Nowhere Plans for Nobody

He was a visionary. He was a lightning rod for controversy. He was bigger than Jesus. He was John Lennon, and although his life has been examined in countless books and films, few of those have focused in-depth on his formative years — the subject matter of the biopic Nowhere...

By Jef Otte

September 23, 2010

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He was a visionary. He was a lightning rod for controversy. He was bigger than Jesus. He was John Lennon, and although his life has been examined in countless books and films, few of those have focused in-depth on his formative years — the subject matter of the biopic Nowhere Boy, which kicks off the Aspen Filmfest tonight.

“This film is about his very early life only,” says Natalie McMenemy, managing director of the festival. “It does not cover the Beatles era. It documents how he got to that place.” A big part of how Lennon got to that place was the Quarrymen, his first band which, over time, name and lineup changes, became the Beatles. But none of the other Beatles were in the original lineup — and except for Lennon, all of the initial members of the Quarrymen are still around. In fact, they reunited in 1997 — and will appear for a set after the movie, playing material that still echoes that early Beatles sound.

Set the Wayback machine to 7 p.m. tonight at the Wheeler Opera House, 320 East Hyman Avenue in Aspen; tickets are $28 for the film and the concert. The Aspen Filmfest continues through the weekend; for more information, go to www.aspenfilm.org.
Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2010

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