He’s a real nowhere man
A spectacular adaptation of John Lennon’s teen years

Aaron Johnson as John

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Reviewer

he Beatles; there’s nothing I

can say about them that better

people haven’t said long before
I was born. Everyone’s heard a song
by them — whether they liked it or
not is a different matter, but at least
we’re all familiar with them. As is
such, there have been numerous books
written, shows produced, and movies
made about them. They’re icons, and
because theirs is such a remarkable
story, it always makes for a great topic
of discussion. But it’s easy to forget
that before the Fab Four were The
Beatles, they were just boys.

Nowhere Boy is specifically
centered on John Lennon’s mid to late
teen years, when he first acquainted
himself with music and came to
terms with his broken childhood. His
mother, Julia, was a troubled but free
spirit, missing out on much of John’s
early life. Her sister, ‘Aunt’ Mimi, on
the other hand was a stern lady who
raised John with her husband, George.
After George’s death, John is further
tormented by distorted memories of
his past. He decides he wants to find
out where his mother has been all this
time; it turns out she had been living
around the corner his whole life. Julia
caters to John’s wild side at a pivotal
time in his life, teaching him how to
play the banjo. This causes a strain
in his relationship with Mimi, who
struggles to keep John on the right
path. Amidst the emotional carnage,
John prowls for ladies, falls in love
with rock n’ roll, and meets then
fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney.
The film was a co-production

between the UK and Canada,

6

 

largely filmed around Blackpool and
Liverpool for exterior shots. Director
Sam Taylor-Wood has done such a
phenomenal job on Nowhere Boy
that it’s as if we’re watching history
as it happens. If anything, the only
distraction from the film’s story is the
appearance of its actors, particularly
Thomas Brodie (‘Paul McCartney’),
strictly because we’ve become so used
to The Beatles’ more iconic looks.
Aaron Johnson, who earlier this year
portrayed the titular Kick-Ass, is a
surprisingly flawless John Lennon.
Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-
Marie Duff, who portray Mimi and
Julia, pour their hearts out into their
performances, making the especially
dramatic scenes truly heart breaking.
However, Matt Greenhalgh, writer of
this and the Ian Curtis biopic Control
(2007), has not only adapted history,
but he’s also provided enough laughs
to keep the audience stable along the
way.

One can’t spoil history; included
in the film is the death of Julia, who
was hit by a car not long after her
relationship with John began to mend.
As we all know, John never got a
break from this string of bad luck that
was his existence. John was a Beatle,
and is now a legend, but his life was
still something of a chaotic mess. But
what’s important is that we remember
him for the good that he tried to do.
His fans are loyal, and the group’s fan
base as a whole can never die.

Nowhere Boy saw a limited
theatrical release on October 8, the
weekend of what would be John
Lennon’s 70" birthday.

noeac:

 

 

Conan returns with a bang

The internet hero has become a hit with the masses

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Reviewer

s 2010 draws to a close, we
tend to look back at some
of the year’s biggest stories.

Almost on instant, this year kicked
off with a bang in January due to the
Tonight Show conflict. If you don’t
know what I’m talking about, or
would like to pretend you don’t, then
turn off your damn ego.

Back on January 7, NBC
announced that it would be
rescheduling its then line-up: The Jay
Leno Show would be at 11:35pm, The
Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien at
12:05am, and Late Night with Jimmy
Fallon at 1:05am. This schedule not
only caused conflicts for various
local news broadcasters around the
U.S., but in the spirit of showbiz, The
Tonight Show just wouldn’t be the
same after being on at 11:35pm for
over sixty years.

To make a long story short,
after over twenty years, NBC waved
good-bye to Conan, taking away
many of his original characters and
sketches as their own property and
barring him from any television or
radio appearances until the fall. As if
that wasn’t enough, the studio built
for O’Brien’s tenure on The Tonight
Show — which apparently cost around
$50 million to construct — was
destroyed after being up for only
seven months. Then of course there
were the many people who were laid
off as a result, including O’Brien’s
long-time house band, The Max
Weinberg 7 (now Jimmy Vivino and
the Basic Cable Band), and O’Brien’s
close friend and co-host, Andy
Richter.

Roughly ten months later,
Monday, November 8 saw the
premiere of Conan. That night’s
show opened with a skit of O’Brien’
snapping at an NBC exec about
the unnecessary changes. The next
day, O’Brien is repeatedly shot at
Godfather-style in front of an NBC
tollbooth. In full body cast, O’Brien
is told by a doctor, “The good news
is, you'll live, the bad news is, you'll
never work in network television
again.” With apparently fourteen
children to support, O’Brien attempts
several failed jobs before considering

   

suicide. Before he can jump off a
bridge, his guardian angel, Larry
King, tells him two words, “Basic
cable”. Now earning “much less”,
O’Brien happily announces that
“everything’s going to be okay” —
until the gun-totters from earlier
arrive once more.

O’Brien was literally bouncing
around with joy in his first episode.
Despite now being in a significantly
smaller studio, he was excited to
see that there are no more restraints
in front of the seats to separate
himself from the audience. The
opening monologue was hilarious,
with O’Brien firing off the jokes
about his short Tonight Show run
and all the news he missed over the
summer. The crowd went especially
crazy after his ‘first’ guest appeared:
Arlene Wagner, founder and curator
of the Leavenworth Nutcracker
Museum in Washington. Afterwards,
a clip of Ricky Gervais repeatedly
congratulating O’ Brien for various
future shows, just in case, was
played. O’Brien held his first official
interview with Seth Rogen, who,
along with congratulating the host,
revealed his recent engagement. Lea
Michele of Glee was the second guest
to be interviewed, and for the musical
act, Jack White and O’Brien himself
performed “Twenty Flight Rock”.

With over four million views,
beating out Comedy Central’s The
Daily Show and The Colbert Report
by nearly three times, it’s safe to say
that the series premiere of Conan was
a success. The following episodes
throughout the week only grew
stronger, with Thursday’s fourth
episode being arguably the best. If
you missed out on past episodes, you
can catch it on at, ironically, 12:00am
on Comedy Network, 1:00am on

CTV, or on the Conan website.
5/5

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