He later reread it as an adult, because it was seen as "punk rock".
 Screeching Weasel's "I Wrote Holden Caulfield" from their album How to Make Enemies and Irritate People is named after the novel's main character, Holden Caulfield and written in response to Green Day's "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?".
 Pencey Prep was a band from New Jersey formed by Frank Iero. The name of the band is a reference to the school Holden Caulfield goes to in the book, Pencey Prep.
SLATE.’s song “catcher in the rye.” from his 2021 2-track single “STATIC chiffon.” deals with similar themes of loneliness and modern social isolation. It also takes its own spin on Holden’s dream of being the catcher in the rye by saving kids from jumping off the cliff to their death.

Video games

Life Is Strange  The main protagonist of the game Max Caulfield is named after Holden Caulfield. She also owns a poster resembling the original cover of The Catcher in the Rye.

References

Bibliography

 . Reprinted in 

Catcher in the Rye, The