Chapter 27 Development When did the film begin development? I don't know.
Why did they decide to do a film about this?
Why did Chapman decide to make a film about 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
to understand "how someone could be inspired to kill anyone as a result of being exposed to this kind of beautiful art.
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
"Why Did You Do That?" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for the 2018 film A Star Is Born and released on the soundtrack of the same name. It was written by Gaga with Diane Warren, Mark Nilan Jr., Nick Monson and Paul "DJWS" Blair, and produced by all but Warren. The song appears in the film during a sequence when Gaga's character, Ally, performs on Saturday Night Live, watched by her husband Jackson (played by co-star Bradley Cooper). Later Jackson berates Ally for selling out with the song's trite lyrics, but she defends it. "Why Did You Do That?" was written to evoke both a retro and a modern feel, and was recorded while Gaga was on her Joanne World Tour.

The song is interspersed with the sound of a xylophone and a repetitive chorus and post-chorus. After its release, the track received a great deal of attention for its lyrics, which some critics and fans felt were a critique of pop music. The songwriters defended the track, saying it was specifically written to emphasize that Ally's career was on the rise as Jackson's was declining.

Recording and composition

"Why Did You Do That?" was written by Gaga with Diane Warren, Mark Nilan Jr., Nick Monson and Paul "DJWS" Blair; all but Warren produced it. The singer had first collaborated with Warren on the 2015 sexual assault-themed song, "Til It Happens to You". Wanting to create a "cool and fun Gaga song", Warren wrote the lyrics of "Why Did You Do That?" against a backing track. Gaga wanted a "retro/modern feel" to the song and wanted Warren to get out of her comfort zone of writing alone. Monson had worked with Gaga on her third studio album, Artpop (2013), and was called in to write songs for A Star Is Born in early March 2017. Around two and a half years before, Paul "DJWS" Blair asked Mark Nilan Jr. to come to The Village West studio in Los Angeles and do a songwriting session with Gaga and Warren, resulting in the initial version of "Why Did You Do That?".

Cooper and Gaga began working with producers on the songs for A Star Is Born in a recording studio in Los Angeles. Once Gaga embarked on her Joanne World Tour (2017–2018), they created a recording studio on the tour bus. Every night after her show Gaga would return to the studio bus and record the tracks. Further recording was carried out at Woodrow Wilson in Hollywood, California, and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California. "Why Did You Do That?" was mixed by Tom Elmhirst at Electric Lady Studios in New York and was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound Studios. The song opens with Ally singing the lines, "Why do you look so good in those jeans? / Why'd you come around me with an ass like that?" Warren had thought about the line and Gaga agreed to include it as the opening lyric. The composition is interspersed with xylophone music and the word "damn" in the mix. The chorus is repetitive with Gaga singing the words, "Why did you do that, do that, do that, do that, do that to me?" against a house beat.

Warren clarified that the intention was not to write a "bad" pop song, but something that was fun and less serious, showing Ally's change into a pop artist. She added: "I love that [Ally] defended her music. It doesn't have to be what he thinks music should be – music can be everything. It can be a serious song, it can be a pop song, it can be a song about an ass." Blair also defended the lyrics in an interview with The Washington Post, saying that it was written to specifically portray Ally's career "taking off", and hence it had to be "more bubbly and mainstream". He felt whatever the song Jackson would have resented it since he was upset at Ally's success and his failing career. Gaga on the other hand was vague about whether "Why Did You Do That?" is a bad song saying: "When we see her on Saturday Night Live and she’s singing a song about why do you look so good in those jeans, it’s almost the antithesis of where we started," Gaga said. "That is relatively shallow."

Use in film
In A Star Is Born, "Why Did You Do That?" is performed by Lady Gaga's character Ally on an Alec Baldwin-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live. The performance represents Ally's transformation from a simple singer-songwriter into a "full-fledged radio pop star". Cooper's character, Ally's husband rock musician Jackson Maine, watches her perform it. This drives him to start drinking again. According to Refinery29, Jackson's disbelief and disappointment stems from his feeling that Ally is "selling out". Later, when Ally receives a Grammy Award nomination, a drunken Jackson berates her for "letting go of the person he thought she was happiest being". Ally defends the song and they quarrel.

For the dance sequence during the song, Gaga enlisted her long-time choreographer Richy Jackson, who choreographed all the performances in the film. The singer wanted the choreography to be "jerky". Jackson described the choreography he created for the song as having "pop/R&B style with a 90s feel to it". Since Ally's style and movements are not supposed to be like Gaga's, Jackson created an individual aesthetic for Ally as she performs "Why Did You Do That?" and the other uptempo songs like "Heal Me" and "Hair Body Face".

Critical response and analysis
After the soundtrack was released, "Why Did You Do That?" divided critics. Many reviewers assumed it was purposefully written with trite lyrics, to underscore Jackson's point of view about pop music compared to his country-rock songs. Critics found Jackson's dismissal of "pop music" to be caused by the character's short-sightedness and inability to go beyond his own rock music. Others believed that the "bad" song led the character reverting to his "rampant alcoholism".

Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone felt that the first time Gaga performs the song in the film it "is meant to be jarring on many levels" since it is the first time the audience sees Ally as a pop star. Spanos believes "Why Did You Do That?" presents "an argument against pop, which inherently feels like an argument against Lady Gaga herself, one of the biggest advocates for the delectably catchy dance-pop Ally embodies".  However, she does find the song "intoxicating" and "actually pretty great", comparing it to Gaga's early work from The Fame (2008) era, "a vampy flirt with a penchant for a hook you won't forget for years". Alejandra Salazar of Refinery29 described the track as a "campy, over-the-top pop track with ridiculous lyrics about texting and praying, and also about butts". Salazar wondered whether the song was purposely "engineered to be not-so-good", to portray rock music as a more authentic genre in the film.

Writing for The Daily Dot, Brenden Gallagher noted that "Why Did You Do That?" was not submitted by Warner Bros. for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, although it was popular among fans for its lyrics. Gallagher listed a number of Internet memes based on the song. Hazel Cillis of Jezebel contends that although "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again" "might be the Oscar bait" of Cooper's movie, "Why Did You Do That"  is a "mindless pop song that embodies all that Ally has become in the movie".

Nate Jones of New York magazine characterized "Why Did You Do That?" as "the song about butts", noting how the song's opening line had become a central point of discussion of the film's portrayal of pop music against rock. Jones felt the general perception about the track "often boils down to how you feel about [it] – is it terrible, is it a bop, or is it a terrible song that's also a bop?" He found a number of "ear-candy" elements in the composition which grabbed the audience's attention, especially after the line about buttocks. Writing for The New York Times, Kyle Buchanan confessed to having the lyrics stuck in his head. He added that the track can sound shocking initially since "it forgoes the timelessness of 'Shallow' and its ilk in favor of what feels like pop disposability", but noted its rising popularity on social media. Dianne Warren noted the track has its "revenge, because it sticks in your brain. And then you end up saying, 'Why did you do that, do that, do that'."

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Star Is Born.

Management
 Recorded at Saturday Night Live set in NBC Studios, Woodrow Wilson Studios (Hollywood, California), The Village West (Los Angeles, California) and Shangri-La Studios (Malibu, California)
 Mixed at Electric Lady Studios (New York City)
 Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios (New York City)

Personnel

 Lady Gaga – primary vocals, songwriter, record producer
 Diane Warren – songwriter
 Mark Nilan Jr. – songwriter, producer, keyboards, programming
 Nick Monson – songwriter, producer, keyboards, programming
 Paul "DJWS" Blair – songwriter, producer
 Benjamin Rice – recording
 Alex Williams – recording assistant
 Rob Bisel – recording assistant
 Tom Elmhirst – mixing
 Brandon Bost – mixing engineer
 Randy Merrill – audio mastering
 Tim Stewart – guitar

Charts

References

2018 songs
Lady Gaga songs
Song recordings produced by Lady Gaga
Songs written by Diane Warren
Songs written by DJ White Shadow
Songs written by Lady Gaga
Songs written by Nick Monson
Songs written for films Le Mythe de la 5ème île  is a 2007 documentary film directed by Mohamed Saïd Ouma. It was selected by the African Film Festival of Cordoba - FCAT.

Synopsis 
This documentary explores the emigration myth. The main character's curiosity takes him to London, a cosmopolitan city where one must fight to survive, before he joins other communities with different horizons. Why do people from so many nationalities end up on that piece of land? Were they looking for something better? A fifth island?

References

External links 
 africultures.com

2007 films
Comorian documentary films
Documentary films about immigration
Documentary films about London
Immigration to the United Kingdom