Fab Four: Sam Mendes to direct four Beatles biopics
NEW YORK: The Fab Four are back, and each member of the iconic Beatles will be immortalized in a big-screen biopic, all directed by Sam Mendes, Sony Pictures said Tuesday.
“The project marks the first time (the Beatles label) has given Apple Corps Ltd., the Beatles – Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison – the complete life story and music rights to a scripted film.” The studio said in a statement.
Pippa Harris, who will co-direct alongside Mendes, said: “We intend this to be a uniquely exciting and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different points of view telling one story about the most famous band of all time.”
The films are expected to be released in 2027.
In April 1970, six months after the release of the album “Abbey Road” and a month before the release of “Let It Be,” the members of the famous British band announced their separation.
The ten-year collaboration between McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr resulted in 14 best-selling albums, nearly a billion records sold and several films.
But since the breakup, the band members’ families have not blessed the Beatles’ story being told on the silver screen.
Last fall, with the help of artificial intelligence, a new song called “Now and Then” – originally recorded four decades ago as a demo – was produced and released and topped the British charts.
The Beatles have also been the subject of several documentaries, such as Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” series, which sheds a positive light on the lead-up to their breakup.
Mendes, whose directorial credits include “American Beauty” and the James Bond films “Skyfall” and “Spectre,” said he was “honored to tell the story of the greatest rock band of all time.”
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of documentaries and biopics on streaming platforms and in cinemas that tell legendary stories from the world of music.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” tells the story of Queen, while “Elvis” tells the turbulent life of Elvis Presley, “Tina” mentions Tina Turner, and “Rocketman” tells how Elton John conquered the pop world.
