Ahead of his 85th birthday, Ringo Starr revealed in his interview with The New York Times. Ringo said that he had a detailed sit-down with Sam Mendes, the director of the forthcoming four separate biopics about each member of the Beatles, which will have a look at their lives from individual perspectives.
For two days in April 2025, Starr and Mendes went through the script line-by-line, with Ringo giving, as he said, extensive notes to Mendes, as they were fact-checking the scripts. The particular part where Ringo wanted changes concerned his family and his marriage to Maureen Starkey Tigrett.
“He had a writer – a very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I,” Starr told The New York Times. “That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that.’”
Ringo Starr now feels fine about the upcoming Beatles' biopic script
It is to be noted that Ringo met Tigrett in 1962 and they married in 1965 but divorced a decade later in 1975. They had three children – former Oasis (and later the Who) drummer Zak Starkey, son Jason, and daughter Lee. Tigrett died in 1994 from leukemia.
After presenting his remarks (and seemingly their inclusion) Ringo said that he was satisfied with the changes and that he sent a “peace and love" message to Mendes.
According to earlier reports, Paul Mescal will play Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn will play George Harrison, Barry Keoghan will play Ringo Starr, and Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon. It was also announced that screenplay writers for each biopic will be Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari), Peter Straughan (Conclave), and Jack Thorne (Adolescence).
As for Keoghan (Saltburn), who will play Ringo, in a recent interview, he said that he had spent time with Starr at his home to prepare for the film and observe the musician’s mannerisms.
He said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, “He played the drums for me. He asked me to play, but I wasn't playing the drums for Ringo. When I was talking to him, I couldn't look at him. I was nervous, like right now. But he's like, ‘You can look at me. My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him. I want to humanize him and bring feelings to it and not just sort of imitate.”
Yet, it seems all turned out well between the two, as Keoghan noted that during their time together, Ringo was “absolutely lovely.”