Sam Mendes hoists the two Golden Globes he won for “1917” at the 77th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
From left, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon of the Beatles arrive in London on July 2, 1964, following a tour of Australia. (Fox Photos/Getty Images/TNS)
Sam Mendes hoists the two Golden Globes he won for “1917” at the 77th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
The Beatles are getting the film treatment as Oscar winner Sam Mendes gears up to helm four films from each of the Fab Four’s perspectives — for which there will be “nothing off limits.”
The Academy Award-winning director of “American Beauty” told Deadline that he went to Hollywood late last year to pitch the films about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The projects, which are set to rock theaters in 2027, mark the first time the group’s full life story and music rights have been granted for a scripted film by the surviving Beatles and families of Lennon and Harrison.
“It’s a testament to [Mendes’] creative brilliance and powers of persuasion that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison responded with such warmth and enthusiasm as soon as he spoke with them,” Mendes’ Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris told the outlet. “What is truly exciting is for Sam to have the freedom to delve into the lives of each of the Beatles, with nothing off limits and no sense of the band wanting him to tell a particular ‘authorized’ version of their rise to success.”
“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 — who also scored three Oscar nominations for his film “1917” — said in a press release reported on by Variety.
The scripted films will come together to make “a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience,” Harris said in a statement, per Deadline. “Four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time” leading to their breakup in 1970.
From left, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon of the Beatles arrive in London on July 2, 1964, following a tour of Australia. (Fox Photos/Getty Images/TNS)
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The Beatles starred in several of their own films, including “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Yellow Submarine” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The beloved band has also been the subject of many a documentary, including Ron Howard’s acclaimed “Eight Days a Week” and Peter Jackson’s docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back.”
While fictional offerings have largely let it be, the Beatles’ music set the stage for the musical film “Across the Universe,” while the late John Lennon’s life inspired “Nowhere Boy.” Danny Boyle’s 2019 film, “Yesterday,” dealt in a world in which all but one man forget about the Beatles’ existence and repurposes their hits as his own.
