Fab Four films: Sam Mendes to direct separate biopics of each Beatles member

Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes plans to document the long and winding road of The Beatles -- in four separate films that will be from each band member’s perspective.

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Apple Corps, the guardian of the band’s musical properties, and the surviving two Beatles -- Paul McCartney and George Harrison -- have granted permission for Mendes to direct the biopics, The New York Times reported.

The families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison also granted Mendes full life story and music rights for the film, which is scheduled to come together for a 2027 release date, according to the newspaper. The release date is 65 years after the band released their first single, “Love Me Do.”

Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, has signed on to direct not one but four biopics about the Beatles, each telling the story of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr from a different member’s point of view. https://t.co/R1Yb7MdEVz
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 20, 2024

The films will be made by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Mendes’ Neal Street Productions, the BBC reported.

It was unclear whether the four films would be released at once or would have a staggered rollout, according to the news organization. However, Sony said there would be an “innovative release cadence” that will be announced at a future date, Variety reported.

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The Beatles appeared in five major motion pictures during their career -- “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “Help” (1965), “Magical Mystery Tour” (1967), “Yellow Submarine” (1968) and the documentary “Let It Be” (1970).

There was also a miniseries about the band in 1995-96, called “The Beatles Anthology.”

In 2021, Peter Jackson released “Get Back,” which provided a different perspective of the group when they made the album “Let It Be.”

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Mendes won a best director Oscar for “American Beauty” and received three nominations for “1917″ -- for best director, best picture and original screenplay.

In a statement, Mendes said he was excited with the project.

“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.

“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,” Pippa Harris, who will be an executive producer for the project, said in a statement. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege.”

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