Due to the success of the Michael Jackson movie biography, Michael, as well as previous gems such as a Freddie Mercury biopic, music lovers can expect a slew of new film bios involving their favorite artists. One of these will be about Billy Joel. To be clear, the piano man is not a fan of his.
The movie is expected to start filming in the fall and will be called Billy & Me. The setting is the time of Joel's life before he created his first massive hit. The "me" part of the title is Joel's former manager, Irwin Mazur, who is involved in the making of the film.
In other words, as AudioPhix speculated previously, the movie sounds like it will be more about how Mazur remembered things rather than a reflection of what happened from Joel's perspective. The music icon won't be involved at all, and he doesn't want to be.
Billy Joel not a fan of the upcoming biopic Billy & Me
According to People, a Joel representative said in a statement, "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" and that 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."
That makes sense because a project reviewing Billy Joel's life would likely be better-conceived than Billy & Me has begun. For one, the film is being directed by John Ottman, who last directed a movie in 2000, and that was a horror flick. Ottman has helped edit films, such as Bohemian Rhapsody, but editing a project and directing a different one about a high-profile star is completely different.
One would assume that if Joel were going to be on board with a film about his life, it would be one that focused more on his career than only his struggles before he released "Piano Man" in 1973. One reason Michael has been such a huge hit is that it's about the music more than the artist's life.
One also might wonder how much of Joel's music can or will be used during Billy & Me. Mazur stopped being his manager before "Paino Man" was released, so the rights to the music for the project are unknown. Could it be that the movie won't have Joel's music involved? Based on how poorly the project has started, one would not be surprised by that last bit.
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