Across the Universe

The six main characters are named out of Beatles songs: Jude, Lucy, Max, Sadie, Jo-Jo and Prudence. The link stops at the names; the characters do not carry those songs’ stories. Julie Taymor’s cut became a fight in the spring of 2007. Joe Roth, who ran Revolution Studios, shortened the film and previewed it without telling her; when the New York Times reported this in March 2007, Taymor was considering taking her name off. After months of argument, the version that reached cinemas was hers. The budget was reported to the press as 45 million dollars; documents from Roth’s sale of Revolution put the real cost at 70.8 million. The worldwide gross stopped at 29.6 million. The opening was held to 27 screens for four weeks; only on 12 October did the film widen to 954 screens, entering the top ten that week at number 8. Guest players arrive singing; Bono sings I Am the Walrus as Dr. Robert and Eddie Izzard sings his own number as Mr. Kite. Costume designer Albert Wolsky took an Oscar nomination and did not win. A good fit if you want a narrative that jumps song to song and scenes built by stage design rather than acting. Not for anyone opening this with children; the BBFC flagged marijuana use, drug references and nudity separately.