#biopics

…and yes, it stars Lynn Whitfield.

…and yes, you can watch it on YouTube for free 👀🍿

You’re welcome.

The Josephine Baker Story

ok I’m gonna just crash out just a little bit ok? Why is everyone so upset about the casting of the beatles biopics? I understand that some people wanted actors/talent from Liverpool but i keep seeing so many post on Pinterest and tik Tok of people going “NOT MY GEORGE HARRISON” or “THESE ACTORS LOOK LIKE FLIES NOT LIKE BEATLES”.

Dude what do u want the casting directors to do? Of course you’re not gonna find 4 English actors who look and sound the exact same as John, Paul, George and Ringo! And the fact that so many people have bullied Ringos actor Barry Keoghan for his appearance and that he has actual come out and said how it’s affecting him is gross! Remember when a single journalist called John the fat Beatle and it changed him forever?

At the end of the day I don’t care if the actors look nothing like the beatles! I care about how they’re gonna be protrayed. The biopics is gonna be many’s first exposure to the beatles. I’m worried that their complexity, and passions, and relationships and diverse lives will be summed down to their stereotypes. John as the smart/edgy rebel, Paul as the cute/sweet romantic, George as the shy quite one and Ringo as the funny loveable one.

It’s a big task that these actors have ahead of them. They need to make their portrayals of the beatles more than an impression. And the creators of these films should be making the movie not for the summers big trend or for a quick grab of money! But to capture a side of the beatles that many have never seen or understood.

I’m not going to say that it will be perfect. Because it’s impossible to recreate their lives, characteristics, relationships ect. But I’m praying that we get a movie that is raw and true and just a good piece of media.

I kinda want something Like the Crown tv series! It felt real, it felt separate and god was it just stunning. From the cinematography to soundtrack. And it portrayed some of the most famous people and media covered people in the world! AND THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!!! It was a refreshing. It was made with intention and care and art! Where many biopics are just imations of iconic characters and people and moments.

1. The Hours and Times (UK, 1991) by Christopher Münch, and this is BY FAR the better film, a true gem: a fictionalized account of a real Spanish holiday John Lennon spent with the Beatles' first manager, Brian Epstein (a Jewish gay man), in 1963. Ian Hart is to date the best Lennon I've seen, and he's also a working class actor from Liverpool, so, yeah, I stan forever. David Angus steals the show with his deep, tortured persona. It is shot with complete realism, almost documentary-like, and the scene with the bath kiss feels honestly like you're intruding in a real private moment. it's only 1hr long but i'd watch 10 more hours of it. the only actual queer film in this list.

[gifs by the lovely @celluloidrainbow,do check them out!]

2. Two of Us (US, 2000) by Michael Lindsay-Hogg is a fever dream in which Paul and John reunite in NYC 6 years after the Beatles' breakup and spend a weekend together (and kiss in an elevator I guess). With Jared Harris and John and Aidan Quinn as Paul (and the worst scouse accents you've ever heard lmaoo)

3. Backbeat (US, 1994) by Iain Softley is the equivalent of a tumblr shitpost at 2am tbh, like, OG usamerican bs, but the premise itself is interesting: the relationship between Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe (the original Beatles guitarist), with some homoerotic overtones, tho ofc in the end it's all about the girl. Ian Hart reprises Lennon, but the main character tanks the film because Stephen Dorff cannot put on a satisfying scouse - or even british - accent, or act, and the film is a mess story-wise.

the funniest bit by far is what amounts to paul mccartney essentially calling lennon a fairy lmao [gifs by @elvisqueso]