Movie
The 1917 director announces an ambitious project that receives the full approval of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison
Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of two of the most successful James Bond films of all time, is taking on another multi-million pound British cultural institution: the Beatles.
The director has announced that he will make four separate feature films, one for each band member. The project has the blessing of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as the families of John Lennon and George Harrison. It's the first time she and rights holder Apple have granted full life story and music rights to a scripted film.
Mendes explained that the four films will all be released in 2027 and tell interconnected stories, one from the perspective of each band member. The “dating beat” of the films, a press release states, “will be innovative and groundbreaking.”
“It’s an honor to tell the story of the greatest rock band of all time,” he said, “and I look forward to challenging the idea of what constitutes a moviegoing experience.”
No writers or cast have been announced yet.
Mendes' producer Pippa Harris explained that the director had the idea more than a year ago, “and it is a testament to his creative brilliance and conviction that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison responded with such warmth and enthusiasm. “as soon as he spoke to them”.
She told Deadline: “What's really exciting is that Sam has the freedom to immerse himself in the lives of each individual Beatles, without being forbidden and without the feeling that the band wants him to be a certain 'authorized' person. version of her rise told. “Succeed.”
Mendes with his wife, trumpeter Alison Balsom, on February 7, 2024. Photo: Dave Benett/Jed Cullen/Getty Images
Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, added: “Today, motion picture events must be culturally seismic. Sam's bold, large-scale idea is that and much more. The combination of its world-class filmmaking team with the music and stories of four young men who changed the world will delight audiences around the world. We are deeply grateful to everyone involved and look forward to breaking some rules with Sam’s unique artistic vision.”
The Beatles formed in 1960 and changed the course of music history before breaking up in 1970. In addition to their numerous albums and hit singles, they produced five features that followed on from seismic albums, beginning with A Hard Day's Night in 1964 and ending with Let It Be (1970), all of which were well received except for the 1967 Magical Mystery Tour became.
Dozens of documentaries have been made about the band, including Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years (2016) and Get Back, Peter Jackson's acclaimed three-part eight-hour film from 2021.
The Beatles: Now and Then review – “final” song is a poignant act of closure
Some 18 biographies of the band have also appeared on the big and small screen, the most famous of which are 1994's Backbeat – which focuses on former guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe – and 2009's Nowhere Boy, about adolescence by John Lennon.
Last year saw the release of Now and Then, reportedly the final track to feature all four major Beatles, with McCartney, Harrison and Starr accompanying and adapting an audio track recorded by John Lennon before his murder in 1980.
Aaron Johnson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John Lennon and Paul McCartney in Nowhere Boy. Photo: Icon Film Distribution/Allstar
Mendes was born in 1965, when Help! was at the top of the charts in the UK and US. His most recent film, Empire of Light, was an autobiographical drama set in the early 1980s, whose soundtrack – and plot – featured a significant amount of contemporary two-tone.
His debut film American Beauty won five Oscars in 2000, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (for Kevin Spacey). His two James Bond films, Skyfall (2012) and Specter (2015), remain the highest-grossing films in the franchise, while the former is widely considered the most critically acclaimed film.
His single-film war film “1917” entered the 2020 Academy Awards with 10 nominations and won three awards, but lost in the key category to “Parasite.”
Mendes' stage career includes high-profile revivals of classic musicals, including Cabaret (1993) Oliver! (1994), Company (1995) and Gypsy (2003). In 2013 he directed the original West End production of the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His latest production, Jez Butterworth's new play The Hills of California, recently premiered in London.
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