The Beatles

Michael Winterbottom Set to Direct THE LONGEST COCKTAIL PARTY About The Beatles’ Apple Corps

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 12th, 2011 at 5:23 pm

Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher announced in May 2010 his company In 1 Productions is developing a feature about The Beatles’ multimedia corporation Apple Corps based on the Richard DiLello book The Longest Cocktail Party.  It may take another year or so for all the pieces to come together, but the way the project is shaping up, it will be worth the wait.  Co-producer Andrew Eaton recently revealed that Jesse Armstrong—one of the sharpest writers on the British comedy scene as evidenced by credits on Peep Show, In the Loop, and Four Lions among others—will adapt the screenplay.  Eaton also disclosed plans for Michael Winterbottom—who worked with Eaton on The Trip—to direct when there’s a space in his schedule.

Set in 1968-1969, the story centers on DiLello’s time as a student at Apple Corps with Apple Press Officer Derek Taylor.  Gallagher likes the idea of his friend Johnny Depp playing Taylor.  Eaton would love to have Depp on board in some capacity, though not necessarily as Taylor.  Hit the jump for his explanation.

Exclusive: Producer David Heyman Talks HARRY POTTER and Reveals He’s Doing an Animated Movie Using 10 Beatles Songs – UPDATED

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 13th, 2011 at 5:33 pm

At this year’s CinemaCon (formerly ShoWest) I got to speak to producer David Heyman twice.  The first time was right before the Warner Bros. presentation where Heyman and Harry Potter producer David Barron showed some awesome looking footage from the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  You can watch the red carpet interview here and here’s my recap of the footage.

A short time later, I was backstage with Heyman and we continued our conversation.  During the ten or so minutes, we talked about the footage they decided to show from Harry Potter, will there be an “Ultimate Box Set” on DVD/Blu-ray, what props he took home from set (he has some of the horcruxes!!), and he revealed that he had just “closed the deal on some Beatles songs, and we’re gonna do an animated film, a musical animated film using Beatles songs, with a love story between a dung beetle and a lady bug.”  Hit the jump for more.

UPDATE: Apple Corps Ltd. (the group that represents The Beatles) have contacted me to clarify The Beatles involvement in the animated movie. Here’s what they sent me:

Contrary to recent reports, no original Beatles master recordings will be featured in the forthcoming David Heyman (Harry Potter) produced animated film. The as-yet-unnamed film will feature cover versions of 10 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

So while the music will be used, it’s cover songs. However, with the right artists, the soundtrack could be awesome.  Original story after the jump

Cary Elwes Exclusive Interview: The SAW 3D Star on Bookending the Franchise, TINTIN & YELLOW SUBMARINE

by Ron Messer    Posted: October 31st, 2010 at 6:10 pm

Very few actors find a project that connects so strongly with fans that it becomes an obsession.  Cary Elwes is among a smaller group that’s done it twice.  The unassuming British actor burst onto film screens as Westley in The Princess Bride in 1987 and still gets fan letters from a generation that was born after its release.  In 2004, Elwes tapped into a very different fan base with the smash hit Saw.  It scared up more than $103 million worldwide.  Not bad for a film that barely cost $1 million to make.  Additionally, more than a few industry observers have said it helped to save Lionsgate, the studio that bought it just prior to its world premiere at Sundance.  Five intervening films and $633 million in global box office later, the British actor returned to help bookend the series in Saw 3D.

Elwes filled Collider in on the film recently.  Hit the jump for the interview’s full audio and transcript along with his take on the R rating, why no one with a heart condition or a baby on the way should see the film, the Yellow Submarine remake, twisting Steven Spielberg’s arm into a part in Tintin, and the lasting impact of The Princess Bride.

Liam Gallagher to Make Film about The Beatles’ Apple Corps

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 14th, 2010 at 10:17 am

Liam Gallagher, who was lead singer of the band Oasis, is developing and producing a feature film about The Beatles’ multi-media corporation, Apple Corps.  Based on the book The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello, the film will take place between 1968-1969 and center on DiLello’s time as a student at Apple Corps with Apple Press Officer Derek Taylor.  Reading the synopsis from the press release, it sounds like the film is more of an episodic series of wild times at the corporation than an overarching narrative.  But it wants you to know that the Beatles were inspirational.  Also, water is wet and the sky is blue.  However, the Fab Four won’t actually be in the movie but “will be off-stage – voices in the background, on the end of phones,” which is an interesting approach and not an attempt at a backdoor biopic.

It’s no surprise that Gallagher would try to make this film seeing as Oasis was the world’s biggest Beatles cover band.  However, I’m taking bets right now on how much the film is going to be another, “Hey!  Weren’t the 60s groovy-yet-turbulent?” tale and aesthetic.

Hit the jump to check out the press release.

Conan O’Brien May Be Coming to a Stage Near You!

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 19th, 2010 at 11:54 am

Team Coco, get ready to re-raise your orange-and-white banners because The Wrap is reporting that Conan O’Brien is planning to hit the road and perform at venues across the country.  It’s a clever little work-around his NBC contract that prohibited him from appearing on television again until September.  And as Family Guy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have shown, there’s a market for television shows to hit the road and play to live audiences.

Finally, Team Coco energy hasn’t subsided as fans are anxious to see if Conan will return to late night by signing a deal with Fox (TheWrap says face-to-face meeting are expected to begin by next month).  The insidious Tonight Show promos playing during the Winter Olympics aren’t helping as they’re using The Beatles’ “Get Back” to promote Jay Leno’s return.  The Beatles should not be used for evil.

Trailer for NOWHERE BOY Starring Aaron Johnson as John Lennon

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 28th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

I will watch anything “Beatles”-related.  I suffered through the entirety of “Across the Universe” because I love them so much.  If “Batman: Arkham Asylum” had Beatles songs it would be my favorite game of the year by far.  So even though I’m slightly wary of this tale, I will not miss “Nowhere Boy” because it’s a tale of how the Beatles came together…or not.  I don’t know if they’ll include George Harrison or if the reference to the “Buddy Holly”-look John sports at one point in the trailer is to how Stuart Sutcliffe, the band’s original drummer, suggested the name based off “Buddy Holly and the Crickets”.  I know that this is about the origin of John Lennon.  All I’m saying is that if this movie isn’t 100% historically accurate I’ll 100% hate it.  I try to put the “maniac” into “Beatlemaniac”.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  “Nowhere Boy” will premiere on the closing night of this year’s London Film Festival on October 29^th and will open in theaters in the UK on Christmas Day.  No word yet of a US release.

All You Need Is Love and THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND – Steve’s Mini-Review

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Yesterday, I did something I’d been dreaming about since I first heard the announcement last year; I finally played “The Beatles: Rock Band”.  As I expected from a marriage between “Rock Band” and The Beatles, the game is everything I hoped for and more. From the opening of the game to the interludes in between gigs in Story Mode, “Rock Band” creators Harmonix have created a game that fans of The Beatles will cherish and will open up the Fab Four’s music to a whole new generation of fans. For more of my thoughts on the game and why I think a (hopefully) inevitable “Rock Band 3″ is going to be awesome, click the jump:

Spend A LIFE IN THE DAY with Brian Epstein, the Man Who Discovered and Managed The Beatles

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 25th, 2009 at 10:03 pm

I don’t think it’s right to say that “The Beatles” are experiencing a resurgence or even a rise in their popularity because it’s impossible for “The Beatles” to be any greater.  John Lennon’s famous quote “We’re more popular than Jesus now,” isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.  But I’ll concede that recently “The Beatles” are getting more popular licensing than they’ve had in recent years. “The Beatles: Rock Band”  is hitting stores on September 9th and last week we reported about a possible 3D remake of “Yellow Submarine” by Robert Zemeckis which I don’t oppose as long as it makes me feel like I’m tripping balls.

But who worked to make The Beatles known as The Greatest Band of All Time?  It was a man named Brian Epstein and he’s about to get his story told.  Hit the jump to discover The Beatles before they had out-sized any deity.

Robert Zemeckis and Disney board The Beatles’ YELLOW SUBMARINE

by Ramses Flores    Posted: August 19th, 2009 at 9:00 pm

I really, really love this Beatlemania 2.0 craze that is happening right now. We have the newly remastered Beatles albums along with the highly anticipated (and so awesome looking) Rock Band game coming out in September. If that wasn’t enough to satisfy our Beatles fanboy needs, we now we have a new Beatles film in the works based off of the Yellow Submarine album and eponymous animated 1968 film. The film will be brought to the big screen in 2012  by Disney and Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”, “Beowolf”). To find out what Zemeckis has planned for the film and what other two Beatles projects are in the works hit the jump.

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