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The second season of The Sandman is technically over, finished off with the aptly-named “A Tale of Graceful Endings” that showed us what the future looks like for the Dreaming and the Endless: A new Dream and a new page, as the Dream we’ve come to know exists the stage like Prospero from The Tempest, the play he himself commissioned to William Shakespeare.

But there’s one final story left for us to explore in the world of The Sandman on the little screen—a bonus episode titled “Death: The High Cost of Living,” which revolves, as the title might suggest, around one of the best characters in the entire show. This would be Death of the Endless, the second-eldest of the siblings, brilliantly played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

Even though, technically, the episode begins with Sexton Furnival, a journalist for The Guardian who is plagued by a general sense...

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Prime Video is ready with an entertainment-packed July this year. The upcoming month will see the release of the much-anticipated final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and also the release of John Cena and Idris Elba‘s action comedy film Heads of State. Just like every month, Prime Video is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the best 8 new movies and TV shows coming to Prime Video in July 2025.

Sherlock Season 1 (July 1) Credit – Netflix

Sherlock is a British detective mystery crime drama series co-created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Based on the Sherlock Holmes stories created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the BBC series is set in modern-day London, and it follows the eccentric consultant detective Sherlock Holmes as he begins living with former British Army...

MGM+ has announced the titles coming to the premium linear channel and streaming service in May. The MGM Plus May 2025 lineup includes new episodes of Godfather of Harlem Season 4 and the film Better Man.

MGM+, an Amazon company, is a premium linear channel and streaming service delivering a broad lineup of exclusive original series and docuseries, the latest movie releases, and classic film franchises—all available in the U.S. on TV, on demand, online, and across devices.

MGM Plus May 2025 Schedule

Series

Godfather of Harlem Season 4

The fourth season continues on Sundays

Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York’s Mafia families while contending with the arrival of gangster Frank Lucas (Rome Flynn).

After Malcolm X’s (Jason Alan Carvell) tragic assassination, Bumpy must also grapple with his daughter Elise’s (Antionette Crowe-Legacy) involvement with the Black Panthers.

Produced by 20th Television,...

Some biopics aim for drama, while others aim for originality. Better Man does both—and throws in a CGI chimpanzee for good measure. Directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), this 2024 film tells the story of Robbie Williams—except Williams’ played by a talking chimp, thanks to some next-level CGI!

Crazy? Absolutely. But there’s a method to the madness. The chimp symbolizes how the English singer sees himself—an outsider swinging through the chaos of fame.

Robbie Williams (Credits: Instagram/@robbiewilliams)

The movie covers his boy band days, solo career, addiction struggles, and family drama. So, is it based on a true story? Let’s crack the case!

Is Better Man Based on a True Story? Jonno Davies in Better Man (Credits: Paramount Pictures)

The answer is yes! At its core, Better Man is a biopic that tells the story of Robbie Williams, a British singer who shot to...

Jonno Davies as “Robbie Williams” in Better Man from Paramount Pictures. © 2024 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. What if a musical biopic broke all the rules? That’s exactly what Better Man does. This bold film dives into the rollercoaster life of Robbie Williams, not with a look-alike actor, but with a groundbreaking CGI avatar that brings his essence to life. While its theatrical debut might have been under the radar, the movie is now making waves on streaming , earning praise for its daring vision. With an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s clear Better Man is striking a chord with viewers and critics alike. This isn’t your typical biography. It’s a surreal and dreamlike exploration of Williams’s highs and lows, with his iconic presence recreated using cutting-edge CGI. Behind this digital innovation is actor Jonno Davies, who gave the performance its emotional and physical foundation. While Robbie...

If you’re looking for an awards contender to watch on streaming or video on demand this weekend, there’s one Oscar nominee newly streaming. There aren’t any new contenders beyond that, but there’s some other stuff worth checking out, even if only out of morbid curiosity. Our list includes a top pick that just became available on subscription streaming, three other new releases on streaming, and an older movie that would make for a nice triple feature with the top pick. Got all that? Let’s get streaming!

Top pick: Better Man

2024 was a great year for fascinating flops. Madame Web. Horizon. Joker: Folie à Deux. The last great flop of 2024 is our top pick this week: Better Man, Michael Gracey’s adventurous music biopic about British pop singer Robbie Williams. Better Man got great reviews and even earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects,...

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Robbie Williams is British pop royalty, and he was hoping to score a worldwide hit with his recent biopic Better Man.

Robbie’s movie may not have been a box office smash, but steadily drumming up global word of mouth, even from people who have never heard of Take That. While the film is a traditional biopic in that it tells the singer’s life story, it also comes with one very bizarre caveat.

Instead of an actor playing Robbie (or the man even playing himself), the singer is portrayed as a CGI anthropomorphic chimpanzee, making it seem more like a Planet of the Apes film rather than Walk the Line.

Robbie Williams performs on stage during the “Wetten, dass…?” Live Show on November 19, 2022 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Robbie does use his voice in the movie, but the monkey was performed by Jonno Davies,...

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Like the artist himself, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man largely flew under the radar with US audiences but caught hold online with a devout fanbase. The film cast Jonno Davies as a monkefied version of the former Take That star; if you missed it in theaters but want to see what the monkey business is all about, Paramount announced the film’s streaming date.

Where to Stream Better Man...

By adding its uniquely fun monkey-shaped twist to the Biopic genre, Robbie Williams’ ‘Better Man’ is changing the way Biopics are perceived and experienced. From being a member of the famed Mancunian Pop group Take That to being one of the biggest international pop superstars of the 21st century. Robbie Williams has formed a legacy where both success and strugglers have had profound protagonism. It was just a matter of time before his story reached the international big screen. Following the steps of the greats such as Freddie Mercury with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and Elton John with ‘Rocketman’, Robbie throws his life into the world of Biopics with a unique take on the genre. Playing with the fact that the genre incorporates fiction with history, director Michael Gracey chose to portray the singer as a monkey making the film stand out. ‘Better Man’ introduces the famed star to a new generation.

Robbie Williams biopic Better Man is coming to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in the UK this April – more on the release here.

The biopic of Robbie Williams, Better Man, arrived in the UK with a poster that had been liberally splatted with very high star ratings. The same is also true for the incoming physical media release for the movie, with Better Man landing on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray in the UK from 7th April.

Critically at least, the film had the last laugh. There was something of ‘are they really doing that?’ when it was first revealed that Robbie Williams would be, well, a monkey in the biopic. The conceit worked a treat though, and the actual film – from The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey – was a solid hit at the UK box office.

Less so overseas, and many of the headlines have been generated...

IndieWire invited the production VFX supervisors from the five Oscar-nominated films to choose and analyze a pivotal scene that best showcases their craft: Paul Lambert (“Dune: Part Two”), Wētā FX’s Erik Winquist (“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”), Wētā FX’s Luke Millar (“Better Man”), Eric Barba (“Alien: Romulus”), and Ilm’s Pablo Helman (“Wicked”).

For Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two,” Lambert and his Oscar-winning “Dune” team from Dneg ramped up everything with much more visceral action. They once again used sand-colored VFX screens to integrate live-action footage with digital elements; they supplied CG enhancement to the 44-day SFX practical shoot of Paul (Timothée Chalamet) riding the sandworm for the first time; and they created more extensive views of the massive sandworms during battle with CG and practical effects.

Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” dives deeper into the now dominant ape civilization.

Musical biopics have become so regular in today's Hollywood landscape that movies are trying anything and everything to stand above the rest. Interestingly, in 2024, several musical biopics were released, such as Bob Marley's One Love, Back to Black and the Academy Award-nominated A Complete Unknown. Although technically a documentary with major artistic license, Pharell Williams' Piece by Piece told his professional and life story through the lens of LEGOs. It was an incredibly inspired and fascinating choice that interested audiences who weren't aware of how impactful Pharell Williams had been on the music industry. The movie went as far as to show real-life interviews and testimonials in Lego form, adding a beautifully colorful and nostalgic view to one of music's modern savants. Another movie that took an incredibly inspired chance in 2024 was the musical biopic of British superstar Robbie Williams: Better Man, where Williams is portrayed by a CGI monkey.

Final voting is February 11-18. The 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2, and air live on ABC at 7 p.m. Et/ 4 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.

The State of the Race

The Best Visual Effects nominees are “Alien: Romulus,” “Better Man,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” and “Wicked.” While the race has been shaping up as a simian battle between “Kingdom” and “Better Man” (both from Wētā FX), “Dune: Part Two” has emerged as the favorite for its epic work, building off the Oscar-winning “Dune.” However, “Kingdom” is certainly deserving of the franchise’s first win. The biggest hurdle has been the acting branch’s dislike of performance capture.

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part 2” is more exciting and emotional, with Paul (Timothée Chalamet) leading the nomadic Fremen...

While many Americans pretend like they don't know who he is, it seems like Andy Cohen really wants a United Kingdom star on Bravo. As part of one of Cohen's "finally" moments, he had a former member of Take That on Watch What Happens Live and revealed that he asked the singer's wife to be on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. We are talking about Robbie Williams, of course. Williams rose to fame in the '1990s with the hugely successful boyband Take That. He then went solo’, achieving greater success with hits including Millennium, Angels, and Let Me Entertain You. Williams is promoting his biopic, Better Man, where he is portrayed as a CGI monkey (played by Jonno Davies). During the promotion, Cohen talked with Williams about his teeth, music, and a future with Bravo.

I’ve known of Robbie Williams ever since Take That, the British boy band, burst onto the music scene in the 1990s. Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Williams took the U.K., Europe and most of the world by storm, but they didn’t crack America.

When Williams broke away from the band, he launched a solo career. American success eluded him, as he continued to sell out stadiums and garner more awards. Somehow audiences stateside didn’t bite.

Maybe the third time is a charm for Williams. Enter filmmaker Michael Gracey (“The Greatest Showman”), whose latest film “Better Man” is a biopic about Williams with a twist. Jonno Davies plays Williams as a CGI monkey, with Weta FX doing all the motion capture to transform the actor. “Better Man” (now playing in theaters) is Williams’ story. It is a movie musical where if you don...

Better Man, the biopic on the Bad Boy of Pop, Robbie Williams, is receiving positive reviews all over. The film chose a unique creative direction of portraying the central character as a chimpanzee. The fantastical portrayal is due to Williams’ self-perception of being a “performing monkey”. Raechelle Banno portrayed All Saints member Nicole Appleton, who was briefly engaged to Williams.

Robbie William’s biopic Better Man | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Banno opened up about playing the love interest of a chimpanzee, motion-captured by Jonno Davies, in the movie. She shared that she never treated the character like a monkey, as was the instruction from the makers. She shared that she could be intimate with the character as her perception of the character was still human.

Better Man star Raechelle Banno explains how she romanced Robbie Williams as a chimpanzee Raechelle Banno and Jonno Davies (motion-capture) in Better Man | Credits: Paramount Pictures...

Music biopics are hard to master. It is easy for music biopics to fall in conventional beats, showing classic scenes such as an artist's early work, big break, first big concert, and frictions with the industry. That said, 2024 had some promising entries in the genre. The year kicked off with Bob Marley: One Love, a Valentine's Day release that reinvigorated the box office after it got a disappointing start with flops with Argylle. One Love ended up making $180.8 million worldwide, an impressive haul for a biopic.

While One Love falls more on the conventional music biopic side, there are plenty of films that have been breaking the boundaries of the genre in recent years. The Elton John-based Rocketman took a musical approach, for example, putting full-on dance numbers in the film rather than just depict actual stage performances. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story crafted a fictionalized version of the parody musicians story,...

One of the coolest things to happen to me when I was covering TIFF back in the fall, was that Paramount invited me to interview the iconic singer Robbie Williams, who was at the fest for the premiere of his big-screen biopic, Better Man. If you’ve read my review or seen any of the ads, you’ll know this isn’t a conventional film. Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film represents Williams in a highly unusual way – a CGI Chimpanzee plays him. That’s right, Williams is a monkey in the movie, while everyone else is human (although the character is meant to be human as well – it’s more metaphorical).

While I’ll grant you that aspect might make people tune out, it works tremendously well. I was lucky enough to sit down with Williams for an extended chat, in which he explained to...

Plot: The life of international pop star Robbie Williams, from his early days as a member of Take That to his breakthrough as a solo artist and his struggles with addiction.

Review: There’s one way that Better Man is completely different from any music-based biopic you’ve ever seen. The director, Michael Gracey, depicts Robbie Williams as a CGI chimpanzee, with cutting-edge VFX from Weta, with actor Jonno Davies playing him in a mo-cap performance (although they use Williams’s distinctive eyes). The singer himself provides the narration. It’s risky and a big swing, but here’s the thing. The craziest thing about Better Man isn’t the fact that Robbie Williams is presented as a CGI chimpanzee but rather that this risky conceit works quite well.

Here’s the thing – when an iconic person is impersonated in a biopic, we get caught up over various surface-level things,...

Jonno Davies as “Robbie Williams” in Better Man from Paramount Pictures

Does Better Man make a monkey out of British musician Robbie Williams? Well, no, but it does make an ape, specifically a chimp, out of the one-time member of British boy-band Take That, a singing star who achieved greater fame in a successful solo career.

Actually, the “monkey man” idea was Robbie Williams’ own. And that motion-capture creation works better in this biopic than you expect, helping emphasize Williams’ own feeling of being a misfit in the world, as well as helping us spot the character, the only ape one, in any crowd. Plus it means Jonno Davies, who plays the motion-capture young Robbie Williams, does not actually have to look like him.

Don’t know the name Robbie Williams? It doesn’t matter, if you are a fan or even unfamiliar with the singer’s career, because this...

Better Man tells the story of English pop star Robbie Williams, who is known for being part of the group Take That as well as for his own hit singles, including "Angels" and "Millennium." This film steps outside the box, however, presenting him as a CGI monkey without need of any sci-fi explanation. Directed by The Greatest Showman's Michael Gracey, who has an exceptional history in VFX, Better Man explores the life and career of singer Robbie Williams through his own eyes.

Jonno Davies plays a younger Robbie Williams through voice acting and motion capture, while Raechelle Banno plays Williams' ex-fiance Nicole Appleton. Better Man dives into the depths of their relationship - from the good to the bad, to the very bad. Better Man started playing in limited theaters on Christmas Day, but will go wider with its release on January 10.

Related Better Man Review: Robbie Williams As A CG Chimp Is The Strangest,...

Everybody on the planet knows Robbie Williams. We have grown up hearing his songs, we have been aware of the maniac energy he brought to the music scene and we are aware of how chaotic his life was before and after he burst into the limelight. So, expecting anything particularly unique from “The Greatest Showman” fame director Michael Gracey’s “Better Man” is like finding a needle in a haystack. So, traversing the conventional biopic doesn’t really become his focus. Instead, he tries to take Williams’s life and presents it in a way that voyeurs see him.

Gracey employs a very basic ploy to tell his tale. Instead of showing and following Robbie Williams, the main figure that represents him is replaced by a CGI monkey (motion captured by Jonno Davies). The idea here is to present him as a less evolved version of a man – a musician and a performer.

It’s officially Spirit Award season here at Film Independent! We had our annual Awards Brunch last weekend, and we’re getting prepped for the big show on February 22. While that means late nights making seating charts, sending out invites, and hiring photographers for us, for you, it means enjoying even more movies!

This month, we’ve picked out some Spirit Award alums with new releases (or ones that came out during the holiday break). Included in this crop is a delicious combo of Russel Banks and Paul Schrader, Nicole Kidman making Bdsm feel good in a place like this, Pedro Almodóvar casting Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton in his first English-language film, and Robbie Williams’ surprisingly powerful monkey movie.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Oh, Canada

When You Can Watch: Now

Where You Can Watch: Theaters (limited)

Creator/Director: Paul Schrader

Cast: Richard Gere, Uma Thurman,...

The biopic formula has become rather mundane and uninteresting, save for the few biopics that actually pull us in and dare to do something memorable. But for all their posturing, Better Man is perhaps the weirdest, coolest biopic I’ve seen in recent memory — and most definitely in the least year. Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, Better Man, which follows the rise of British pop star Robbie Williams, is a spectacle, with many sequences shot like music videos. The spectacle doesn’t mean there’s no heart at the story’s core, and it kept me watching despite being overlong.

Directed by Michael Gracey, Better Man explores the life and career of singer Robbie Williams through his own eyes.

Release Date December 25, 2024Genres Biography, MusicCast Jonno Davies, Alison Steadman, Steve Pemberton, Anthony Hayes, Kate Mulvany, robbie williams, Damon HerrimanDirector Michael GraceyWriters Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael GraceyStudio(s) Showman,...

Stars: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvany, Frazer Hadfield, Damon Herriman, Tom Budge, Jake Simmance, Liam Head, Leo Harvey-Elledge, Chris Gun, Chase Vollenweider, Jesse Hyde | Written by Michael Gracey, Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole | Directed by Michael Gracey

It’s an understatement to call Robbie Williams a big star. Finding fame at age 15 as a member of Take That, the singer departed from the band to launch a solo career, which resulted in a record number of Brit Awards, a Guinness World Record, and the largest British record deal in history. Considering he would become one of the best-selling music artists of all time, a biopic seemed inevitable, hence we have Better Man.

Although, there is one notable way that this film stands apart from other biopics, as Williams is portrayed entirely on-screen by a CGI monkey (performed in motion-capture by Jonno Davies and voiced...

Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), the film is uniquely told from Robbie’s perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

Better Man opens in theaters nationwide on January 10, 2025.

https://www.bettermanmovie.com

The St. Louis screening is 7Pm on Wednesday, Jan 8th at Marcus Ronnie’s 20 Cine (6Pm Suggested Arrival)

Pass Link: http://gofobo.com/UTtEr67854

Please arrive early as seating is not guaranteed.

This film is rated R.

Jonno Davies as “Robbie...

Better Man includes an entertaining and talented cast in its unusual depiction of a popular singer’s career. Directed by Michael Gracey, Better Man focuses on the life and career of British singer, Robbie Williams, during his time as a member of the popular boy band, Take That and his eventual success as a solo performer. The movie also focuses on the different relationships Williams had with his family members and the struggles he faced with mental health and drugs before he was able to overcome his demons and revive his career in the late 2000s.

Released in theaters in 2024, Better Man was released to high praise for its portrayal of the highs and lows of Williams’ career. The movie was also praised for its casting, soundtrack, and the decision to portray Williams as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee among humans; Better Man received a record-breaking 16 award nominations at the 2025 Australian Academy...

Released in limited theaters on Christmas 2024, Better Man is one of the most ambitious docudramas of its kind. The lofty $110 million production charts the life and career of famous British pop star Robbie Williams, employing the cutting-edge Weta digital FX to represent Williams as a tuxedo-dressed monkey. While jarring and hard to accept from the onset, the creative inspiration makes logical sense by channeling Williams' psychological state as he reflects on his past.

As Williams' fans ponder venturing to cinemas to watch Better Man, detailing the bizarre choice to represent the beloved pop singer as an anthropomorphic monkey will foster a better understanding of the movie's message. Far from just a silly audiovisual gimmick, here's how the movie came about and why Better Man excels due to, not despite, depicting Robbie Williams as a Planet of the Apes-like primate.

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Amid the rave reviews for the newly-released Robbie Williams biopic, Better Man, the film's director reveals that one of the singer's biggest fans provided its inspiration. Helmer Michael Gracey reveals how acclaimed actor Hugh Jackman and The Greatest Showman led to Williams' life story being told.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gracey, who also directed The Greatest Showman, shared how Jackman's preparation for the film led to him making Better Man, given how the Australian actor used Williams as a reference point. When Williams heard the music used in The Greatest Showman during preproduction, he gave Jackman the best motivation possible to proceed with the project.

Related Hugh Jackman's 7-Year-Old Oscar-Nominated Film Shouldn't Get a Sequel, Co-Star Says

Ladies and gents, this isn't the moment you've waited for.

"Williams was his point of reference during Showman. He’d say, 'I can be that charismatic entertainer.' It became...

Who else but Wētā FX could pull off turning English rock star Robbie Williams into a chimp for Michael Gracey’s “Better Man” musical biopic? After all, Peter Jackson’s New Zealand VFX studio is the king of CG ape movies, which finds itself in a simian face-off this awards season with “Better Man” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

But the animated ape styles are polar opposites. Whereas the chimps have evolved into becoming more human-like across all four “Planet of the Apes” films, Williams merely resembles a chimp while being totally human in the way he acts, sings, and dresses. That’s because Williams saw himself as a trained monkey while becoming famous as the youngest member of the boyband Take That. Gracey seized on the metaphor to depict Williams as unevolved throughout his tumultuous rise and fall and final redemption.

“‘Better Man’ is like a...

2025 is kicking off with a variety of movies releasing in theaters, such as a peculiar semi-biographical musical, two horror versions of well-known children’s characters, a remake of a horror classic, and more. 2024 was an interesting year for cinema, with big hits and unexpected surprises from different genres. 2024 saw hits like The Fall Guy, Longlegs, Wicked, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Anora, The Substance, and Terrifier 3, though also some big disappointments, as was Joker: Folie à Deux, Megalopolis, and The Crow.

December closed 2024 with some of the most anticipated movies of the year, such as Sony’s Spider-Man Universe’s Kraven the Hunter, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Disney’s photorealistic prequel Mufasa: The Lion King, the biopic A Complete Unknown, and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. January 2025 is now bringing movies for all tastes, such as Robbie Williams’ life and career told in an unconventional way, Leigh Whannell’s latest horror project, two horror versions of children’s characters,...

Better Man, the biopic about British pop star Robbie Williams, has been absolutely delighting the critics. The film, in which the singer is portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee, currently holds a 92% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 77 reviews. That's significantly better than another big musical biopic released the same day, A Complete Unknown, which only has a 79% approval rating among critics. Better Man has quickly become one of the most acclaimed music biopics of all time. Just compare it to the scores of recent music biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody (60%), Rocketman (89%), Elvis (77%), Back to Black (35%), and many others, and it's clear that Better Man is, well, better. It helps that it's helmed by the director of The Greatest Showman.

If you're unfamiliar with Robbie Williams, that's surprising, but he's most famous in the United Kingdom. After his time in the band Take That, he went on to become one of...

Robbie Williams needs no introduction. Unless you live in America, in which case, let’s bring everyone up to speed: Born in 1974, Stoke-on-Trent’s favorite son was initially the designated bad boy in Take That, Britain’s late ’80s answer to New Kids on the Block. He lived up to his reputation as a kid who loved a good time not wisely but too well, which eventually got him booted from the band. Williams’ subsequent solo career was stratospheric — without getting too Wikipedia-page about it, let’s just...

A candid look at the toxic force of envy that drove his musical career but turned a talented musician into a deeply unhappy man. But why the CGI?

Robbie Williams – only he is a chimp! This is a pretty trad music biopic, coming with the accepted U-shaped narrative arc of humble beginnings, big break, superstardom, drugs, drink, shallow sex, dark-night-of-the-soul slump and redemptive comeback, here topped off with an unendurably protracted performance of My Way at the Royal Albert Hall in London. But the whole thing is given a cheeky high-concept twist by portraying the singer as an ape – a shrieking, scowling, capering CGI chimp – while all around are humans. Actor Jonno Davies plays the part in motion capture and Williams himself supplies the voiceover.

The idea supposedly comes from Williams’s fear that he is immature and unevolved, stranded emotionally for ever at the age he became famous: 15. And...

To celebrate the release of Better Man, the intoxicating new musical/biopic of Robbie Williams and his career, we had the pleasure of sitting down with the man himself, the film’s visionary director, and the film’s leads to find out more about the new film.

From visionary director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) Better Man looks at the rise, falll, and resurrection of Robbie Williams – one of the UK’s bestselling artists of all time. Gracey shines a light on the incredible highs and lows of celebrity and the journey to stardom in a unique way, inspired by Williams’ life and how he sees himself. With stunning visual effects created by the Academy Award® winning team at Weta FX the cast includes Jonno Davies, BAFTA® Award winner Steve Pemberton, BAFTA® nominee Alison Steadman, Raechelle Banno and Robbie Williams.

Chatting first to Williams and Gracey, we talk about Gracey...

Jonno Davies as “Robbie Williams” in ‘Better Man’ (Photo © 2023 Paramount Pictures)

During his time in the spotlight, pop singer Robbie Williams fell into all of the typical rock star trappings of sex, drugs, and alcohol. And with the popularity of music biopics like Rocketman, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Back to Black, why not make a movie about his life, right? Well, someone did. But there’s a catch.

Better Man is the story of Williams’ rise to fame as a member of the boy band Take That, his dismissal from the group due to substance abuse and unruly conduct, and his eventual rise to success as a solo artist. All typical rock star movie stuff.

The thing is, in this movie, Williams is portrayed as a chimpanzee. In his own words, he’s showing the audience how he sees himself.

Surprisingly, this approach works. More than works, actually. It turns a...

Popstar Robbie Williams gets the Hollywood biopic treatment – as a CGI monkey! Our review of Michael Gracey’s Better Man.

Biopics are all the rage in Hollywood, especially those retelling the stories of music superstars. Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis and Rocketman are just a couple of recent examples of critically acclaimed music biopics that have convinced studio executives that there’s real business to be done with the tragic backstories of these icons.

It seems inevitable that Robbie Williams, perhaps the greatest British pop star, would get his own sooner rather than later. What none of us could have predicted was that Williams would be played by a CGI monkey in his biopic, Better Man.

Like most music biopics, Better Man tracks Williams’ life and troubles from his childhood to his redemption years. A young Robbie learns from his dad that if you don’t have it, you’re a nobody.

I’d like to invite you behind the curtain for a moment. This is my last new movie review of 2024, and I’ve reviewed so many formulaic musical biopics this year that I’m pretty sure my reviews are also becoming formulaic. How many times can one critic point out that Hollywood is still unironically copying the same tired beats that “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” ridiculed nearly 20 years ago before the finger starts pointing back in their own direction? Isn’t it just as tiresome to make the same complaints over and over as it is to do the same things that are worth complaining about, over and over? And over and over?

Well, no. No it’s not. I’m just working with the material you’re giving me, Hollywood. If you keep making the same movie over and over, the same commentary will usually apply. If...

Robbie Williams hopes being depicted as another species will help audiences see his humanity.

In the Michael Gracey-helmed musical biopic Better Man, premiering Dec. 25 in theaters, the 18x Brit Award winner’s story is told through actor Jonno Davies, in the form of a CGI chimpanzee, as Williams explained his “Mo has been cheeky.”

“What’s more cheeky than a cheeky monkey?” he said to the Associated Press. “I’ve been a cheeky monkey all my life. There’s no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie.”

Williams added, “We care for animals more than we care for humans, most of us. I guess there is a removal, as well. It’s very much a human story but if you’re watching it and someone’s playing Robbie Williams, you’re thinking: Does he look like him? Does he act like him?...

British pop superstar Robbie Williams gets a raw, dazzling, long but exceedingly clever musical biopic in Better Man, which sees him portrayed as a CGI, motion-captured chimpanzee from boyhood through tumultuous stardom. The reason why becomes obvious as the narrative progresses. Director/co-writer Michael Gracey infuses the film with a bold creative vision that adds a refreshing new take on a known commodity. Stories of rags-to-riches celebrities struggling with addiction and depression are standard Hollywood fodder. Better Man addresses those themes while Williams' narrates the painful truth behind glitz and glamour. Fame is a seductive narcotic that fuels our worst impulses. A dream come true can easily become a nightmare.

We're introduced to "Robert" (Carter J. Murphy) as a brash young chimp in the poverty-stricken town of Stoke-on-Trent. He's awful at school and sports but loves being the center of attention. He inherits the need for a spotlight from his wannabe performer father.

Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the scripts fueling the year’s most talked-about movies continues with Better Man, Paramount’s musical biopic based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall and resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams. The script was penned by Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole and Michael Gracey.

Gracey directs the uniquely personal film about Williams, capturing his wit, resilience, and extraordinary journey. From boyband stardom with Take That to a record-shattering solo career, the film explores the highs and lows of his success. And only Williams could get away with telling his life story through the unique lens of a chimpanzee, a truly unexpected perspective that distinguishes this biopic from others.

Gracey explains the inspiration for portraying Williams as a monkey came from Robbie himself.

“Rob would say things like, ‘I’m up the back dancing like a monkey,’ or ‘I was completely out of it,...

Weta FX are some of the best at what they do for feature films, but, by their own admission, a lot of what they do are stunts and fight sequences. Even with Weta’s motion-capture transformations from actor to dragon or actor to ape, the usual way of shooting is to make the environment for motion capture as controlled as possible. Doing on-set MoCap to turn Robbie Williams into the dancing and singing monkey-version of himself in “Better Man” was the exact opposite of how Weta FX usually works. Big crowds, intricate dance choreography, and the very act of singing itself all set new obstacles for the visual effects studio to overcome.

Weta FX has gotten plenty of practice animating creatures, but the breathing and particular muscle efforts involved in singing required even more innovation from the visual effects studio. “We had to do a lot of motion studies [with regard to singing] to...

Pub- based comedy drama Mother’s Pride will be in cinemas next year, and the cast has now been confirmed.

The British film industry has been releasing a steady stream of comedy dramas over the last few years, full of homegrown talent both in front of and behind the camera.

In 2018, Stephen Graham and comedian Dave Johns led the cast of wrestling comedy Walk Like A Panther, although perhaps the most notable example is the Fisherman’s Friends series, which chronicled the unlikely story of a group of fisherman who form a band and release an album of sea shanties to critical and commercial acclaim.

This led to life imitating art, as the actual band the film was based on saw a huge surge in popularity, with albums climbing up the charts and multiple sell out national tours.

According to the British Comedy Guide, the team behind Fisherman’s Friends is now producing...

Director Michael Gracey and UK actor Jonno Davies discusses their respective approaches to the Robbie Williams-inspired 'Better Man', in which the singer is featured as CG monkey.

The post ‘Rob is a great storyteller, whether it’s in lyrics or just in person’: Michael Gracey on crafting a pop primate for ‘Better Man’ appeared first on If Magazine.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has unveiled the nominations for its 14th International Awards, with Michael Gracey’s Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man” securing six nods.

The film earned nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, along with acting nominations for its cast.

“The Brutalist” follows with five nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor nod for Australian actor Guy Pearce. “Emilia Perez,” which has already received Golden Globe recognition, earned four nominations, while “Anora” and “Dune: Part Two” round out the Best Film category.

George Miller received a Best Director nomination for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” while fellow Australians Toni Collette and Nicole Kidman earned acting nominations for their performances in “Juror #2” and “Babygirl” respectively.

In television categories, “Shogun” received three nominations, matching “The Bear,” which competes in the Best Comedy Series category. The Australian production “Boy Swallows Universe” earned a Best Drama Series nomination,...

“Better Man,” the Australian-made biopic inspired by the life of British pop star Robbie Williams, received a leading six nominations for the 2025 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) International Awards on Tuesday. That reinforced the Oz academy’s love affair with writer-director Michael Gracey‘s (“The Greatest Showman”) musical spectacular, in which Williams is transformed into a chimpanzee, after it garnered a record-breaking 16 nominations at Aacta’s local awards earlier this month. “Better Man” is nominated for Best Film alongside “The Brutalist,” which tied with six noms, as well as Denis Villeneuve‘s epic sequel “Dune: Part Two” and critical darlings “Anora” and “Emilia Pérez.”

This is the fourth year that the Aussie kudos have included categories for television, with FX’s “Shōgun” and “The Bear” leading with three nominations each.

This year’s Aacta International Awards also marked a historic moment with the inclusion of motion-capture and...

A new behind-the-scenes featurette for the upcoming film Better Man has been released. The film will be in select theaters on December 25, 2024 and nationwide on January 17, 2025!

Synopsis: Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Under the visionary direction of Michael Gracey, the film is uniquely told from Williams’ perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

About The Film

Genre: Docudrama, Biography, Fantasy, Musical Starring: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvaney, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge, Anthony Hayes Director: Michael Gracey Screenplay: Simon Gleeson,...

Director Michael Gracey is the first to admit that “Better Man” is a big swing.

After all, his leading man is a monkey — a CGI monkey, to be precise. But when it came to making a film about British pop singer Robbie Williams, Gracey had gotten immersed in recordings he’d made with Williams recounting stories about his life. And then it struck Gracey: “It’s interesting how many times he refers to himself as a performing monkey,” Gracey tells Gold Derby. “And so I just got to the place where I thought, ‘It would be kind of amazing if the story was told from his perspective — to show Rob as he sees himself, not as we see him.’ And that decision took many years of my life away from me.”

“Better Man,” which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and will be released later this month, follows the familiar...

Update (Dec. 11): Variety has been able to confirm through multiple sources that Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror film “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, has made the internal top 20 shortlist for visual effects for the Academy Awards. Oscar shortlist voting is currently underway and closes on Friday, Dec. 13.

Update (1:42 p.m. Pt): Sources have confirmed to Variety that David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy,” an adaptation of the classic television series with Ryan Gosling, is among the visual effects finalists.

As the Oscars shortlist voting period looms, the race for the coveted best visual effects category is heating up.

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch notified the artisans of the 20 films advancing to the next round just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Through multiple sources, Variety has confirmed 18 of the finalists that are still in the running. Shortlist voting runs from Monday, Dec. 9, to Friday, Dec. 13, and...

The Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man” has taken center stage in the 2025 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards nominations.

“Better Man” earned a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most ever received by a single film in the awards’ 66-year history. Directed by Michael Gracey, the musical film secured nods across key categories, including Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay, as well as multiple acting, technical, and creative honors.

“Better Man” is joined in the Best Film category by George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “How to Make Gravy,” both with 15 nominations, the horror standout “Late Night with the Devil” with 14, the animated feature “Memoir of a Snail” with 11, and “Runt,” which received four.

For the first time, the Aacta Awards have recognized motion capture and voice performances in acting categories. Jonno Davies received a nomination for his motion capture portrayal of Robbie Williams in “Better Man,...