Pharrell as a Lego and Robbie Williams as a chimp? Music biopics get creative

TORONTO (AP) — Many of the expected conventions of music biopics are present in “Piece by Piece,” about the producer-turned-pop star Pharrell Williams, and “Better Man,” about the British singer Robbie Williams. There’s the young artist’s urge to break through, fallow creative periods and regrettable chapters of fame-addled excess.

But there are a few, little differences. In “Piece by Piece,” Pharrell is a Lego. And in “Better Man,” Williams is played by a CGI monkey.

If the music biopic can sometimes feel a little stale in format, these two movies, both premiering this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, attempt novel remixes. In each film, each Williams recounts his life story as a narrator. But their on-screen selves aren’t movie stars who studied to get a part just right, but computer-generated animations living out real superstar fantasies.

While neither Williams has much in common as a musician, neither has had a very traditional career. Their films became reflections of their individuality, and, maybe, a way to distinguish themselves in the crowded field of music biopics like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman.”

“This is about being who you are, even if it’s not something that can be put in a box,” Pharrell said in an interview Tuesday alongside director Morgan Neville.

Also next to Pharrell: A two-foot-tall Lego sculpture of himself, which was later in the day brought to the film’s premiere and given its own seat in the crowd.

The experience watching the crowd-pleasing “Piece by Piece,” which Focus Features will release Oct. 11, can be pleasantly discombobulating. A wide spectrum of things you never expected to see in Lego form are animated. Virginia Beach (where Pharrell grew up). An album of Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life.” Jay-Z.

“I’m just so grateful that everybody said yes,” says Pharrell. “Morgan said yes. Lego said yes. Focus said yes. Universal said yes. When you get to all those yeses, you realize how impossible this is.”

Neville, the filmmaker of “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Won't You Be My Neighbor" and the recent Steve Martin doc, made “Piece by Piece” like a documentary. When he interviewed people for the film — everyone from Missy Elliott to Kendrick Lamar — he spoke to them by Zoom and told them they’d be animated. But he didn’t share how.

Pharrell as a Lego is surprisingly winning. It’s a way to represent Pharrell as, at heart, a playful builder of beats, a man hellbent on fame who assembled his own destiny.

“I felt like everything we were doing in the film was totally reflective of the subject of the film,” Neville says. “We’re not doing Lego because it’s a gimmick. We’re doing it because it’s the only way to tell this story right.”

“Piece by Piece” will be the unusual film to potentially vie in both the best documentary and best animated film categories at the Academy Awards, along with the best song category. (Pharrell made several originals for it.)

The high concept of “Better Man” began with a query by filmmaker Michael Gracey, who directed the hit musical “The Greatest Showman.” He approached Williams, the bad-boy balladeer, with a question.

“I said: ‘What animal do you see yourself as?’” Gracey told the crowd, introducing “Better Man” at the film’s Monday premiere. “And with a big grin he said, ‘Lion.’”

After a moment, Williams reflected and acknowledged the truer answer — for an entertainer who started out in boy band Take That — was a monkey.

In the film, the actor playing Williams is Jonno Davies — only we don’t see him, either. Not unlike the process on the “Planet of the Apes” films, Davies performed in a motion-capture suit. Later, digital effects teams placed the chimpanzee of the film on top of him. One part is Williams himself: the eyes of the monkey’s face. Every other character, meanwhile, is human.

While “Piece by Piece” is a more all-ages release, “Better Man” is R-rated and doesn’t skimp on the rock ‘n’ roll debauchery. It’s the most cocaine you’ve ever seen a chimp ingest.

It also makes for a peculiar viewing experience. Is Williams a more sympathetic figure as a wounded animal than he is as a human? Either way, Williams is delighted by the result.

“For a narcissist, it’s a wonderful treat,” he beamed at the screening. “I’ve seen it three times. It’s not enough.”

For more coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/toronto-international-film-festival.

Jonno Davies and Robbie Williams attend the premiere of "Better Man", during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pharrell Williams arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Piece by Piece' at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdez arrive on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Piece by Piece' at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Pharrell Williams arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of "Piece by Piece" at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows a scene from "Piece By Piece." (Focus Features via AP)

Director Michael Gracey, Jonno Davies and Robbie Williams attend the premiere of "Better Man", during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Robbie Williams attends the premiere of "Better Man", during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows a scene from "Better Man." (Paramount Pictures via AP)

Pharrell Williams arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Piece by Piece' at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

This image released by Focus Features shows lego characters Pharrell Williams, left, and Gwen Stefani in a scene from "Piece By Piece." (Focus Features via AP)

Pharrell Williams arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Piece by Piece' at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A man accused of drugging his then-wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade is testifying in court on Tuesday in southern France, in a case that has shocked the country.

Dominique Pélicot, now 71, faces 20 years in prison if convicted. While he previously confessed to investigators, the court testimony will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of some 50 other men standing trial next to him, all accused of raping Gisèle Pélicot.

Many also hope his testimony will shed some light — to try to understand the unthinkable.

Gisèle Pélicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case and let the trial be public, is expected to speak in court after her ex-husband's testimony on Tuesday.

Bernadette Tessonière, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour drive from Avignon, where the trial is taking place, arrived outside the courthouse at 7:15 a.m. to make sure she would secure a seat in the closely watched case.

“How is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, one can live next to someone who hides his life so well? This is scary,” she said, while standing in a line outside the courthouse. “I don’t have much hope that what he did can be explained, but he is at least going to give some elements.”

Pélicot’s much-awaited testimony was delayed by days after he fell ill, suffering from a kidney stone and urinary infection, his lawyers said.

A security agent caught Pélicot in 2020 taking videos under women’s skirts in a supermarket, according to court documents. Police searched Pélicot's house and electronic devices, and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gisèle Pélicot while she appears to lie unconscious on their bed.

With the recordings, police were able to track down a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking.

She and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple left the Paris region to move into a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.

When police officers called her in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was “a great guy,'' according to legal documents. They then showed her some photos. She left her husband and they are now divorced.

Besides Pélicot, 50 other men, aged 26 to 74, are standing trial. Many deny having raped Pélicot, saying they were manipulated by her ex-husband or claiming they believed she was consenting.

FILE - Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)