Following the news that Mendes will direct four fab films about the Fab Four, our critic picks his fantasy lineup
Just when we were getting sick of the Marvel Cinematic Universe … Sam Mendes comes along with the Beatles Cinematic Universe. It’s a quartet of interlocking movies about the Fab Four, each centred on one band member, and with the fascinating promise of overlaps and Pov shifts, perhaps inspired by Lucas Belvaux’s triple-decker Trilogy pictures or Joao Canijo’s mirror image films Bad Living and Living Bad. Mendes’s moptop movies may tag quadrilaterally around key moments … Shea Stadium, the Maureen Cleave interview, Lennon’s death? But who to cast? Here is my fantasy lineup.
Just when we were getting sick of the Marvel Cinematic Universe … Sam Mendes comes along with the Beatles Cinematic Universe. It’s a quartet of interlocking movies about the Fab Four, each centred on one band member, and with the fascinating promise of overlaps and Pov shifts, perhaps inspired by Lucas Belvaux’s triple-decker Trilogy pictures or Joao Canijo’s mirror image films Bad Living and Living Bad. Mendes’s moptop movies may tag quadrilaterally around key moments … Shea Stadium, the Maureen Cleave interview, Lennon’s death? But who to cast? Here is my fantasy lineup.
- 2/21/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In 1966, John Lennon was terrified to travel to the United States, and bandmate George Harrison joked about it. Lennon had recently sparked controversy because he said The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. While the comments went undetected for a while, they began to fuel protests in America just as The Beatles were headed there for a tour.
George Harrison joked about people threatening John Lennon’s life
In a conversation with journalist Maureen Cleave, Lennon offhandedly mentioned that Christianity would “vanish and shrink” and described The Beatles as more popular than Jesus (via Rolling Stone). Several months later, people rediscovered the comments, and Lennon found the backlash swift and unforgiving.
“The repercussions were big, especially in the Bible Belt,” Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology. “In the South, they were having a field day.”
A Beatles protest | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty
While The Beatles attempted to brush off their...
George Harrison joked about people threatening John Lennon’s life
In a conversation with journalist Maureen Cleave, Lennon offhandedly mentioned that Christianity would “vanish and shrink” and described The Beatles as more popular than Jesus (via Rolling Stone). Several months later, people rediscovered the comments, and Lennon found the backlash swift and unforgiving.
“The repercussions were big, especially in the Bible Belt,” Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology. “In the South, they were having a field day.”
A Beatles protest | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty
While The Beatles attempted to brush off their...
- 8/10/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Tl;Dr:
John Lennon was in his own little bubble around the time he wrote The Beatles’ “Help!” He said “The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension.” The tune reached No. 1 in the United States and the United Kingdom.
John Lennon wasn’t satisfied with his life when he wrote The Beatles’ “Help!” He felt his emotions came out in the music. Subsequently, The Beatles’ “Help!” charted four times in his native United Kingdom.
John Lennon wrote The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ when he was ‘smoking marijuana for breakfast’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In the interview, John explained what The Beatles’ lives were like around the time they released “Help!” “We were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period,” he said. “Nobody could communicate with us because it was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time.
John Lennon was in his own little bubble around the time he wrote The Beatles’ “Help!” He said “The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension.” The tune reached No. 1 in the United States and the United Kingdom.
John Lennon wasn’t satisfied with his life when he wrote The Beatles’ “Help!” He felt his emotions came out in the music. Subsequently, The Beatles’ “Help!” charted four times in his native United Kingdom.
John Lennon wrote The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ when he was ‘smoking marijuana for breakfast’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In the interview, John explained what The Beatles’ lives were like around the time they released “Help!” “We were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period,” he said. “Nobody could communicate with us because it was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time.
- 8/1/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon proposed to his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, when he learned she was pregnant. They’d been together for years, but he hadn’t wanted to commit in that way, finding it embarrassing to have a wife and child. Even after they tied the knot, though, Lennon didn’t fully commit to her. He cheated multiple times throughout their relationship. According to those close to him, he barely even tried to hide it. His school friend said Lennon had no shame about his infidelity.
John Lennon frequently cheated on his first wife
Lennon and Cynthia married in 1962. Per the book The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, when their marriage ended in 1966, he admitted to her that he had cheated multiple times.
“John had confessed to dozens of infidelities committed during the eight years of their marriage, none of which she had suspected. He claimed in...
John Lennon frequently cheated on his first wife
Lennon and Cynthia married in 1962. Per the book The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, when their marriage ended in 1966, he admitted to her that he had cheated multiple times.
“John had confessed to dozens of infidelities committed during the eight years of their marriage, none of which she had suspected. He claimed in...
- 7/29/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Tl;Dr:
The Beatles’ “Help!” was written specifically for the film of the same name. John Lennon was the primary writer of “Help!” but Paul McCartney said he made changes to it. The tune became a hit twice in the United Kingdom. The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer
Many notable people worked together to come up with the title of The Beatles‘ Help!, the Fab Four’s second feature film. Subsequently, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a title song for the movie. Paul revealed his contribution to the song.
The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ was inspired by the title of the film, not the other way around
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed how the title of The Beatles’ film Help! came about. “I seem to remember [director] Dick Lester, [the band’s manager] Brian Epstein, [producer] Walter Shenson, and ourselves sitting around, maybe [actor] Victor Spinetti was there, and thinking, ‘What are...
The Beatles’ “Help!” was written specifically for the film of the same name. John Lennon was the primary writer of “Help!” but Paul McCartney said he made changes to it. The tune became a hit twice in the United Kingdom. The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer
Many notable people worked together to come up with the title of The Beatles‘ Help!, the Fab Four’s second feature film. Subsequently, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote a title song for the movie. Paul revealed his contribution to the song.
The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ was inspired by the title of the film, not the other way around
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed how the title of The Beatles’ film Help! came about. “I seem to remember [director] Dick Lester, [the band’s manager] Brian Epstein, [producer] Walter Shenson, and ourselves sitting around, maybe [actor] Victor Spinetti was there, and thinking, ‘What are...
- 5/28/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In 1973, John Lennon separated from Yoko Ono and began a relationship with the couple’s assistant, May Pang. Ono was aware of this; according to Pang, Ono got them together in the first place. After a whirlwind 18-month affair, Lennon returned to his wife, however. While he wrote off the affair and the events surrounding it as temporary confusion, Pang said she continued to see him in the years after their relationship ended.
May Pang and John Lennon | Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images John Lennon and May Pang had an affair that lasted longer than he let on
When Ono first told Pang she wanted her to begin a relationship with Lennon, she resisted. Pang said she didn’t want to disrespect their marriage, even though she recognized they were having problems. Eventually, though, Lennon charmed her, and they moved in together.
“He was just an interesting person.
May Pang and John Lennon | Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images John Lennon and May Pang had an affair that lasted longer than he let on
When Ono first told Pang she wanted her to begin a relationship with Lennon, she resisted. Pang said she didn’t want to disrespect their marriage, even though she recognized they were having problems. Eventually, though, Lennon charmed her, and they moved in together.
“He was just an interesting person.
- 5/17/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
“Help!” is one of the biggest hits John Lennon wrote for The Beatles. However, the lyrics have more meaning than many may have realized. The track expressed many of Lennon’s insecurities, and he even admitted to being “insecure” while writing the track.
John Lennon wrote The Beatles ‘Help!’ as an actual cry for help John Lennon | William Lovelace/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In 1965, Beatlemania was at its peak. The band was benefitting from unprecedented success. However, Lennon wasn’t overjoyed as the success overwhelmed him and caused him to experience intense pressure and stress. In an interview with Playboy in 1980. Lennon said the insecurity he felt over The Beatles’ success manifested itself in “Help!”, which he wrote in his “fat, Elvis period.”
“When ‘Help!’ came out, I was actually crying out for help,” Lennon shared. “Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song.
John Lennon wrote The Beatles ‘Help!’ as an actual cry for help John Lennon | William Lovelace/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In 1965, Beatlemania was at its peak. The band was benefitting from unprecedented success. However, Lennon wasn’t overjoyed as the success overwhelmed him and caused him to experience intense pressure and stress. In an interview with Playboy in 1980. Lennon said the insecurity he felt over The Beatles’ success manifested itself in “Help!”, which he wrote in his “fat, Elvis period.”
“When ‘Help!’ came out, I was actually crying out for help,” Lennon shared. “Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song.
- 5/6/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia got together when they were teenagers. When The Beatles blew up, both of their lives changed forever. There was no going back. And at some point in the midst of the newfound chaos of being famous, John began to stray from his teenage sweetheart with a groupie or two… or 300.
Cynthia and John Lennon | Douglas Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images John Lennon reportedly confessed to cheating on first wife Cynthia with 300 women
There always seemed to be women vying for John, and that only magnified times 10 when he became famous. Everyone from groupies to actors to journalists had taken their shots with the Beatle. According to The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, only a few weeks prior to Cynthia discovering John with Yoko in their home he had confessed to all of his infidelities.
“John had confessed to...
Cynthia and John Lennon | Douglas Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images John Lennon reportedly confessed to cheating on first wife Cynthia with 300 women
There always seemed to be women vying for John, and that only magnified times 10 when he became famous. Everyone from groupies to actors to journalists had taken their shots with the Beatle. According to The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, only a few weeks prior to Cynthia discovering John with Yoko in their home he had confessed to all of his infidelities.
“John had confessed to...
- 4/22/2023
- by Kelsey Goeres
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Bang a gong, T. Rex fans. The great British glam-rock studs are finally going into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a year after their comrades Roxy Music. It’s a beautiful moment because Marc Bolan has always stood for everything benignly insane about glam. T. Rex didn’t flourish long — Bolan was killed in a car crash in 1977, just two weeks shy of his 30th birthday, and wrote nearly all his great songs in a three-year hot streak. But he’s been a guiding spirit for cosmic dancers ever since.
- 1/15/2020
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
For those of us who weren’t lucky enough to attend a Beatles concert in the 1960s, Ron Howard’s Eight Days a Week just might be the next best thing. The 2016 documentary traces the band’s rise from a cramped and dank cellar in Liverpool to record breaking television appearances, jam packed stadiums, and—ultimately—rock immortality. Lovingly assembled through rare and often unseen fan home movie footage, Howard’s film also draws on more familiar material—restored to the highest echelons of HD— and new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. All told, it’s a joyous...
- 11/21/2017
- by Jordan Runtagh
- PEOPLE.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.