Sony Pictures Entertainment and Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes and his company Neal Street Productions are planning to make four separate films — one about each member of The Beatles — one of the most famous musical groups in human history.
Mendes will direct all four films, and this is the first time that Apple Corps Ltd. (not to be confused with the computer company, it is the corporation founded in the 60s by the band members that owns the rights to their work) and The Beatles — Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison — have granted full rights to the life story and music for a film script.
All of this became possible after Mendes, the Oscar winner for American Beauty, presented the project in Hollywood, and almost everyone was excited about it. Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler from Sony Pictures Entertainment, who tend to take on the most ambitious and prestigious projects, jumped at the opportunity and won the package, reports Deadline.
Ringo Starr advertised the upcoming project on his account:
Have you heard the news? Oh boy. We all support the Sam Mendes movie project. Yes, indeed. peace and love.😎🎶🌈✌️🌟❤️☮️ pic.twitter.com/byhnmVqsHY
— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) February 20, 2024
In addition to directing all four films, Mendes will produce alongside his Neal Street Productions partners Pippa Harris and Julie Pastor. Jeff Jones will serve as executive producer on behalf of Apple Corps Ltd.
The Beatles changed the face of music and pop cultureb and their popularity eclipsed even Elvis Presley after they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and blew the roof off, inspiring countless great musicians who listened to them as children and knew what they wanted to do with their lives. The band has been the subject of numerous documentaries — «Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years» and Peter Jackson’s documentary series «The Beatles: The Return», and Apple Corps has been involved in Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show The Beatles Love and a special SiriusXM radio channel to satisfy the band’s voracious appetite.
Mendes and SPE will find their own path in the coming-of-age films of Paul, John, George and Ringo as they became global recording and movie stars who made young girls swoon and the quartet often had to flee from crowds of fans. The group evolved from cute Mop Tops singing bluesy love songs to bold, edgy artists who tackled the hot topics of the 60s. After the breakup in 1970, each member of the band faced an impossible task — to live a life worthy of the band’s success. But all of them paved the way in different directions, both as solo artists with stacks of No. 1 hits and by contributing to the culture in other ways.
