John Lennon Archives - The Playlist

Sam Mendes To Direct 4 Beatles Film Dramas Based On Each Band Member Band For 2027

Edward Davis — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:50:21 +0000

Director Peter Jackson revitalized Beatlemania in 2021 with “The Beatles: Get Back,” his acclaimed three-episode, nearly eight-hour Disney+ series about the making of the British rock group’s Let It Be (which had the original working title of Get Back). And Apple certainly saw an opportunity to do much more. While Jackson has hinted at doing more Beatles, Today, Apple pivoted in another direction, announcing four Beatles movies—one about each member to be—directed by Sam Mendes (“Skyfall”) in a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Mendes, and Neal Street Productions.

Continue reading Sam Mendes To Direct 4 Beatles Film Dramas Based On Each Band Member Band For 2027 at The Playlist.

‘The Beatles: Get Back’ Review: Peter Jackson Gets Lost In The Treasure Trove Of Fab Four Footage

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 19:41:56 +0000

Let’s get this out of the way quickly: no matter how boring, predictable, rote and maybe Dad-rock-y it may sound to some, The Beatles remain one of the greatest bands of all time. The group was a towering collection of musicians who wrote the blueprint for almost all of the modern rock and pop genre, bold experimentalists and one of the first bands to use the studio as an artistic instrument. They were incredible musicians on a performance level, marvelous songwriting craftsmen and technically, creatively and imaginatively sound on every level.

Continue reading ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ Review: Peter Jackson Gets Lost In The Treasure Trove Of Fab Four Footage at The Playlist.

‘McCartney 3,2,1’: An Electrifying Conversation On Beatles Legacy Between Rick Ruben & Paul McCartney [Review]

Cory Woodroof — Sun, 15 Aug 2021 19:44:50 +0000

Sir Paul McCartney is a Beatles fan. While that might seem painfully obvious, it’s actually not where the music superstar found himself when he was actually in The Beatles. After all, it can seem like a gargantuan task to grasp the profundity of your seminal work while you’re in the middle of making it. And maybe, rather than the impossible task of reckoning with it, you just move forward as so many musicians have done.

Continue reading ‘McCartney 3,2,1’: An Electrifying Conversation On Beatles Legacy Between Rick Ruben & Paul McCartney [Review] at The Playlist.

‘The Hours And Times’: Christopher Munch’s Acclaimed John Lennon Drama Gets A Beautiful New Restoration [Review]

Christian Gallichio — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 18:34:51 +0000

Essentially forgotten after its 1991 Sundance premiere, Christopher Munch’s beautiful, spare, imagining of John Lennon and Brian Epstein’s friendship, “The Hours and Times,” has finally been restored and is being given a proper release courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories. While this understated film may not be for everyone, it is nonetheless a stunning time capsule into the independent film movement of the early-’90s, and a psychologically complex look into the lives of both Epstein and Lennon, right before ‘Beatlemania’ hit.

Continue reading ‘The Hours And Times’: Christopher Munch’s Acclaimed John Lennon Drama Gets A Beautiful New Restoration [Review] at The Playlist.

Review: ‘Nowhere Boy’ A Suspiciously Anti-Rock ‘N’ Roll Story Of John Lennon

Gabe Toro — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:25:00 +0000

The movies trivialize. Unless we’re discussing a once-a-generation feat of filmmaking (not an exaggerated timeline), capturing true stories onscreen minimizes them: the more significant the event, the lesser the film. It’s why most films about historical events and time periods remain successful because they attempt an intimate approach, refocusing the tale history tells with a fly-on-the-wall approach to human drama.

As such, director Sam Taylor-Wood and her collaborators are hamstrung in chronicling the life of John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy.” While there are documents, books and essays, written about the time period when Lennon was a rowdy lad, fans have constructed their own stories about where the titanic troubadour has come from thanks to a staggering body of work left behind, an unimpeachable legacy influencing every pop-centric mind of his generation and beyond.

Continue reading Review: ‘Nowhere Boy’ A Suspiciously Anti-Rock ‘N’ Roll Story Of John Lennon at The Playlist.

NYFF ’10 : ‘Lennon NYC’ Is An Intimate Portrait & Dear Account Of The Artist’s Last Years

Christopher Bell — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:16:00 +0000

There has obviously been a number of iconic rock musicians that have been taken from the world way too soon, and one of the biggest ones is John Lennon. Famous Beatle, political peace figure, and silly clown; Lennon has seen multiple iterations of his character in recent times committed to celluloid: his youth is explored in the upcoming film “Nowhere Boy,” the narrative account of his murderer in the too-awful “Chapter 27,” and the similar documentary “The US.

Continue reading NYFF ’10 : ‘Lennon NYC’ Is An Intimate Portrait & Dear Account Of The Artist’s Last Years at The Playlist.

‘Nowhere Boy’ Arrives In U.S. Theaters October 8, But Is It Being Dumped?

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:40:00 +0000

Sam Taylor-Wood’s “Nowhere Boy,” the young John Lennon, biopic, has had a rough go of things.

The film stars the very respectable cast of Aaron Johnson, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas. The Weinstein Company snatched up distribution to it just as it was commencing shooting in the spring of 2009, but the film wasn’t unveiled until last year at the London Film Festival, where critics pummeled it. To wit: our generally amiable and measured U.K.

Continue reading ‘Nowhere Boy’ Arrives In U.S. Theaters October 8, But Is It Being Dumped? at The Playlist.

No Stars Needed? Robert Zemeckis Casts His 3D Mo-Cap ‘Yellow Submarine’ Remake

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Robert Zemeckis is wasting no time getting his next 3D project off the ground. The remake of the Beatles’ animated film, “Yellow Submarine,” has already been announced, but now the high-concept director has also found his cast. The conventional wisdom must be who need names with motion-capture as none of the cast can be considered stars.

The cast will essentially be led by one “name,” Cary Elwes, who will play George Harrison followed by lesser known British actors like Dean Lennox Kelly (who will play John Lennon), Peter Serafinowicz (who will play McCartney and had a pretty amusing turn in the otherwise mirthless “Couple’s Retreat”) and Adam Campbell (as the perennially-jovial Ringo Starr).

Continue reading No Stars Needed? Robert Zemeckis Casts His 3D Mo-Cap ‘Yellow Submarine’ Remake at The Playlist.

LFF ’09: ‘Nowhere Boy’ Is Just That; An Abject Failure

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

The 53rd Times BFI London Festival has been pretty good to us, so far – we’ve seen more good movies in the past few weeks than in the rest of the year combined, with relatively few disappointments, and it’s been a much stronger year than last. It’s a shame then, that the closing night film, “Nowhere Boy,” is such a misfire. We’d been faintly concerned about the movie for a while, but director, and former artist, Sam Taylor-Wood’s debut short film “Love You More” was so good, and we’d heard such great buzz about the script, that we’d been holding out hope.

Continue reading LFF ’09: ‘Nowhere Boy’ Is Just That; An Abject Failure at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Lennon/McCartney Songs Confirmed in ‘Nowhere Boy’; All The Music Featured In The Film

Oliver Lyttelton — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Yesterday, we had the first trailer for Sam Taylor-Wood’s John Lennon biopic “Nowhere Boy” making its debut. We caught the film this morning, ahead of its world premiere as the closing night of the 53rd Times BFI London Film Festival, and… um, yeah, more on that later. But we can confirm that, unlike the trailer, the film does include some songs by Lennon, as well as a Paul McCartney/George Harrison compositions.

The song “Hello Little Girl,” the first song co-written by Lennon & McCartney, makes an appearance in the film at a key moment, sung by Sam Bell, who plays George Harrison.

Continue reading Exclusive: Lennon/McCartney Songs Confirmed in ‘Nowhere Boy’; All The Music Featured In The Film at The Playlist.

Trailer: The Young John Lennon Biopic, ‘Nowhere Boy’

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Alright, here’s a trailer we’re much more excited about: Sam Taylor-Wood’s young John Lennon biopic “Nowhere Boy.” Or were excited anyhow…

Interestingly enough, there’s no Beatles or Lennon music in this one and the first song we hear is Jay Hawkins’ classic, “I Put A Spell On You,” though it does feature voice recordings of Lennon reflecting back on his childhood. But we must say it doesn’t look great and rather much like a conventional melodrama/em0-teeny bopper coming-of-age tale (lots of teen angst in here).

Continue reading Trailer: The Young John Lennon Biopic, ‘Nowhere Boy’ at The Playlist.

New Poster & Photos Of Young John Lennon Film, ‘Nowhere Boy’

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Who wants to be a gambling man and bet that Sam Taylor-Wood’s young John Lennon biopic “Nowhere Boy won’t come out in the U.S. in 2009?

The film was picked up for a late 2009 release by the Weinstein Company in March, but with the economic troubles they’ve been having all year and all the release date rearranging and shuffling they’ve been making — “Youth In Revolt,” and “Shanghai” pushed to 2010, the same fates seems to have befallen the long-delayed Ryan Gosling picture, “All Good Things“; “Nine”; and “The Road” switching dates — it seems like a decent bet this one is not going to arrive this year.

Continue reading New Poster & Photos Of Young John Lennon Film, ‘Nowhere Boy’ at The Playlist.

The Ballad Of John and Alison: Goldfrapp to Score ‘Nowhere Boy’

Oliver Lyttelton — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:33:00 +0000

In a fairly surprising move, electro-pop siren Alison Goldfrapp has announced on her blog that her band will be providing the score to the imminent young John Lennon biopic “Nowhere Boy.”

NME noticed over the weekend a new post from Goldfrapp, who writes, “We have emerged from an intense period of work and I’m pleased I can now tell you about it (as it is official). We have written the score for a film called “Nowhere Boy.” It’s about John Lennon as a boy and stars Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne Marie Duff.

Continue reading The Ballad Of John and Alison: Goldfrapp to Score ‘Nowhere Boy’ at The Playlist.

HBO To Make Comedy Series Based On Rolling Stones Manager, Radiohead Releases Leaked Track As Single

Simon Dang — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:58:00 +0000

HBO is developing a comedy series loosely based on the memoirs of Andrew Loog Oldham, the notorious bon vivant/former opportunist manager and producer for The Rolling Stones. Wesley Strick (“Cape Fear”) will pen the script, described as “a fictional account of a young man living the high life with artists and hipsters in London’s vibrant Soho scene in the early 1960s” based on Oldham’s deliciously revealing memoirs “Stoned” and “2Stoned.” Canny, idiosyncratic and media savvy, Oldham is not only credited with cultivating the Stones early ’60s bad boy image (via the “Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?” marketing campaign), but also giving Mick Jagger the idea to adopt his queeny, affected and preening personality for the stage and rock persona.

Continue reading HBO To Make Comedy Series Based On Rolling Stones Manager, Radiohead Releases Leaked Track As Single at The Playlist.

Beatleologist Wants Sam Taylor Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’ Stopped; Or At Least His Cut Of The Action…

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:46:00 +0000

The writer behind, “John Lennon, My Brother,” Geoffrey Giluiano, a Beatleologist who co-wrote the book with the help of Lennon’s maternal half-sister, Julia Baird, wants the young-Lennon biopic, “Nowhere Boy,” stopped, even thought the picture is already a month into shooting in the U.K.

Why? Because Baird went off on her own three years later and wrote, “Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon,” which is what “Control,” writer, Matt Greenhalgh‘s screenplay is based from.

Continue reading Beatleologist Wants Sam Taylor Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’ Stopped; Or At Least His Cut Of The Action… at The Playlist.

The Weinsteins Pick Up John Lennon Biopic, ‘Nowhere Boy,’ Both McCartney And Lennon Roles Cast

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:44:00 +0000

The Weinstien Company picked up the rights to “Nowhere Boy,” the young John Lennon biopic directed by first-time feature filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood, that already stars Kristen Scott Thomas as his Aunt Mimi, the woman who was strongly opposed to Lennon’s mother lifestyle and ended up raising the lad for the majority of his youth.

The film also stars Aaron Johnson,Thomas Sangster, David Morrissey and Anne-Marie Duff and starts out with Lennon at 15-years of age and ends around the time he meets the Beatles.

Continue reading The Weinsteins Pick Up John Lennon Biopic, ‘Nowhere Boy,’ Both McCartney And Lennon Roles Cast at The Playlist.

Kristin Scott Thomas To Play John Lennon’s Maternal Presence In ‘Nowhere Boy’

Spencer Martin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:56:00 +0000

Versatile English actress, Kristin Scott Thomas is set to portray John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi, the woman who was strongly opposed to her sister’s (Lennon’s mother) lifestyle and ended up raising Lennon for the majority of his youth, in the upcoming biopic of the troubled artist “Nowhere Boy.” She is coming off an Oscar caliber performance as an estranged sister in this year’s French-language film, “I’ve Loved You So Long.” The project is being developed by Matt Greenhalgh, the writer behind last year’s biopic of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis, “Control.”

The film is being adapted from the book “Nowhere Boy,” which was written by Lennon’s half-sister Julia Baird.

Continue reading Kristin Scott Thomas To Play John Lennon’s Maternal Presence In ‘Nowhere Boy’ at The Playlist.

Clash Of The Titans: ‘Religulous’ Soon To Beat ‘Expelled’ As the Top Grossing Doc Of 2008

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:46:00 +0000

So “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” the Ben Stein creationist-propaganda film that stole a John Lennon song from Yoko Ono was the highest grossing documentary this year, with a $7.7 million gross, right?

Well, Bill Maher and Larry Charles’ “Religulous” documentary looks like it will supersede that number shortly, as they’re not far behind with $7,049,342 cume so far according to Box-Office Mojo (via the L.A. Times).

And thank, ahem, God, for that.

Continue reading Clash Of The Titans: ‘Religulous’ Soon To Beat ‘Expelled’ As the Top Grossing Doc Of 2008 at The Playlist.

Young John Lennon Film, “Nowhere Boy” Comes Together

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:11:00 +0000

Remember the “young John Lennon” film written by Matt Greenhalgh, the first-time feature-length screenwriter who penned the Ian Curtis/Joy Division biopic, “Control”?

Well apparently it’s actually moving forward (almost a year to the day it was announced). Once titled “Lennon,” and now called “Nowhere Boy,” now has a director attached, visual artist Sam Taylor-Wood, according to the Hollywood reporter.

Produced by U.K. company Ecosse Film, the film will focus on Lennon’s lonely childhood/teenage years and then ensuing journey to becoming a young rock icon.

Continue reading Young John Lennon Film, “Nowhere Boy” Comes Together at The Playlist.

Yoko Ono Loses Lawsuit Against Ben Stein And ‘Expelled’ Creationist Cronies Over Use Of John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:24:00 +0000

Does the blogosphere memory extend further than three weeks?

You’ll recall that Yoko Ono had sued Premise Media and the makers of the creationist propaganda documentary, ‘Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed’ for using John Lennon’s classic 1971 anthem “Imagine” in the documentary without her permission (the full use was 15-seconds).

The filmmakers said they would defend the use of the song under the fair-use doctrine. We assumed they would have no shot in hell given Ono’s litigious nature and surely Cerberus-like lawyers, but we were wrong.

Continue reading Yoko Ono Loses Lawsuit Against Ben Stein And ‘Expelled’ Creationist Cronies Over Use Of John Lennon’s “Imagine” at The Playlist.

Ben Stein Fires Back At Yoko Ono Lawsuit; This Will TOTALLY Hold Up In Court

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Yoko Ono and her kin, along with privately held publisher EMI Blackwood Music Inc. are suing the pro-creationist film, “Expelled:No Intelligence Allowed,”and its producers (Premise Media) for the unlawful use of John Lennon’s 1971 classic song, “Imagine.”

They’re claiming the fair-use doctrine, but whatever Ono’s going to sue them into the stone age, wait, they probably don’t believe in that. Sue them back in to the B.C. days?

Either way, Ben Stein the star of the doc has shot back at Yoko via a damning press release.

Continue reading Ben Stein Fires Back At Yoko Ono Lawsuit; This Will TOTALLY Hold Up In Court at The Playlist.

Yoko One Denies ‘Expelled’ Lennon Song, Filmmakers Use Track Regardless Under “Freespeech” Doctrine; Killers On The Otherhand Say ‘OK’

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:16:00 +0000

So after a little digging around on the whole imbroglio involving Ben Stein’s dubious pro-creationist film, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” and the fact that two tracks by The Killers and John Lennon (“Imagine,” no less) may have been licensed for the film – which as many have pointed out would be an odd association for Yoko Ono, Lennon and the Killers to be a part of – we’ve found some answers.

Publicists for Ono, her lawyers and people have told us the the track was not licensed for the film and a statement on the matter would be forthcoming (see below).

Continue reading Yoko One Denies ‘Expelled’ Lennon Song, Filmmakers Use Track Regardless Under “Freespeech” Doctrine; Killers On The Otherhand Say ‘OK’ at The Playlist.

Random Bullshit: ‘Juno-cabulary,’ Yoko Licenses John Lennon Song To “Creationist Propaganda” Film, ‘Expelled’

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:43:00 +0000

Sometimes you just can’t find something to blog about cause every story out there is as dull as a butter knife. Welcome to this morning. We still haven’t found anything super great, but in lieu of something…

The “Juno” DVD features the “Juno-cabulary,” basically a compendium of all the cringe-worthy parts of the movie with the hip, teen-lingo in the film that made you want to walk out of the theater in the first 15 minutes (of course lots of it is delivered by the insufferably unfunny Rainn Wilson.

Continue reading Random Bullshit: ‘Juno-cabulary,’ Yoko Licenses John Lennon Song To “Creationist Propaganda” Film, ‘Expelled’ at The Playlist.

“Control” Writer Working On Young John Lennon Film

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:19:00 +0000

Matt Greenhalgh, the first-time feature-length screenwriter who penned the Ian Curtis/Joy Division biopic, “Control,” has been tapped to write “Lennon,” a film about the inimitable Beatle, John (maybe you heard of him). However, the film will follow the life of the young Liverpudlian before his Beatles days according to the Manchester Evening
News.

Greenhalgh was brought on board by ‘Lennon’ producers impressed with his “Control” script. The Mancunian told the paper, “The film is called Lennon and details John’s adolescent years, pre-Beatlemania.

Continue reading “Control” Writer Working On Young John Lennon Film at The Playlist.

I’m Looking Through You: The Missing Music Of Wes Anderson – The Royal Tenenbaums

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:00:00 +0000

Our features on the music of Wes Anderson – and the music that doesn’t appear on the soundtrack CD’s – continues with 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” (Earlier this week we looked at “Bottle Rocket” and “Rushmore“)

“I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum” -Liner Notes: The music supervisor Randall Poster calls Mark Mothersbaugh’s [French Impressionism-inspired] score, “charmed, magical and sort of innocent.” Of Mothersbaugh’s Mutato Muzika L.A. operation, Wes Anderson said, “Mutato Muzika – which I think is Esperanto – provides a very stimulating creative atmosphere.

Continue reading I’m Looking Through You: The Missing Music Of Wes Anderson – The Royal Tenenbaums at The Playlist.