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BBC TV blog
 - 
Robert Jones
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	<title>Lennon Naked: Getting under the skin of John Lennon</title>
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<p>Writing <a href="https://meleleh.pages.dev/programmes/b00sv451">Lennon Naked</a> took a long time. I worked very closely with the director, <a href="http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/tft/client/user767/">Ed Coulthard</a>, for a good two years before filming started. </p>

<p>We'd wanted to work on something together for quite a while and were both interested in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon">John Lennon</a>, particularly the period around the time of his <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/greatinterviews/story/0,,2155883,00.html">famous interview</a> with <a href="http://www.jannswenner.com/">Jann Wenner</a> for <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/">Rolling Stone</a> magazine in 1970. </p>

<p>It seemed to us that the song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GAHFrLAxzM">Imagine</a> had come to define the mercurial Lennon in a way he would have found confining. This film shows a different side to the man.</p>

<p>In terms of capturing how John spoke, I watched the Beatles films and listened to dozens of hours of interviews on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> - and I read everything I could both by and about him. </p>

<p>After a while, I felt I had a grasp of how he turned a phrase. Of course, he was famously witty, so it's a challenge. </p>

<p><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="https://meleleh.pages.dev/blogs/tv/100622_lennonhall_600.jpg"><img alt="John Lennon, played by Christopher Eccleston, set ballons free in a white hall" src="https://meleleh.pages.dev/blogs/tv/100622_lennonhall_600-thumb-500x333.jpg" width="500" height="333" class="mt-image-center" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 20px;" /></a></span></p>

<p>My favourite line got edited out when we changed the structure of the opening. I'd had the American psychotherapist Art Janov saying, "Do you feel a lot of pain, John?" John replied, "I felt a lot of pain when I realised what it was going to cost me to fly you over from California." </p>

<p>I can still hear <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001172/">Christopher Eccleston</a> saying it. He captured brilliantly the way Lennon loved to undercut pomposity. In fact, he captured Lennon full stop. </p>

<p>His performance is immense - he's in every scene. When I heard he'd read the script and was keen to do it, I knew we were moving into another league.</p>

<p>The key characters featured in the film were contacted by the production company, <a href="http://www.blastfilms.co.uk/">Blast</a>, but I didn't interview them before writing. </p>

<p>From everything I'd read, I got the strong sense that those who knew John best had very different and often contradictory ideas about what he was like and what made him tick. </p>

<p><span class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="https://meleleh.pages.dev/blogs/tv/100622_lennonyoko_600.jpg"><img alt="John Lennon, played by Christopher Eccleston, and Yoko Ono, played by Naoko Mori, face the press with peace signs in the background" src="https://meleleh.pages.dev/blogs/tv/100622_lennonyoko_600-thumb-500x333.jpg" width="500" height="333" class="mt-image-center" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 20px;" /></a></span></p>

<p>Rather than adopt any individual's take on him, I just absorbed everything I could and then made up my own mind. I stuck to the facts of his life but obviously what you see is an interpretation - mine, the director's and Christopher Eccleston's.</p>

<p>The film was shot on a low budget in a short time. I'm amazed by the amount of work that everyone involved in it was prepared to contribute, both cast and crew. They made every penny and every minute count. </p>

<p>I hope they're as proud of this film as I am. It'd be great to hear what you think of it too.</p>

<p><em>Robert Jones is the writer of <a href="https://meleleh.pages.dev/programmes/b00sv451">Lennon Naked</a>.</p>

<p>Lennon Naked will be shown on <a href="https://meleleh.pages.dev/bbcfour/">BBC Four</a> at 9.30pm on Wednesday, 23 June.</em></p>]]></description>
         <dc:creator>Robert Jones 
Robert Jones
</dc:creator>
	<link>https://meleleh.pages.dev/blogs/tv/2010/06/lennon-naked.shtml</link>
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	<category>drama</category>
	<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:32:26 +0000</pubDate>
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