A great director and four films, one for each member of the most famous band of all time: Sam Mendes, the multifaceted filmmaker of American Beauty, but also of Skyfall and 1917 about his grandfather's experiences in the trenches of the First World War, yes and ' agreed with Sony for a quadrilogy on the Beatles.
Mendes, who won an Oscar for American Beauty and won two Tonys on Broadway, one for The Ferryman and the other for Stefano Massini's The Lehman Trilogy, will direct all four films, Deadline has learned exclusively.
It is the first time that Apple Corps Ltd. and the Beatles - the two survivors, Paul McCarney and Ringo Starr, and the heirs of John Lennon and George Harrison - have granted full rights to the story and musical rights of the four from Liverpool for a transposition on the big screen.
Mendes will therefore have carte blanche.
It will tell connected stories, one for each member of the band.
Release dates for the films will be revealed at a later date, but Deadline has learned that things are moving quickly and screenwriters are being cast these days.
It was Mendes who brought the package to Hollywood before Christmas, the director told Deadline, greeted by universal applause: "The reason why Sony stood out from the other offers was because of the enthusiasm with which the Sony Picture Entertainment CEO Tom Rothman and president Elizabeth Gabler immediately believed in the project."
In addition to getting behind the camera, Mender will produce the four films through his Neal Street Productions while Jeff Jones will serve as executive producer on behalf of Apple Corps Ltd. "The project was born from an idea that Mendes presented to us about year ago. It is a testament to his creative brilliance and powers of persuasion that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison immediately reacted with enthusiasm and warmth," Harris said.
The Beatles have been at the center of documentaries - from Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days a Week to Peter Jackson's Get Back docuseries to give just two examples, never of films dedicated individually to the four members of the band.
To feed fans' insatiable appetite, Apple Corps was also involved in Cirque du Soleil's The Beatles LOVE show and a dedicated channel on SiriusXM satellite radio.
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