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Ron Howard directing sanctioned Beatles documentary

Ron Howard directing sanctioned Beatles documentary

TheBeatles

Deadline reported Wednesday that Ron Howard, director of Rush, A Beautiful Mind and The DaVinci Code, will helm a documentary on the early years of The Beatles.

The film will focus on the years of 1960 to 1966, taking viewers through their formative days playing skiffle and at The Cavern Club in Liverpool all the way until their final tour and their infamous performance at Shea Stadium.

But separating this from many other rock docs that have touched on The Beatles’ massive influence, be it Martin Scorsese’s HBO documentary on the life of George Harrison or the much less sanctioned story Good ‘Ol Freda about the work of Beatles secretary Freda Kelly, is that Howard’s film will have the full support of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Yoko Ono, and even The Beatles label Apple Corps Ltd.

Although there is no shortage of footage to be found on The Beatles, arguably the most photographed and documented band of all time, the sanctioned status is inviting collectors of all sorts to contribute their little before seen footage.

“That footage is so valuable to me as a director, being able to offer the audience an experience,” Howard told Deadline. “We get to tell the story and offer this very visceral, exciting, emotional experience for people who go see the film.”

Howard’s first stab at a documentary was last year’s poorly reviewed Made in America, a film about Jay-Z and American music festivals. But thankfully Nigel Sinclair and Scott Pascucci, the team behind the George Harrison doc, as well as other rock-docs on Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters and The Who, are signed on to produce.

No word yet on when to expect a theatrical release.

[wpchatai]