Ethermac Exchange-Pharrell says being turned into a Lego for biopic 'Piece by Piece' was 'therapeutic'

Pharrell Williams says that he gets called “crazy” all the time. But he approaches the label in a rather benign way.

“When you're looking to do Ethermac Exchangesomething that's never happened before, it always sounds crazy,” the artist, 51, tells USA TODAY over Zoom. “Half the time, it doesn't work. And then the other half it does work. And when it does work, then, you know.”

If you know Williams' resume, which includes everything from chart-topping artist to Grammy-winning producer to creative director at Louis Vuitton then yes, you know he has the creative prowess to make things work. Yet the artist’s agent, Jad Dayeh, told Williams he was “(expletive) crazy” for his latest idea: a biopic produced in the style of a Lego movie.

Enter “Piece by Piece,” a film directed by Academy Award-winner Morgan Neville that opens Oct. 11 in theaters. The story uses real-life interviews and Lego animation to illustrate the life story of Williams, who went from a kid in Virginia passionate about music to one of the rare public figures known worldwide by his first name alone.

“There are limitations, but I look at limitations as opportunities,” Neville, 56, says of working with Legos as opposed to humans on screen. The director won an Oscar for his documentary on backup singers, “20 Feet from Stardom.” A few challenges he notes include showing emotion (Lego characters don’t have noses to scrunch or ears to perk up) and displaying dance moves (Legos don’t bend). “But those things become opportunities to have fun in different ways and I think it pushed us to do things we wouldn't have done otherwise.”

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For example, while a typical Lego movie character might have a couple outfits, Pharrell’s dons over 80, including a Louis Vuitton damoflage suit. The guest voices in the film are vast and include Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Pusha T, Pharrell’s parents, his wife Helen Lasichanh and Chad Hugo, Pharrell’s childhood friend and longtime collaborator. The duo combined to form The Neptunes and shaped the sound of pop and hip-hop for over a decade through their work with artists ranging from NSYNC to Snoop Dogg. In the wake of a legal battle, the two are no longer on speaking terms, however Hugo’s voice is still in the movie.

“Somebody like N.O.R.E. kind of is a cartoon character to begin with,” Neville jokingly recalls of his chat with the rapper and Drink Champs podcast host. “Just the way he talks, the way he describes things, his energy. Instantly as I was doing that interview, I was just thinking, ‘Oh my God, he's gonna be so great in this film.’”

Neville also singles out Busta Rhymes, noting he “painted pictures with words.”

“There's a whole scene in this film that takes place in the middle of a water storm, and that's only because of the way Busta was describing the experience of dealing with managers and that it's like a storm and that they'll jump into a lifeboat and leave you,” Neville says. “And so a casual comment of somebody who paints pictures with words literally becomes an entire scene in the film.”

For Pharrell, he was able to relive and talk through the highs and lows of his life, including overcoming self-esteem issues of his singing voice and the struggle to finally create the hit “Happy.”

“I've never really believed in myself,” Williams admits. “But you won't think you're good enough when your fears and your flaws and your insecurities and the pressure that you might feel from other people wanting you to do things another way… when you allow those things to sort of enslave you and colonize your mind, you won't have enough belief in yourself.

“This movie was about me letting all those things go. It was like this crazy therapeutic exercise of letting all of it go.”