Chance the Rapper’s Concert Film Premieres at AMC This Week
In 2017, Chance the Rapper – whose real name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett – embarked on a secret journey to
Tristan Green
In 2017, Chance the Rapper – whose real name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett – embarked on a secret journey to create something extraordinary. In partnership with AMC, Chance is giving fans a look into a secret project that he created four years ago and crafted carefully over the intervening time. So what is Chance’s upcoming concert film, Magnificent Coloring World – and when can you see it? CELEB breaks it all down.
Magnificent Coloring World – What is it?
Magnificent Coloring Book is the culmination of four years of secret work on Chance’s part. In 2017, Chance gathered together some of his biggest fans in Chicago and held a concert. Magnificent Coloring Book was filmed during that concert, and over the past four years he has edited the footage and turned it into a cinematic experience. Hot off three Grammy wins in 2016, Chance’s 2017 concert was filmed at the top of his game, and all the downtime during the pandemic gave him a chance to revisit it and complete the project.
For Chance, it’s important that people have a chance to sit down in a theater and experience it as a community. Attending a concert is one thing – it can be electrifying and invigorating, full of emotional highs and exhausting physical bombardments of music. But watching the concert in theater seats with friends is another experience altogether; a step removed from the intensity, but just close enough to allow you to feel the energy of it all.
Variety shares, “That was always the main way I wanted people to experience it — as a community, sitting together in a movie theater. When you go see Avengers and they do those character reveals, everybody claps, or when a good joke happens, everyone laughs. In this case, everybody’s singing together. It’s a way different feel than watching Netflix in your bed…”
And Chance has done something unique to bring this experience to fans.
Behind the Creation
Chance’s project is unique in that the concert was held entirely to create the film. Per ET, “Featuring six sound stages and nine cameras, the entire concert was filmed three separate times to get the footage for the final cut, and Chance admitted, ‘Bringing that experience and all that that day held to life in film, it was harder than I thought it would be.’
Additionally, unlike many other concert films, ‘this movie is different because it was made for camera,’ Chance said. ‘It was like a one-time experience.’”
And Magnificent Coloring Book‘s debut marks the first time a music artist has independently produced and distributed a film of this magnitude. The musician-turned-producer/director has had a vision for the project from the very beginning, and that’s part of why it’s taken so long to bring to life. Putting it together any old way wouldn’t do; Chance wanted it to tell a story and draw people in.
When and Where Can Chance’s Movie be Seen?
The film is debuting in Los Angeles exclusively at AMC on August 13th, and in New York City on August 14th. Seeing this movie in theaters is the only way to do it, because it was crafted precisely with that experience in mind.
This debut comes on the heels of another concert film by Chance, although the previous one was filmed with a virtual audience during the pandemic. A press release about the upcoming film shares, “In 2020, Chance – who hit #1 on the charts with his song Holy with Justin Bieber – adapted to stay-at-home orders and completely pivoted the concert experience. He created 11 unique virtual concerts, with Adweek declaring, ‘These performances redefine what it means to experience music remotely.’ In December 2020, Chance released his critically-acclaimed virtual holiday concert film Chi-Town Christmas on YouTube and 3D on Oculus. An ode to Christmas, Chicago and the miraculous recovery of Jeremih, Chi-Town Christmas is a beautifully shot concert film written and directed by Chance. The film received a ‘big thumbs up’ from the legendary movie reviewer Richard Roeper for Chance’s directorial debut.”
With such high acclaim for his first, there is an air of anticipation around this newest movie. The Chicago’s Children’s Choir appears in the film, and the fan energy from the concert are a big party of the story Chance is telling. While it’s about Chance and his music, it’s about the overall atmosphere, the beauty of a concert connection between artist and fans, and the story the artist is telling with his music. This project’s premiere marks the 5 year anniversary of Chance’s acclaimed Coloring Book album, and it’s a wonderful way to ring in the anniversary. One might even say – magnificent!