Morgan Neville on why a Pharrell Williams biopic could only work with LEGO

The director of Pharrell Williams’ LEGO biopic has explained how the hugely popular bricks provided the only true way for audiences to understand the story of the celebrated producer and singer.

Piece By Piece sees director Morgan Neville tracking the musician’s dazzling story entirely in LEGO, alongside talking heads from high profile figures who were initially unaware they were set to receive the tiny brick treatment. Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani are just three of the faces immortalised in LEGO throughout the film.

But, as Neville tells Rolling Stone UK, using the Swedish bricks proved to be the only authentic way for audiences to understand Pharrell’s story. For starters, the lavish creative medium allows Neville to depict Williams’ Synesthesia – which means he sees certain colours when specific notes are played.

“It’s the difference between seeing something with your eye, which you typically do in a film, and seeing something in your mind’s eye,” Neville explained.

“That was interesting for me. To understand everything we could do with animation, so we could see things inside Pharrell’s head in a way that we couldn’t otherwise, and so the LEGO of the story actually became essential. This film wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t in this form.”

The film also depicts the rich creative partnership between Williams and his long-time collaborator and Neptunes bandmate Chad Hugo. The pair began their musical partnership as friends, but the film now arrives at a time where they are no longer on speaking terms.

“I can’t speak to the emotion of what’s happening, but I know that whenever Pharrell speaks about Chad he has nothing but good feelings,” Neville said.

“Their relationship has gone up and down and when I started this film, they were producing together. So I spent time in the studio with Chad and Pharrell and I interviewed Chad and it was all good when we finished editing this film before we animated it a couple of years ago.

“Now they’re in a bad patch, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t change again. I just wish that Chad could celebrate it with us because in a lot of ways I feel like the film speaks a lot to the power of creative partnerships too, and that there’s a lot of affection for Chad in the film, so I want him to feel that love, of course.”

Neville also explained that one of the many films he sought inspiration from was The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, which sees the Fab Four transformed into animated characters. He’s also now delving even deeper into the life of Paul McCartney for Man On The Run, a 2025 film which will delve into the music icon’s life after he started Wings following the breakup of The Beatles.

The film is being made with McCartney’s full co-operation and Neville has been granted access to never-before-seen home videos and photos from the archives of the singer and his late wife, Linda. The archival footage will be combined with new interviews, to delve into a little-covered period in McCartney’s life.

Neville said: “I’m such a fan of that era of Paul’s music, but I feel like that time in the 1970s, in the wake of Paul figuring out how to be an ex-Beatle, a creative person and then a husband and father, that’s a really interesting story that I haven’t seen that deeply explored in film, not to mention all the archive and materials that exist from that whole era. I’m really excited because I think people that fans are going to love it.”