{"id":110421,"date":"2020-11-02T18:48:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T18:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gamerant.com\/stardust-trailer-and-the-problem-with-music-biopics\/"},"modified":"2020-11-02T18:48:47","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T18:48:47","slug":"the-stardust-trailer-and-the-problem-with-music-biopics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/11\/02\/the-stardust-trailer-and-the-problem-with-music-biopics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stardust Trailer and the Problem With Music Biopics"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A\u00a0few things leap out after watching the trailer for Stardust<\/em><\/strong>, the biopic<\/a> about David Bowie\u2019s US tour in 1971 wherein he created the Ziggy Stardust alter-ego and was launched to international stardom. Firstly, the title has already been used on the perfectly good 2007 Matthew Vaughn fantasy-adventure Stardust<\/em>. Secondly, that lead actor Johnny Flynn, a promising British actor in Beast, Emma,<\/em> and Lovesick<\/em> and a solid musician in his own right, seems to be doing a poor impersonation of Noel Fielding<\/a> instead of the Starman himself. And thirdly, owing to the fact Bowie\u2019s estate did not approve of Stardust<\/em>, the trailer does not (and the film will not) feature any of Bowie\u2019s songs.<\/p>\n

Now, the estate disapproving of Stardust<\/em> is a bad look, yes, but on the other hand biopics are frequently hampered by representatives of the featured artist exerting too much control over their films. Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em> was notably stalled for years due to surviving Queen members, Brian May and Roger Taylor, wanting their biopic to have more mass appeal, with the end result being incredibly sanitized. Stardust<\/em> being an \u201cunlicensed\u201d biopic could allow for an unrestricted experimental deep-dive into the cultural idea of David Bowie itself. That the film is chronicling a specific moment in Bowie\u2019s career, instead of trying to squeeze his entire life story into one film, might also allow Stardust<\/em> to have more focus.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, judging by the trailer, Stardust<\/em> does not seem to have taken this experimental approach. Instead the plot appears to follow Bowie coming off low sales and being deemed \u201ctoo weird\u201d for the Americans, alienating them with his countercultural lifestyle and irreverent humor. It is through a road-trip with his publicist Ron Oberman (Marc Maron) that Bowie will win them over. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this is what happens in every cliched musician biopic. They begin as misunderstood but full of promise, and through their originality they slowly win over the cynical record executives and unsuspecting public. We already know Bowie will become successful, but Stardust<\/em> seems to rest upon the same\u00a0tiresome trajectory. The facets that made Bowie unique \u2013 his mixture of jazz and glam-rock, his beguiling androgyny, his screeching empathetic lyrics \u2013 become washed away in the checklist approach, without even the jukebox appeal of hearing his music.<\/p>\n