Bieber Fever in the Third Dimension

Is Bieber Fever about to become a pandemic, in glorious 3-D?

Prepare to be infected, says Jon Chu, the director of Justin Bieber’s upcoming film “Never Say Never.”

“It's not just a concert film - it's a documentary, in a weird way,” Chu tells PopcornBiz. “I love the idea that we're telling his life story and we're telling it through his music. It plays kind of like a musical – like when words aren't enough the music would take over and it only strengthens the emotional arc of the story rather than having a detour and just doing a dance number, doing a musical number. It's lifting the story that we're telling and we do a lot of integration, sort of like how 'Chicago' intercuts the musical performances with what's happening in the movie.”

“It's a really interesting balance,” Chu continues, “the idea that you're juxtaposing the giant 3-D moments with the big pyro and lots of dancers and 20,000 people screaming and yelling and then in the next cut you are on and old, nasty, Hi-8 video from when he was four years old and he's drumming on a chair. There's intimacy about doing those two things next to each other that helps communicates a story unlike any other time before we had 3-D or before anyone recorded their kid when they four years old. It's a story of our time that can be told with the tools of our time.”

Chu says he believes that The Bieb’s popularity is more than just a passing pop music fad –he’s got the goods to have real staying power.

“I do think that he has amazing talent,” he says. “You don't get a billion hits on YouTube for just sliding by and being a product. When he started before any record label was there he was making YouTube.com videos and getting millions of hits. When you watch them you can see an amazing talent and you cannot deny that. No lights. No crazy crowd. Nothing. Just him with a web-cam in his room, and it's compelling.”

“Now he's 16 years old and what happens in the future is sort of his choice as he grows older,” the director adds. “But I know that he has the foundation that, if he continues to stay focused like he is now and work and progress, he has a really great future.”

"Never Say Never" opens this Friday, February 11th.

Contact Us