A biopic chronicling the early life of legendary rockstar Billy Joel is in the works, though the piano man himself isn’t affiliated with the project, and he’s calling out the film as “both legally and professionally misguided.”
John Ottman, who edited the recently released Michael, is directing Billy & Me, and Adam Ripp is writing the screenplay. For the project, Ottman and Ripp secured the life rights of Billy Joel‘s former manager, Irwin Mazur, as well as Jon Small, a longtime friend of Joel’s. But as a rep for Joel says, the singer has been in touch with the filmmakers for several years to confirm that they do not have his own rights for the picture.
“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,” Joel’s rep said in a statement. “Billy 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.”
Given the years-long development timeline, it’s unclear if Ottman’s plan for the film was always an unauthorized biopic, or if the hope had initially been that Joel would give his blessing. Ottman has been affiliated with some of the biggest biopics of the past decade. Aside from Michael, he also served as editor on the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which won him an Oscar for best film editing.
