Beatles biopics: Sam Mendes to direct 4 films featuring each band member
FILE - Rock and roll band "The Beatles" pose for a portrait wearing suits in circa 1964. (L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - Each Beatles member will get their own biopic in a Fab Four series of films that will give each band member their own spotlight.
Director Sam Mendes is set to helm the projects and for the first time ever the Beatles, long among the stingiest rights granters, are giving full life and music rights to a movie project.
The deal was announced on Feb. 19, and is expected to dwarf all music biopics that have come before it.
The stories of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr will spread over all four films.
How Sony secured the rights
McCartney, Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison have all signed off on the project through the band's Apple Corps. Ltd. Sony Music Publishing controls the rights to the majority of Beatles songs.
"I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies," Mendes said in a statement.
What will each film be about?
It would not be easy to encapsulate the legacy of one of the biggest bands in the world into one film. That's why each film will be from the perspective of each Beatle.
Producer Pippa Harris thanked the band and Apple Corps who were behind giving the blessing behind the music rights.
"We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time," said producer Harris said. "To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege."
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Attempts to dramatize the Beatles’ story have been more sporadic and less impactful. A 1979 biopic, made when Lennon was still alive, called "The Birth of the Beatles" was produced with Beatles original drummer Pete Best as an adviser. The 1994 indie drama "Backbeat" chronicled Lennon’s relationship with Stuart Sutcliffe before the Beatles were famous. "Nowhere Boy" (2009) starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a teenage Lennon.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. It was reported from Los Angeles.