Justin Bieber: Never Say Never | |
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File:Never-say-never-poster.jpg Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Jon M. Chu |
Produced by | Usher Jane Lipsitz Scooter Braun Antonio "L.A." Reid Dan Cutforth |
Starring | Justin Bieber |
Music by | Deborah Lurie (Score) Justin Bieber |
Cinematography | Reed Smoot |
Editing by | Jay Cassidy Jillian Twigger Moul Avi Youabian |
Studio | MTV Films Insurge Pictures AEG Live Island Def Jam Music Group |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date(s) |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $13 million[1] |
Box office | $98,441,954[2] |
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is a 2011 3-D concert film centering on singer Justin Bieber. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 11, 2011.[3]
Contents |
The film follows the pop star Justin Bieber during 10 days counting down to what is considered his biggest performance, that of August 31, 2010 in Madison Square Garden, which sold out in 22 minutes. It shows footage of the performances during this period from his My World Tour. It shows excited female fans, and several instances of the "One Less Lonely Girl" routine of inviting a girl on stage for him to serenade and give flowers to, and of surprising random girls with free tickets to his concerts. The main people around Bieber, being like family and good friends to him, are interviewed, but Bieber himself is not. Various instances of praying together before a show are shown.
The film also includes a visit Bieber made to his hometown while being in Canada for the tour. He is scolded for having damaged his voice while having fun with his old friends. Reluctantly he accepts the postponement of a performance in Syracuse. He is not allowed to speak for some days, and thus recovers enough to do the next performance, at MSG.
Also included are some of the story and old videos of Bieber's childhood. He was raised by his mother but also had a very special bond with his maternal grandfather. The latter still gets emotional about the time that Bieber and his mother moved to Atlanta.
On August 2, 2010, Deadline.com reported that Paramount Pictures was prepping a film featuring the singer.[4] The website also reported that the film, described as a "feature biopic" would be directed by the Academy Award-winning An Inconvenient Truth's director Davis Guggenheim.[4] The untitled film was said to also include performances from Bieber's My World Tour throughout. Bieber's manager Scooter Braun and Island Def Jam president L.A. Reid were tapped to produce, and the film was tentatively given a Valentine's Day 2011 release date.[4] After the report was published by Deadline, Bieber confirmed the news on his official Twitter account, and verified that it would be released around February 11, 2011.[4] In a following tweet, Bieber stated that the performances for the film would be those set to take place at Madison Square Garden on the tour.[4] On August 4, 2010, Deadline reported that Guggenheim had dropped out of the directing position for the film, in order to concentrate on promotion for Waiting for "Superman".[5]
After the future of the film was up in the air for a few days, on August 13, 2010, it was reported that Step Up 3D director Jon Chu was recruited to direct the film.[6] On directing the film, Chu stated that he "jumped at the opportunity to tell a story with honesty and heart", as most people did not know that Bieber had a "true underdog story."[6] Chu went on to say that he hoped to tell his story in a "compelling, genuine way, using all source materials available to convey his tale of becoming an icon for this digital age."[4]
In another interview, Chu said that the movie was for fans and non-fans alike, commenting, "we're gonna tell the underdog story of where he came from."[7] He later explained that it was fascinating due to Bieber's story had much to do with the modern "digital lifestyle", such as using YouTube, and how it is "a pretty cool story for our time."[7] On the type of film, Chu said "There's not going to be acted-out scenes and I can't talk about the rest.[7] It's not your typical concert film and it's not going to be a biopic, but it is about his life."[7]
"We had this sort of hyperlink idea through the film, which is what makes it really an interesting movie, It's not like the other concert films where you are onstage and then go backstage and then onstage and go backstage. It's not just the concert ... this is a musical movie, when words aren't enough in telling the stories of his life, [we use music]."
On August 24, 2010, on Twitter, Bieber and Chu announced that fans could enter a contest to be a part of the movie by sending a home video singing Bieber's "That Should Be Me", or they should "Show us how 'U Smile' " by sending in a photo or video.[9] The contest lasted for twenty-four hours.[9] On August 31, 2010, filming took place at his concert at Madison Square Garden for scenes for the film, and Bieber donned white and purple attire, his tour colors.[10] Bieber performed his set list, and in addition to opening acts the Sean Kingston and Jessica Jarrell, Iyaz, Boyz II Men, Usher, Miley Cyrus, Ludacris and Jaden Smith appeared and performed songs with the singer.[10] In a review, Jocelyn Vena of MTV News said "Any signs that Bieber had fallen ill only two days before weren't remotely evident. He turned his swag on [...] for the cameras filming the show for his upcoming film.[7]
In explaining the film's plot, Chu said that the film's plot was like a "hyperlink", unlike other concert films which only saw music and backstage action, but told the story of the rise of his career, and "stories of his life", using music.[8] The director further explained, "You know, if he's talking about his youth and talking about his magnetic smile, you start to hear 'U Smile' start to creep in the background and the underscore ... you see images from his life, and at the end of that song, the spotlight from the number connects with the spotlight of his tour bus and he goes back into his bed."[8] On the film's direction toward his haters and naysayers, the director commented that the top thing they wanted in the film was "honesty", explaining "People have a very preconceived notion of Justin Bieber and people can think whatever they want, but we wanted to show the honest other side of Justin."[8] At the Los Angeles signing of his memoir, Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story, Bieber said that with the film, he wanted to "let people know there's a lot of people that are discouraging in life and that will tell you you can't do something, but you just got to remember that the sky's the limit."[11] He went on, explaining, "You're able to do whatever you set your mind to as long as you remember to keep God first and stay grounded.[11] So I think the movie really explains that, and it's really inspiring."[11] Chu echoed similar sentiments, commenting "Every step, everyone's always said, 'No, no, no, no.' And he's always said, 'Yes, yes, yes.' And that sort of 'never say never' idea is conveyed in the trailer."[11] According to the director, the "power" of the movie "to help inspire kids to follow their dreams, and anyone really, kid or adult" noting that it could be a "family journey."[11]
On October 13, 2010, Chu tweeted to send Bieber's fans on an Internet scavenger hunt to solve the puzzle of the movie poster, which would in turn reveal the title of the film.[12] Pieces of the puzzle were revealed by celebrities such as Usher, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ryan Seacrest, and Bieber's manager Scooter Braun.[12] The final piece was revealed two days later, tweeted by USA Today, and it revealed the movie's title, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.[13]
The first trailer for the film debuted on October 26, 2010, consisting of home and behind-the-scenes footage chronicling his rise to fame, and interviews with people such as Usher and Scooter Braun.[14] Matt Elias of MTV News said it contains "eye-popping visuals" and "sweeping camera moves" to give an "epic" feeling.[15] Elias also stated that the trailer shows that the movie was more than a concert film, and "takes you beyond the stage and shows his everyday life", while making a focus on his fans.[15] On the day of the trailer's release, Bieber surprised the audience at the Los Angeles date of his My World Tour by unveiling the trailer.[15] On November 22, 2010, it was revealed that the movie would be screened early on February 9, 2011 for select viewers.[16] Fans were able to purchase tickets for it beginning November 29, 2010, and could also receive official movie merchandise like a souvenir VIP lanyard, a glow stick, a bracelet and purple 3-D glasses for the film.[16] The second official trailer was released on November 22, 2010.[17] It emphasized the 3-D aspect, starting with Bieber throwing popcorn and silly string as the words "This Valentine's Day, See Bieber... Like Never Before" portrayed across the screen.[17] Shown are montages of home footage, behind the scenes footage, and tour clips, including Bieber throwing his shirt into the crowd.[17] The end of the trailer shows Bieber learning about the cameras used to shoot the 3-D film, as well as trying out the film's trademark purple 3-D glasses.[17]
The news for the film came through July 2010. Production began that summer, leading up to his concert at Madison Square Garden. The film, whose name was not released until October 2010, was directed by Jon Chu. Chu says the film is a documentary, without any "acted-out scenes."[18]
Never Say Never met with mixed to positive reviews from film critics. According to review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 101 critics gave the film a positive review with an average score of 5.8/10; the consensus stating "As a tour documentary, it's rather uninspired — but as a 3D glimpse of a building pop culture phenomenon, Never Say Never is undeniably entertaining."[19] Metacritic gave the film a 52/100 "metascore" based on 22 critical reviews.[20] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, stating that it would surely please Bieber's large fan base and that adults could find the film tolerable as well.[21]
It topped the Friday box office by an estimated grossing of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105 theaters.[22] It grossed $29,514,054 for the weekend,[23] and was narrowly beaten by the romantic comedy Just Go With It, which grossed $31 million.[24] Never Say Never is said to have exceeded industry expectations, nearly matching the $31.1 million grossed by Miley Cyrus's 2008 3-D concert film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which holds the record for the top debut for a music-documentary.[25] Furthermore it grossed higher first weekend totals than the 2009 concert film, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and at least two-times more than fellow teen act Jonas Brothers' 2009 3D concert film, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,[26] which it made more in two days than the Jonas Brothers concert did in its entire run.
Its total worldwide sales reached $98,441,954.[2] In the United States, it is the highest grossing music concert movie since 1984[27] and the third-highest grossing documentary since 1982.[28]
The film was re-released limitedly in an alternate version entitled Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - Director's Fan Cut on February 25, 2011 in 3D theaters in the United States and Canada. This version has 40 minutes of new footage, while 30 minutes of the original have been removed, so the running time is 115 minutes - 10 minutes longer than the original.[29] The screenings are preceded by a short film of The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, another award-winning project by director Jon Chu.
Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on May 13, 2011 in the United States. To promote the release of the film, Paramount Home Entertainment also released Never Say Never Weekend (#NSNweekend) utilizing Justin Bieber's official Facebook and Twitter accounts to seed party favors leading up to the release date of Never Say Never.[30]
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"Never Say Never" is a 1982 song by the new wave band Romeo Void. One of their best-known songs, "Never Say Never" was a favorite on early MTV, featuring a music video filmed in black and white using film noir motifs. The song is driven by a throbbing, funky bassline and punctuated by jagged guitar and saxophone, incorporating post-punk influences.
The song was featured in the 1984 film Reckless starring Aidan Quinn as a football star and renegade. Quinn's character takes over the school dance's DJ booth to play the single, much to the dismay of all his classmates. A dance sequence ensues with Quinn's character moshing about while a somewhat distraught Daryl Hannah tries to figure out how to dance with him. The song is also featured in the 2002 videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as part of the new wave radio station Wave 103. Also, a small segment of the song was featured in a scene of the film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. It also was included in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Never Say Never is the second studio album by American singer Brandy. Released by Atlantic Records on June 9, 1998 in United States, Norwood's label consulted David Foster and upcoming producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and his team to work with her on the record, the latter of who went on to craft the majority of the album and would evolve as her mentor and head producer on succeeding projects in the 2000s.
The lyrical themes on the album include the singer's personal experiences with love, monogamy, media bias, and maturity. Influenced by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, Norwood wanted to present a more mature facet of herself with the album, incorporating a ballad-heavy style and an adult contemporary feel into her urban-pop sound for the album. Upon its release, Never Say Never facilitated Norwood in becoming a viable recording artist with media–crossing appeal. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 160,000 copies in its first week, and remained 28 weeks within top 20 of the chart. Seven of the fourteen songs were chosen as singles, with two becoming worldwide number one hits, one becoming an international hit, and one becoming a domestic hit. Worldwide, the album sold 16 million copies.
Esther (/ˈɛstər/; Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר, Modern Ester, Tiberian ʼEstēr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Esther was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) held a 180-day feast in Susa (Shoushan). While in "high spirits" from the wine, he ordered his queen, Vashti, to appear before him and his guests to display her beauty. But when the attendants delivered the king's command to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. Furious at her refusal to obey, the king asked his wise men what should be done. One of them said that all the women in the empire would hear that "The King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not." Then these women would despise their husbands, which would cause many problems in the kingdom. Therefore it would be prudent to depose Vashti.
Esther is a play in three acts written in 1689 by the French dramatist, Jean Racine. It premiered on January 26, 1689, performed by the pupils of the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, an educational institute for young girls of noble birth. The subject is taken from the biblical Book of Esther.
Esther remains one of Racine's lesser known works as it has only three instead of the classical five acts. It dates from the last period of his career when he entered government work and was requested by Madame de Maintenon to return to liturgical drama. It is often negatively compared to Racine's 1691 biblical play written for Maintenon, Athalie.
From the 1876 translation of Caroline Andrews:
In the reign of Louis XIV, a seminary for young ladies was founded at St. Cyr, at the persuasion of Madame Maintenon, who gave her entire attention to the education of 250 noble young ladies; who were educated free of expense until their 20th year. Racine was requested to compose a poem suitable for their instruction and amusement, and he proposed the subject of Esther; which he dramatized to the satisfaction of teachers and pupils, and which they declaimed and chanted with so much grace and modesty, that this little drama, intended only for the benefit of young pupils, became the admiration of king and court. Grand lords saw and applauded. As the translator has followed closely the original, she hopes to recommend the same to the attention of lady educators. And knowing that the Jews in the celebration of their Purim always read the book of Esther, it is thought the rehearsal of this drama might make a deeper impression on the minds of their youth and contribute to their entertainment.
Esther (HWV 50) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. It is generally acknowledged to be the first English oratorio. Handel set a libretto after the Old Testament drama by Jean Racine. The work was originally composed in 1718, but was heavily revised into a full oratorio in 1732.
Esther began in 1718 as a masque, or chamber drama (HWV 50a), composed early in Handel's English career, and before the body of his success as an opera composer. It was first composed and performed at Cannons, where the Duke of Chandos employed Handel from 1716 - 1718 as resident composer writing for his patron's singers and small orchestra. Little is known about this first version of Esther. The version which survives is of a revision in 1720, also probably intended for private performance at Cannons, where the very wealthy Duke of Chandos employed a group of musicians and singers, and where Handel's Acis and Galatea, Handel's first non-religious vocal work in the English language, also had its premiere in 1718. The Cannons version of Esther was in six scenes with no break and written for an ensemble of one soprano, an alto, two tenors and two basses. Like Acis and Galatea, Esther may have been staged or semi-staged, with the soloists singing together to create a chorus when required. The author of the libretto is uncertain.
You can pop ya collar thinkin' you gonna get it
Touch me with your dollar thinkin' you gonna get it
Keep your money, you got it too, you just don?t get it
Show me your A-game, you betta come with it
'Cause I be ridin', switchin' lanes, crusin' real slow
Workin' up the fast lane, puffin on dro
You're lookin' like I?m the one that you wanna get to know
Until you get the green light, it?s not your time to go, so you're
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
'Cause all you fellas be trippin'
Everybody frontin' like dey pimpin'
'Cause I can guarantee you
I can do it better than you
I?m not for fakin' or pretendin'
I be in the club with my girls stayin' low
Fellas rubbin' all up on me trying to get close
Wantin' to unwrap me like a candy in a store
Until I give the green, goodie bag stays closed, yeah
You can pop ya collar thinkin' you gonna get it
Touch me with your dollar thinkin' you gonna get it
Keep your money, you got it too, you just don?t get it
Show me your A-game, you betta come with it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Keep up, if you're going slow, then ya better speed up
If ya get the chance, then don?t freeze up
Pump with it babe you know you got to bring it
Can ya swing it, can ya dig it?
If you can?t, ease up
You can pop ya collar thinkin' you gonna get it
Touch me with your dollar thinkin' you gonna get it
Keep your money, you got it too, you just don?t get it
Show me your A-game, you betta come with it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
Never never never
Never gonna get it
I might think about it
If you treat me like a lady
I might think about it
And you just might get it