“Chapter 27” premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. It was one of those movies that everyone was talking about before the festival began as Jared Leto had put on 60 pounds to play the part of Mark David Chapman. Also, people were wondering about the movie, like would it just focus on his days in NYC or his whole life, and could Jared pull off this difficult role.

Okay, let me back up a bit. For those unfamiliar with Chapter 27…

On December 8, 1980 Mark David Chapman (Jared Leto) shocked the world by murdering the beloved purveyor of peace, 40-year old musician and activist, John Lennon, outside The Dakota, his New York apartment building. Chapman’s motives were fabricated from pure delusion, fueled by an obsession with the fictional character Holden Caulfield and his similar misadventures in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. In one instant, an anonymous, 25-year old, mentally unstable, socially awkward Beatles fan -- who had fluctuated between idealizing Lennon and being overcome with a desire to kill him – altered the course of history.

Anyway, after the film premiered no one picked it up for distribution. Obviously with the subject matter that the film deals with, it’s not an easy sell for a funSaturday night at the movies.

But whilemanyhave problems with the film as the subject matter is extremely difficult, I’ll say that Jared Leto absolutely disappears into the part. It’s one of those roles that demonstrates how talented he is as an actor, and it’s a tremendous performance that’s worth watching.

So to help promote the film, two days ago I got to interview Jared in Los Angeles and we not only talked about “Chapter 27,” but his other upcoming projects and what’s going on with his band 30 Seconds to Mars. Also, as a fan of Rock Band on the Xbox 360, I asked him about having his music on the game and if he’d tried playing it.

Due to the length of the interview I divided it up into two parts. As usual, I listed what we talked about above each section. And for those wanting to see “Chapter 27,” the movie is now playing in limited release.

Jared Leto – Part 1

  • I ask what the day has been like so far regarding talking to the press
  • What did he do to prepare for playing Chapman in the film
  • I ask if he had any agents or managers warning him about playing the part
  • I ask what was it about the role that made him want to play the part
  • We talk about him putting on the 60 pounds

Jared Leto – Part 2

  • Since he takes a lot of roles which allow him to disfigure himself, I ask why he takes those roles
  • I ask about Mr. Nobody – his next movie
  • Music talk – I ask about the next 30 Seconds to Mars album and the upcoming tour
  • Rock Band talk – I ask if he’s played the game and if he knew his music was on the game