A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an early special screening of Piece by Piece, directed by Morgan Neville and produced by Pharrell Williams. The film is an animated biographical documentary that uses the famous children's toy, Legos, to tell the story of Pharrell Williams' life and career. It has already received two nominations for Critics' Choice Awards.
The special screening was followed by a Q&A session featuring Pharrell Williams, the film's executive producer and musical genius, along with the director, Morgan Neville. Their insights helped the audience gain a deeper appreciation for the filmmaking process.
Pharrell greeted the crowd with a warm welcome and immediately commented on how amazing the AMC slushy he was drinking was. When asked about the creation of the main song for the film, Pharrell shared his thoughts, shedding light on his artistic process.
“I knew that, like, I mean if we're gonna do a movie about like my life, then um, I knew that I wanted it like a song to do certain things. The first ‘Piece by Piece’, cause ‘Piece by Piece’ that your’e hearing in the film now is 2.0. The first version was, at the time, I was convinced that it was like, you know, that it was sticky. I was convinced that it was um, the cords were checking a box, but it wasn't like, it didn't feel urgent. I knew that it was going to be a little rough for the team because once they start putting things to picture and people kind of get like demoitis about things. Which is a very natural thing, they're like okay I've seen it this way, and this is cool, this is what works, and then they start building around that so when you come back and say okay we're just gonna remove this piece right here..it kind of shakes the process a bit. But everyone trusted and was very supportive, even Morgan, and it allowed me to really make something that I felt was an earworm. Like you hear it twice and I got you, it's gonna be in your head for a minute.”, stated Pharrell Williams.
Seeing and hearing from Pharrell was truly an unforgettable experience. His music has been a significant part of my life, both growing up and now, and it has fueled my love for music.massive part of my life and love for music.
Hi Ximena, this experience looks so cool! I enjoy both Pharell's art and lego's so I think I will go watch this movie now. You are very lucky to have been able to attend something like this. Thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteHi Ximena,
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous you got to see this. Pharrell is truly superhuman when it comes to music, fashion, art, etc so being able to witness it first hand and hear what his process is like must be awesome.
Hi Ximena,
ReplyDeleteNo way—you got to see this in person, Pharrell is definitely one of the GOATs in the music and fashion industry, especially now with his role at LV and his past ventures. I saw the film, and my favorite part was when he was with Snoop, working on their hit song. Very cool!