Chapter 27 (film)
Encyclopedia
Chapter 27 is a 2007 biographical film
depicting the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman
. It was written and directed by Jarrett Schaefer
, produced by Robert Salerno
, and stars Jared Leto
.
As an independent production
, it was picked up for distribution by Peace Arch Entertainment
and premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
where received polarized reactions from critics. It later went into limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2008. The film was cited as one of the most controversial films of 2007. It won the Debut Feature Prize for Schaefer at the Zurich Film Festival
, where Leto also received the Best Performance award for his interpretation of Mark David Chapman.
The similar film The Killing of John Lennon
was released the previous year, produced in the United Kingdom, and dealt more extensively with Chapman's life prior to the shooting than did Chapter 27.
shocked the world by murdering the beloved purveyor of peace, 40-year old musician 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, mentally unstable 25-year old, socially awkward The Beatles
fan who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him – altered the course of history.
A man whose painfully restless mind thrashes about uncontrollably between paranoia, socio-pathic 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.
is to this day incarcerated in Attica Correctional Facility
, on a guilty plea. Aside from a Larry King
interview 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 from this text. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J. D. Salinger
's novel The Catcher in the Rye
, which has 26 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, and 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 an 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."
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 67 pounds (30.4 kg) 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."
Twelve 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 was so reflective of how Lennon talked it just reinforced his sense that Chapman was right for the part.
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The film began shooting in Manhattan
, New York City
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
.
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).
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.
, the film was debated fiercely by critics. A website reported, "the audience's reactions made it obvious that some people would love it and others would not." 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."
Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 19% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 47 reviews. The critical consensus is: "Despite Jared Leto's committed performance, Chapter 27 fails to penetrate to mind of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer." Among Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 50%, based on a sample of 16 reviews. Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted mean
rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 32% based on 19 reviews.
, 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 substantial accolades from critics who viewed the depiction of the mental state of Mark David Chapman, in the days leading up the murder of John Lennon in December 1980.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
depicting the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
. It was written and directed by Jarrett Schaefer
Jarrett Schaefer
Jarrett Schaefer is the writer and director of the 2006 American film Chapter 27, which premiered and received substantial media and critical attention at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.-Biography:...
, produced by Robert Salerno
Robert Salerno
Robert Salerno is an American film producer, best known for being a producer of the film 21 Grams with Alejandro González Iñárritu.-Filmography:*Belly *All the Pretty Horses *Daddy and Them *Waking Up in Reno...
, and stars Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
.
As an independent production
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, it was picked up for distribution by Peace Arch Entertainment
Peace Arch Entertainment
Peace Arch Entertainment is a Canadian motion picture and television production company based in Toronto, Canada with offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver...
and premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
where received polarized reactions from critics. It later went into limited theatrical release in the United States on March 28, 2008. The film was cited as one of the most controversial films of 2007. It won the Debut Feature Prize for Schaefer at the Zurich Film Festival
Zurich Film Festival
The Zurich Film Festival ' is an important international film festival, held annually in Zurich, Switzerland. A stated objective of the festival is to discover and support young, aspiring filmmakers and to offer the industry, audiences, the press and a broader public an exciting cinema experience...
, where Leto also received the Best Performance award for his interpretation of Mark David Chapman.
The similar film The Killing of John Lennon
The Killing of John Lennon
The Killing of John Lennon is a 2006 British non-fiction drama film about Mark Chapman's plot to kill musician John Lennon. The film was written and directed by Andrew Piddington, and stars Jonas Ball, Robert C. Kirk and Thomas A...
was released the previous year, produced in the United Kingdom, and dealt more extensively with Chapman's life prior to the shooting than did Chapter 27.
Plot
On December 8, 1980, Mark David ChapmanMark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
shocked the world by murdering the beloved purveyor of peace, 40-year old musician and activist, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, outside The Dakota
The Dakota
The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is a co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City...
, his New York apartment building. Chapman's motives were fabricated from pure delusion, fueled by an obsession with the fictional character Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
and his similar misadventures in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
. In one instant, an anonymous, mentally unstable 25-year old, socially awkward The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
fan who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him – altered the course of history.
A man whose painfully restless mind thrashes about uncontrollably between paranoia, socio-pathic 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.
Development
The real Mark David ChapmanMark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
is to this day incarcerated in Attica Correctional Facility
Attica Correctional Facility
The Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum penitentiary in the town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services. After it was constructed in the 1930s, it held many of the most dangerous criminals of the time. A tear gas system is installed in the mess...
, on a guilty plea. Aside from a Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
interview 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, 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 from this text. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
's novel The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
, which has 26 chapters, and which Chapman was carrying when he shot John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
. Chapman was obsessed with the book, to the point of attempting to model his life after its protagonist, Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
.
According to the British music magazine Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, the title was also inspired by Chapter 27 of Robert Rosen's book Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon
Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon
Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon, first published in 2000 and written by New York journalist Robert Rosen, who in 1981 had access to John Lennon's diaries, is a controversial account of the ex-Beatle's last five years. The book disputes the official view of Lennon as a contented...
(2000). Rosen's book explores the numerological
Numerology
Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...
meaning of the number 27, "the triple 9", a number of profound importance to John Lennon. Lennon was deeply interested in numerology, particularly Cheiro
Cheiro
William John Warner, known as Cheiro, was an Irish astrologer and colorful occult figure of the early 20th century. His sobriquet, Cheiro, derives from the word cheiromancy, meaning palmistry. He was a self-described clairvoyant who taught palmistry, astrology, and Chaldean numerology...
's Book of Numbers, and 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 an fan of both The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
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."
Casting
| Actor | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| ... | ||
| ... | ||
| ... | ||
| ... |
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
Robert Salerno
Robert Salerno is an American film producer, best known for being a producer of the film 21 Grams with Alejandro González Iñárritu.-Filmography:*Belly *All the Pretty Horses *Daddy and Them *Waking Up in Reno...
, Schaefer cast Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
as Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman is an American prison inmate who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He committed the crime as Lennon and Yoko Ono were outside of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman aimed five shots at Lennon, hitting him four times in his back...
. For his role, Leto gained 67 pounds (30.4 kg) by drinking microwaved pints of ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
mixed with soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
and olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
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."
Twelve years prior to this film's production, actor Mark Lindsay Chapman
Mark Lindsay Chapman
Mark Lindsay Chapman is an English film and television actor.His credits include: Max Headroom, Dallas ,...
, while professionally using the name Mark Lindsay, had been almost cast as John Lennon in the biopic John and Yoko: A Love Story
John and Yoko: A Love Story
John and Yoko: A Love Story is a 1985 television drama that chronicles the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, beginning just before they met in 1966 and concluding with Lennon's assassination in 1980. The movie was made with the co-operation with Yoko Ono, who controlled the song rights...
(1985). Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
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 was so reflective of how Lennon talked it just reinforced his sense that Chapman was right for the part.
Filming
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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 Dakota
The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is a co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City...
, 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
Steiner Studios
Steiner Studios is the largest film and television production studio complex outside of Hollywood. Steiner Studios offers of soundstages, with air conditioning and power infrastructure, and an additional of offices, dressing and make-up rooms, mill shops, spray booths, prop lock-ups, etc. All...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
Theatrical run
The studio held Chapter 27s world premiere at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in January 2007. The film was subsequently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, Athens Film Festival, Festroia International Film Festival
Festroia International Film Festival
The Festróia Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tróia is an annual film festival that takes place in Setúbal, Portugal since 1985.The festival's competitive section is open to films from countries producing less than 30 features per year...
, Waterfront Film Festival
Waterfront Film Festival
The Waterfront Film Festival takes place annually in the town of Saugatuck, Michigan in the United States. It is in its 13th year as of 2011.Ranked as one of the top 5 film festivals in the world by SAGIndie in the Screen Actors Guild Magazine, the Waterfront Film Festival draws thousands of movie...
, Mediterranean Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...
, Oslo International Film Festival and the Denver Film Festival
Denver Film Festival
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...
.
The Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(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).
Home media
Chapter 27 was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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 FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, the film was debated fiercely by critics. A website reported, "the audience's reactions made it obvious that some people would love it and others would not." Andrew O'Hehir from Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
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
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
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
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....
of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
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
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
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
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin is a San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of pop music and has interviewed a large number of musical artists...
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
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
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
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
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."
Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 19% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 47 reviews. The critical consensus is: "Despite Jared Leto's committed performance, Chapter 27 fails to penetrate to mind of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's killer." Among Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 50%, based on a sample of 16 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted mean
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 32% based on 19 reviews.
Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival The Zurich Film Festival ' is an important international film festival, held annually in Zurich, Switzerland. A stated objective of the festival is to discover and support young, aspiring filmmakers and to offer the industry, audiences, the press and a broader public an exciting cinema experience... |
Debut Feature Prize | Jarrett Schaefer Jarrett Schaefer Jarrett Schaefer is the writer and director of the 2006 American film Chapter 27, which premiered and received substantial media and critical attention at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.-Biography:... |
|
| Best Performance | Jared Leto Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life... |
||
| Stockholm International Film Festival Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November... |
Best Actor | Jared Leto |
Cultural impact
Chapter 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 OnoYoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, 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
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
, 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 substantial accolades from critics who viewed 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
- 2000s in film2000s in filmThis article is about 2000s decade in film.-Events:Thousands of full-length films were produced during the first decade of the 21st Century...
- Death of John Lennon
- The Killing of John LennonThe Killing of John LennonThe Killing of John Lennon is a 2006 British non-fiction drama film about Mark Chapman's plot to kill musician John Lennon. The film was written and directed by Andrew Piddington, and stars Jonas Ball, Robert C. Kirk and Thomas A...
(2006 film of same theme)