Biopics of iconic music stars are the rage these days. There was one about Elvis Presley, another about Bruce Springsteen, and yet a third about Bob Dylan. A Michael Jackson biopic came out recently, too. , These films have met with varying degrees of audience and critical approval. However, make no mistake – Billy Joel apparently is unhappy about the biopic of his life and career currently in the pipeline.<\/p>\n
The proposed movie, titled Billy & Me, “tells the origin story of Joel before fame, before the hits \u2014 and, significantly, before ‘Piano Man,'” per Variety. Directing is John Ottman. It is now reportedly being cast, with filming set for New York, Winnipeg, and Canada in the fall.<\/p>\n
If Billy Joel had his way, the people making this movie would have very little material to work with. Per the outlet, “…[T]he project will not have Joel’s approval, rights to his music, or his life rights….” Furthermore, Joel’s rep put the situation bluntly in a statement via Variety.<\/p>\n
“Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel’s life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project. Billy Joel has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided.”<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the people making this film are navigating around the obstacles Billy Joel’s rep cited. According to producer Adam Ripp, the chronicle of Joel’s early professional years will be “told from the perspective of Billy’s manager at the time, Irwin Mazur, and features Billy’s lifelong friend and former drummer Jon Small.” Those responsible for making Billy & Me reportedly have the life story rights for both Small and Mazur.<\/p>\n
According to Adam Ripp, “The film is based on Irwin Mazur and Jon Small’s firsthand experiences and Irwin’s legitimate right to tell his own life story and perspective regarding the events depicted in the film.”<\/p>\n
Jon Small robustly defended the cinematic endeavor. He said in part per the outlet, “This is the most honest, heartfelt, and authentic portrayal of Billy’s early life and rise to becoming one of the greatest musical voices of our time.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Biopics of iconic music stars are the rage these days. There was one about Elvis Presley, another about Bruce Springsteen, and yet a third about Bob Dylan…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n