Born to Be Blue — Trailer

source:   youtube.com

added: Sun, Feb 14th '16

Portraying legendary jazz trumpeter and admitted heroin addict Chet Baker, Ethan Hawke performs a deeply haunting rendition of "My Funny Valentine" in the trailer for the biopic "Born to Be Blue."

The film, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Robert Budreau (That Beautiful Somewhere), takes a few artistic liberties with Baker's life story. Baker, as portrayed by Hawke, in full-on "James Dean of Jazz" mode, is depicted in the upcoming film as starring in a movie production about his life, where he meets and falls in love with his beautiful co-star, played by "Selma" actress Carmen Ejogo.

Though in real life, the jazz great had declined an offer to star in the 1960 semi-fictional biopic "All the Fine Young Cannibals," the film, nevertheless, reimagines this footnote in Baker's history. Instead, molding it into a jumping-off point to explore a particularly dark period when Baker was at the height of his addiction and recovering from a savage, drug-related beating that nearly ended his career.

"Born to Be Blue," which premiered to strong reviews at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, is coming to theaters on March 25th and VOD on March 31st.

synopsis:
Ethan Hawke lights up the screen as jazz legend Chet Baker, whose tumultuous life is thrillingly reimagined with wit, verve, and style to burn. In the 1950s, Baker was one of the most famous trumpeters in the world, renowned as both a pioneer of the West Coast jazz scene and an icon of cool. By the 1960s, he was all but washed up, his career and personal life in shambles due to years of heroin addiction. In his innovative anti-biopic, director Robert Budreau zeroes in on Baker’s life at a key moment in the 1960s, just as the musician attempts to stage a hard-fought comeback, spurred in part by a passionate romance with a new flame (Carmen Ejogo). Creatively blending fact with fiction and driven by Hawke's virtuoso performance, Born to Be Blue unfolds with all the stylistic brio and improvisatory genius of great jazz.

 

directed by   Robert Budreau

starring   Ethan Hawke, Carmen Ejogo, Callum Keith Rennie

release date   March 25, 2016 (in theaters), March 31, 2016 (on VOD)