Born to Be Blue (lm)

3 Production

Born to Be Blue is a 2015 internationally co-produced

drama lm directed, produced and written by Robert Budreau. The lm stars Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo.
It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[7] The lm is
about American jazz musician Chet Baker, portrayed by
Hawke.

In October 2014, it was announced that Ethan Hawke had

joined the cast portraying the role of Chet Baker, with
Robert Budreau directing from a screenplay he wrote.[10]
That same month, it was announced that Carmen Ejogo,
Callum Keith Rennie had also joined the cast of the
lm.[10] Filming took place in Sudbury, Ontario, in fall
2014.[11]

Plot

The jazz score to the lm was created by composer and

pianist David Braid[12] The audio for trumpet perforThe lm is described as semi-factual, semi-ctional.[8] mances in the lm was done by Kevin Turcotte.[13] Hawke
Variety's reviewer, Andrew Barker, noted that the lm is had taken trumpet lessons from Ben Promane,[14] and reabout a character who happens to share a name and a quested video of Turcotte recording, in order to mime the
signicant number of biographical similarities with Chet playing during the shoot.[15]
Baker, taking the legendary West Coast jazz musicians
life as though it were merely a chord chart from which to
launch an improvised set of new melodies.[2] Set largely
4 Release
in 1966, Baker (portrayed by Ethan Hawke) is hired to
play himself in a movie about his earlier years when he
rst tried heroin. He romances actress Jane Azuka (a c- The lm had its world premiere at the Toronto Interna[1][16]
Shortly
tional character, a composite of several of Bakers women tional Film Festival on 13 September 2015.
in real life, portrayed here by Carmen Ejogo) but on after, IFC Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the
[17]
The lm had a limited Canadian release on 11
their rst date, Baker is attacked by thugs and his front lm.
[13][15]
and a limited release in the United
teeth smashed. As Baker recovers from his injury, his March 2016,
[18][19][20]
embouchure is ruined and he is unable to play trumpet States two weeks later.
any better than a novice. Meanwhile, he must answer to a
probation ocer, and ensure he is employed, while sticking to his regime of methadone treatment.

5 Critical reception
Born to Be Blue received positive reviews from lm critics, with Hawkes performance receiving praise. It holds
an 88% Certied Fresh rating on review aggregator
website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 100 reviews, with
an average rating of 7/10 and critical consensus being:
"Born to Be Blue benets from a highlight-reel performance from Ethan Hawke and an impressionistic, nonhagiographic approach to Chet Bakers life and times.[21]
On Metacritic, the lm holds a rating of 64 out of
100, based on 32 critics, indicating generally favorable
reviews.[22]

Cast
Ethan Hawke as Chet Baker
Carmen Ejogo as Jane / Elaine
Callum Keith Rennie as Dick (Richard) Bock[9]
Stephen McHattie as Chetney Baker, Sr.
Janet-Laine Green as Vera Baker
Tony Nappo as Ocer Reid

6 Soundtrack album

Kevin Hanchard as Dizzy Gillespie

Dan Lett as Danny Friedman

Warner Music Canada released a collection of 14 tracks,

with 12 arranged or composed by David Braid and 1 track
each by Charles Mingus and Odetta. Two tracks feature
Hawkes vocals.[23][24]

Katie Boland as Sarah

Nat Leone as Jenny
1

References

[1] Born to Be Blue Films TIFF 2015 Telelm

Canada. Telelm Canada. 2015. Retrieved 29 March
2016.
[2] Andrew Barker (13 September 2015). Film Review:
'Born to Be Blue'". Variety. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[3] Born to Be Blue [programme note]". Toronto International Film Festival. 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[4] Jordan Pinto (7 March 2016). The birth of eOnes Born
to be Blue. Retrieved 29 March 2016. The lm is written
and directed by Robert Budreau and is produced by two
Canadian prodcos, New Real Films and Lumanity Productions, as well as the U.K.s Black Hangar Studios. Born
to be Blue is distributed by eOne in Canada and IFC Films
in the U.S.
[5] Born To Be Blue. IFC Films. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[6] Born to be Blue (2016)". The Numbers. Retrieved
November 27, 2016.
[7] Ethan Hawke and Ellen Page lms added to Toronto lm
festival lineup. The Guardian. 6 August 2015. Retrieved
6 August 2015.
[8] Michael Sragow (24 March 2016). Deep Focus: Born to
Be Blue. Film Comment. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[9] The New Chet Baker Biopic: Fact, Fiction & Poetic Truth
[10] Tartaglione, Nancy (23 October 2014). Ethan Hawke To
Play Chet Baker In Trumpeter Biopic 'Born To Be Blue'".
Deadline.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
[11] Ethan Hawke shoots Chet Baker biopic in Sudbury.
CBC News, October 23, 2014.
[12] Peter Hum (4 April 2016). David Braid on the Music of
Born to Be Blue. The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 19 May
2016.
[13] Linda Barnard (11 March 2016). Ethan Hawke gets to
the heart of Chet Baker. The Toronto Star. Retrieved 29
March 2016.
[14] Brad Wheeler (10 March 2016). Born to Be Blue tells
the tragic and true-ish story of Chet Baker. The Globe
and Mail. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[15] Lau, Melody (11 March 2016). Born to be Blue composer David Braid reveals the process behind the Chet
Baker lms soundtrack. CBC Music. Retrieved 29
March 2016.
[16] Scott Feinberg (16 September 2015). TIFF: 'Born to Be
Blue' Star Ethan Hawke Could Contend at Indie Awards If
Film Finds Buyer. The Hollywood Reporter / The Race.
Retrieved 29 March 2016.
[17] Ford, Rebecca (8 October 2015). IFC Films Acquires
Ethan Hawkes 'Born to Be Blue'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
[18] Born to be Blue. IFCCenter.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.

EXTERNAL LINKS

[19] Patrick Ryan (21 March 2016). Ethan Hawke was 'Born'
to play jazz icon Chet Baker. USA Today. Retrieved
29 March 2016. ... premiered to strong reviews at the
Toronto International Film Festival last fall and opens in
New York and Los Angeles on Friday (and on video on
demand March 31).
[20] Jordan Pinto (7 March 2016). The Birth of eOnes Born
to Be Blue". Playback Online. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
The lm opens two weeks earlier in Canada than it does
in the U.S, starting March 11 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
and at Montreals Cinema Du Parc. One week later, on
March 18, Blue opens in four cities in Ontario (London,
Waterloo, Guelph and Sudbury), as well as Saskatoon, SK,
Halifax, NS and Edmonton, AB. On March 25, the lm
opens in Vancouver, BC and Calgary, AB, followed by
Ottawa, ON and Victoria, BC on April 1 and Regina, SK
on April 8. The Bell Lightbox screening on March 11 is
followed by a Q&A session with Budreau, while Ethan
Hawke also appeared at a special screening of the event
on Feb. 29 at the same venue. eOnes VP of theatrical
operations Tim Smythe-Bishop said the strategy behind
opening in Canada two weeks ahead of in the U.S. was
partially so the Canadian release would receive an extra
boost from Ethan Hawkes promotional appearances south
of the border.
[21] Born To Be Blue (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved
25 October 2016.
[22] Born To Be Blue Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 25
October 2016.
[23] Born to Be Blue: Music from the Motion Picture (Press
release). Rhino Media. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May
2016.
[24] Born to Be Blue: Music from the Motion Picture (Press
release). Warner Music Canada. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.

8 External links
Ocial website
Ocial site (IFC Films)
Born to Be Blue at the Internet Movie Database

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Born to Be Blue (lm) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_to_Be_Blue_(film)?oldid=751847078 Contributors: Bearcat, Movieman2, Lugnuts, Mathew5000, Magioladitis, DadaNeem, DarthBotto, All Hallows Wraith, AnomieBOT, Film Fan, SporkBot, Easy4me,
Antarctic96, Iseesky, Bbandi83, PKDfanforlife, Vmars22, MiniEstadi1982, Curdlash, 300Orrs, SmartyBootz, Rbudreau, Aurelius2016
and Anonymous: 10

9.2

Images

9.3

Content license

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