Biopics have become increasingly popular in recent years. We’ve seen the creation of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Priscilla (2023), and Respect (2021) - just to name a few. And as someone who once spent too much time watching Beatles documentary after Beatles documentary, until it became almost impossible to find one I hadn’t watched, I feel like there is a missed opportunity in cinema to tell their story.
Of course, Nowhere Boy (2009) does exist, and I do enjoy watching this film (even if I do think the casting wasn’t the best), it primarily centres around John Lennon’s relationship with Mimi and his mother. The Beatles are only The Quarrymen at this stage. Obviously, this is an important part of their journey to success, but the film ends before they reach any real level of fame.
Beatlemania is something that feels important to include in a Beatles biopic. It was completely unprecedented and as far as I’m aware, nobody has since come close to that level of fame. Exploring it feels almost needed; like it could be a pivotal moment of the film. What were The Beatles reactions to this?
There are so many aspects to The Beatles that I think could be interesting to explore. The White Album sessions intrigue me personally, with the addition of Yoko Ono in the studio and how that added to tensions in the band. I think that mentioning The Beach Boys would also be interesting, to explore how both the bands influenced each other’s music.
John Lennon’s life, in particular, feels like it would make a great biopic. Perhaps that’s why Nowhere Boy (2009) is the only thing that feels close enough to a Beatles biopic that exists. From creating the band, to Beatlemania, to meeting Yoko Ono and the band splitting up, his bed-in for peace protest, solo projects, and eventually ending with his assassination. It feels like grounds for an evocative biographical story to be told were it to be picked up. There’s so much to his story, and The Beatles’ story generally, so it’s a shame it hasn’t been told in this format yet. Perhaps it’s a book waiting to be opened.