The late glamorous Richey Edwards, guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1995, has seen his lyrics become the inspiration for an upcoming film currently in production.
Filmmaker Fabrizio Federico's next movie Teddy Bears Live Forever will be taking it's inspirations from Edward's final album with the Manic's, The Holy Bible.
Considered one of the most harrowing albums ever recorded, it's lyrics are a horror show of desperation, elegance and self-affliction which reflect Edwards genius and eye for capturing the chilling beauty of suffering throughout the ages.
An avid and voracious reader of political history and existential literature authors such as Primo Levi, Albert Camus, Philip Larkin, Yukio Mishima and Fyodor Dostoyevsky - his feelings of alienation and worthlessness were clearly reflected in his heartfelt lyrics which created a cult of personality around the guitarist.
Upon his disappearance a media frenzy occurred resulting in copycat disappearances, "a cause celebre among depressives, alcoholics, anorexics and self-mutilators, because he was the first person in the public eye to talk openly about these subjects, not with swaggering bravado and a subtext of "look how tortured and cool I am", but with humility, sense and, often, bleak humour" said The Times newspaper.
Federico has based this new film around a faded ''It girl'' called April suffering from severe multiple personality disorder, ''a lot of people identify with Richey, especially girls, there's something about his vulnerability that draws people in'' says the filmmaker, ''his lyrics are better then any script, they are so descriptive, especially songs like '4st 7lb', 'She Is Suffering' & 'Archives Of Pain' - his talent for observation & detail are on a par with that of a criminologist, I find them incredibly inspirational and almost secret.''
The film looks at bringing Richey's alarming lyrics and infusing them with psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud was very resistant towards cinema and psychoanalysis coexisting, thinking it impossible to render the psychoanalytic process cinematically. Actress Marilyn Monroe famously used to go to her analyst for inspiration regarding character roles, Monroe was also one of Edwards favourite icons.
The film was shot in 7 days in a bedroom as April discloses her world and struggles to have one of her personalities lose her virginity. ''It's a very intimate and poetic film, I want people to feel close to this character in the same way Richey's fans felt close to him, he was very brave talking about his feelings, I listened to that album not stop during that week and we could feel his aura during the films making, I dont know if he's dead or alive but it was unnerving and his presence is in the movie.''
Teddy Bears Live Forever will be released in 2019
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