Born to Be Blue (film)
| Born to Be Blue | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Budreau |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Robert Budreau |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Steve Cosens |
| Edited by | David Freeman |
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Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Entertainment One (Canada) |
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Release date
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | Canada United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | less than $10 million |
| Box office | $1.5 million |
Born to Be Blue is a 2015 internationally co-produced drama film directed, produced and written by Robert Budreau. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Carmen Ejogo. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is about American jazz musician Chet Baker, portrayed by Hawke.
The film is described as "semi-factual, semi-fictional".Variety's reviewer, Andrew Barker, noted that the film is "about a character who happens to share a name and a significant number of biographical similarities with Chet Baker, taking the legendary West Coast jazz musician's life as though it were merely a chord chart from which to launch an improvised set of new melodies". Set largely in 1966, Baker (portrayed by Ethan Hawke) is hired to play himself in a movie about his earlier years when he first tried heroin. He romances actress Jane Azuka (a fictional character, a composite of several of Baker's women in real life, portrayed here by Carmen Ejogo) but on their first date, Baker is attacked by thugs and his front teeth smashed. As Baker recovers from his injury, his embouchure is ruined and he is unable to play trumpet any better than a novice. Meanwhile, he must answer to a probation officer, and ensure he is employed, while sticking to his regime of methadone treatment.
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. That same month, it was announced that Carmen Ejogo, Callum Keith Rennie had also joined the cast of the film. Filming took place in Sudbury, Ontario, in fall 2014.
The jazz score to the film was created by composer and pianist David Braid The audio for trumpet performances in the film was done by Kevin Turcotte. Hawke had taken trumpet lessons from Ben Promane, and requested video of Turcotte recording, in order to mime the playing during the shoot.
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