Planned Billy Joel biopic does not score the Piano Man's OK
Billy Joel performs in his Manhattan apartment in May 1976. A planned biopic of the singer-songwriter does not have his approval. Credit: Newsday / Jim Peppler
Say hello to Hollywood: A Billy Joel biopic is in the works, Variety has reported.
Titled “Billy & Me,” the feature film will center on Joel’s early years, seen from the perspective of his first manager, Irwin Mazur. But the Piano Man himself does not approve of the project.
Mazur first came into the picture while Joel was living on Long Island in the '60s. He signed the musician in 1970, just a few years before everything changed, with the “Piano Man” song and album release in 1973.
Film production is scheduled to kick off this fall in Canada and New York, Variety reported.
“Billy & Me” is apparently playing on without Joel’s life or music rights. Claire Mercuri, Joel's spokesperson, provided this statement to Newsday: "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. 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."
Details including casting, specifics on the story and a distributor have yet to be announced, but there is a director attached: John Ottman, who is no stranger to the biopic genre. He edited “Michael,” which tells the story of Michael Jackson from 1966 to 1988, and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which followed the rise of Queen. Adam Ripp will produce the film and pen the screenplay.
Ottman gave a statement to Variety, which reads in part, "I’m really proud of the development work Adam Ripp and I did to shape ‘Billy & Me’ into both a deeply emotional and fun story. This is the formative years of Billy and his relationship with Irwin Mazur, the man who recognized Billy’s amazing talent even before Billy did himself."
Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.
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