{"id":14721,"date":"2018-11-02T14:38:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T18:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=14721"},"modified":"2020-07-15T12:54:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:54:00","slug":"leave-the-recent-out-of-biopics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/leave-the-recent-out-of-biopics\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave The Recent Out Of Biopics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Out of the billions of people Hollywood could adapt for films and television, one of the more recent cinematic trends has it circling back to a specific group: the living.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?<\/span><\/p>\n

Through films like 2016\u2019s <\/span>I, Tonya <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a>and <\/span>Hidden Figures, <\/span><\/i>this year\u2019s <\/span>Bohemian Rhapsody <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a>(highlighting the various members of British rock band Queen) and next year\u2019s Elton John biopic <\/span>Rocket Man, <\/span><\/i>audiences are beginning to see various versions of people they\u2019ve already known well. Most of these films have been successful, with the former two receiving Academy Award nominations and Rami Malek receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of Queen\u2019s eccentric frontman Freddie Mercury.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, despite these successes, these films run the risk of tainting the audience\u2019s view of the subject matter. In seeing an actor they know well, especially in the case of a Margot Robbie or Taraji P. Henson, playing a figure they were able to observe in their actuality, they may begin to view that initial subject differently, risking ruining a potentially honest view of that subject.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take <\/span>Bohemian Rhapsody. <\/span><\/i>In its initial stages, the film (then starring Sacha Baron Cohen) was set to heavily focus on the darker elements of Mercury, including his rampant drug use and his exploration of his sexuality. However, according to Cohen, the surviving members of the band vetoed the idea, believing it best to explore the aftermath of Mercury\u2019s death and how the band pushed forward afterwards. After \u201cartistic differences,\u201d Cohen left the film, leaving the band and studio in charge of its direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film that came out of that didn\u2019t fully follow that structure, but it didn\u2019t necessarily portray the full version that is the band Queen (likely due to the band involved, with Brian May and Roger Taylor receiving executive producer credits). That, along with intense production difficulties, led to the film\u2019s mixed reviews, where it currently sits at a 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say all of these portrayals are bad. FX\u2019s <\/span>American Crime Story<\/span><\/i> and Netflix\u2019s <\/span>The Crown <\/span><\/i>are largely detached from the people they\u2019re portraying, yet both have been critically acclaimed and have won numerous Emmys. And Spotlight<\/em>, the journalism drama focused on the Boston Globe\u2019s investigation into sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, won Best Picture at the 2016 Academy Awards. <\/span><\/p>\n

But even with these successes, one has to wonder if any of these are necessarily necessary. We have the history before us \u2014 we saw the O. J. Simpson trial, we watched the Tonya Harding drama. We witnessed these events occur before our eyes very recently, so the need for film adaptations aren\u2019t very apparent.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say we don\u2019t need them. It\u2019s important to portray the events of the past to better visualize them for future generations. But, for now, the events of the very recent past would be better served by live video of them \u2014 not drama.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Out of the billions of people Hollywood could adapt for films and television, one of the more recent cinematic trends has it circling back to a specific group: the living. Why? Through films like 2016\u2019s I, Tonya and Hidden Figures, this year\u2019s Bohemian Rhapsody (highlighting the various members of British rock band Queen) and next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":14722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[37,1158,1905],"class_list":{"0":"post-14721","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ae","8":"tag-film","9":"tag-hollywood","10":"tag-biopics"},"yoast_head":"\nLeave The Living Out Of Biopics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Corbin Bolies writes about the recent sweep of films and shows adapting living people. 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