Robbie Williams: also Oasis in “Better Man”

Robbie Williams he told how he thinks that Noel and above all Liam Gallagher will react to their portrayal in the biopic”Better Man”soon to be released.

Williams and the film’s director Michael Gracey they spoke with the NME newspaper about the biopic, which recounts the early years of the English artist’s career, whose release in Italian cinemas is scheduled for the first day of the year.

Both Gallagher brothers are involved in the film’s story, although Liam appears to a greater extent than Noel. Williams said the film is a “representation” of what he and the Oasis duo were like at the time, although “rough edges” have been smoothed out in the narrative.

Williams had previously said that partying with Oasis at Glastonbury in 1995 was “the start of his new life” after leaving Take That. Relations between them later soured, but they appear to have reconciled in 2020, when Liam reached out to Williams, offering “love and light for your family” following news that Williams’ father had developed Parkinson’s disease. Williams joked that after their reconciliation he had to “find someone new to resent.”

In 2022 Williams had claimed that, during their heyday, the two Gallaghers behaved like “bullies”. However, Liam denied this statement. “I’ve never bullied anyone in my life, I’m definitely a pain in the ass and I’ve probably gone a little too far sometimes, but if I’ve ever hurt anyone’s feelings I apologise,” he said.

In the same year, the former Take That man joked that he might play Knebworth again if he sold tickets as cheaply as Liam did, who set the price of entry for his solo show at £65. “I can only apologize to him for saying ‘cheap’; I was a bitch,” before adding: “Knebworth isn’t one of my favorite destinations; I’d like Glastonbury.”

Now Williams has speculated on what their reaction will be. “I think in some ways he will be happy to be there” he said speaking of Liam and then the protagonist asked the director: “Did you send him the script, Michael?”. “I don’t think Liam has read it but there’s nothing in it that isn’t in the public domain,” director Gracey responded. Williams then joked: “Uh-oh! There’s nothing that isn’t 100% real! That’s how he acted! This is the person he was! And in a court of law, all of that stands up!”

Continuing more seriously, he added: “The people we were are different to the people we are now. I see Liam and I love his interviews and the person he’s becoming. He’s kind now, introspective and still wonderfully funny, but the rough edges have been taken away The same goes for me: the rough edges have been taken away. So, in the movie, he’s a representation of who he was then and I’m a representation of who I was then. I don’t want him to get angry he plays Noel only has one line, but that line is so “really Noel” it’s unbelievable: ‘Fuck you, asshole!'”

Williams also expressed his opinion on the recent Oasis reunion. “The soap opera alone will be exciting or macabre to watch,” he said in September. “What about the shows? They will be incredible, special and off the charts,” before going so far as to call them a “healing moment for our country.”

He continued: “All he has to do is stand there and sing to assure the audience of his worth,” before giving his brother a slight dig: “Noel will be there too.”

Robbie Williams has also come to the Manchester band’s defense after they were embroiled in a controversy over Ticketmaster’s use of dynamic pricing when putting tour dates on sale. “I’ve never been in a meeting about ‘How much are we pricing tickets?’ And I don’t think Oasis ever did either,” Williams told The Face.

“I don’t think the Gallaghers knew. Liam definitely didn’t know and he certainly didn’t say ‘Here’s how much the tickets are going to cost. We’re going to do this thing called dynamic pricing’. I only know about dynamic pricing thanks to Oasis,” concluded Robbie Williams.

In the film “Better Man”, the English singer is represented in the guise of a CGI monkey, played by actor Jonno Davies. The protagonist himself explained the choice, defining it as part of his “cheeky modus operandi”. “What’s more cheeky than a cheeky monkey?” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I’ve been a cheeky monkey all my life. There’s no cheekier monkey than the one who snorts cocaine and has sex, as you’ll see in the movie.”

The 50-year-old British star also believes that being represented as a primate can provoke different reactions in the public: “We care about animals more than we do humans. It also creates a kind of detachment. It’s a deeply human story, but if you see someone playing Robbie Williams, you ask yourself: ‘Does he act like him?'”

Director Michael Gracey also gave his explanation for the choice in an interview: “After many meetings with him, I thought there was a more creative way to tell this particular story,” he said. “I wanted something different than the typical musical biopics.”