We’ve witnessed the painful release of the controversial David Bowie-inspired film Stardust through clenched teeth. Actor and musician Johnny Flynn has revealed that tackling the role of the Thin White Duke incited hate mail from rabid Bowie fans.
In a new interview with NME, Flynn delved into the backlash he received from fans for his portrayal of the pop culture icon.
“I’m not big into social media, but I was getting a lot of violent hate mail and stuff from people saying: ‘You played him like he’s insecure,’” Flynn admits. “And then homophobic abuse: ‘You’re playing him all fey. Why is he wearing a dress?’”
Flynn went on to express his disappointment that despite societal progress, people are still resorting to outdated, homophobic insults.
“It’s weird,” he continued. “It’s like the world hasn’t changed. People get upset about Harry Styles wearing a dress. So I’m happy that the film might be an education for people that breaks down some made-up version of David that they have in their mind.”
“That in itself felt like justification for doing it, to shine a light on a David that you didn’t see,” Flynn added. “People think he arrived in 1972, ‘73 as Ziggy, this alien, and there was so much going on before that and so much that went into that. David needed to make Ziggy to save himself from himself.”
The release of the Gabriel Range-directed film was met with a series of roadblocks. In January 2019, Bowie’s son, film director Duncan Jones, tweeted, “This movie won’t have any of Dad’s music in it, & I can’t imagine that changing. If you want to see a biopic without his music or the family’s blessing, that’s up to the audience.”
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After failing to secure to rights to Bowie’s material, the film opted for using original songs Johnny Flynn wrote for the film and a series of covers.
“I don’t think it’s crap, but I knew it didn’t have to be a brilliant song,” Johnny Flynn, who performs with the folk act The Sussex Wit, admitted of the songs. “He had this sense of failure, he wanted to be someone else and hadn’t found a way of capitalizing on that yet. So I tried to write this song as Bowie ripping off Lou Reed.”
Stardust will hit streaming services on January 15th.
Check out the trailer for Stardust:
