Post Summary
The recent announcement of developing Billy Joel biopic sees the man himself sharing blunt thoughts that bring to light an important production caveat.
Despite the existence of 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the movie industry still loves developing biopics on musical legends. With Michael’s continued box office success still in play, and Bohemian Rhapsody also casting its golden shadow, that itch isn’t going away any time soon. We saw that with the recent announcement of a Billy Joel film Billy & Me – an event that was quick to draw the ire of the Piano Man, and his representatives.
Billy Joel’s Issues With Billy & Me Highlight A Huge Hurdle
Not long after the picture’s announcement, a representative of Billy Joel’s shared this crucial statement with Variety:
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.
Coincidentally this Billy Joel show has Bohemian Rhapsody editor John Ottman attached as its director. However, potential Billy & Me audiences shouldn’t get their hopes up for a stirring rendition of “Piano Man” on screen. Nor should they expect the award winning music icon to be the main focus, as the running synopsis for this project actually act as the first sign of the issues mentioned above.
Surprisingly, Billy Joel Isn’t The Main Character In Billy & Me
Another huge surprise stems from how the story for this film, as it stands, isn’t a Billy Joel-centered narrative. Taking a different tactic in fleshing out the importance of the artist’s early days, this synopsis is pretty telling:
Billy & Me tells the origin story of Joel before fame, before the hits — and, significantly, before “Piano Man,” the 1973 song and album that lofted him to stardom. The film is told through the eyes of Joel’s first manager, Irwin Mazur, who discovered the singer in 1966, signed him in 1970 and oversaw his career up to his breakthrough deal with Columbia Records in 1972.
In addition to Mazur’s exclusive life rights, John Ottman and his team have secured the same exclusivity to the story of “Joel’s longtime friend, drummer and video director” Jon Small. Small will be wearing many hats, as this announcement credits him as “a consultant, co-executive producer and second unit director.”
With the casting process moving forward, and a potential production start date intended for this fall, Billy & Me could become a reality soon. That is, if the lack of BIlly Joel’s musical and life rights doesn’t kill the music. Even if the curtain does go up on this flick in its current form, the fact that it shares similar hurdles to 2020’s David Bowie exploration Stardust doesn’t encourage much hope for a warm reception.
Keep your browser tuned to THS’ Movie News archives, for all further updates on the matter – as well as the latest and greatest in pop culture.
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