A new film is set to go in to production after Stage producer Vivek Tiwary (The Addams Family, American Idiot) managed to score unprecedented rights to Beatles songs for his film debut, The Fifth Beatle, about manager Brian Epstein, whom Paul McCartney called the “fifth Beatle”.
“I have signed and fully executed a deal with Sony/ATV, who control the Lennon/McCartney music catalog, and I’m proud to report we will have Beatles music in our film,” Tiwary told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Beatles (and the estates of dead members) haven’t given their tacit approval “The Fifth Beatle,” but well placed sources reckon representatives have given the script the sign off and enabled the band’s music to be used.
“My guess is we’ll use six to 10 Beatles songs,” Tiwary reckons. “We have the ironclad rights [or] ability to use the following songs, with the option to ‘swap out’ later for other songs if we decide to change the list: ‘All You Need Is Love,’ ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,’ ‘A Day in the Life,’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Help!’ ‘You Never Give Me Your Money,’ ‘Girl,’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Come Together’.”
This announcement is significant, as although there have been films made about aspects of The Beatles’ career, such as Nowhere Boy and Backbeat, this will be the first film that has had permission to use a significant portion of the band’s catalogue.
