American Beauty Academy Award winner Bruce Cohen has teamed up with Vivek J. Tiwary to make The Fifth Beatle, the first major production about the life of Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
Cohen also produced ‘Milk’ with Sean Penn and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ with Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver.
‘The Fifth Beatle’ is the first movie to obtain the rights to use the band’s original songs. It will tell the tale of record store owner Brian Epstein who discovered the Beatles and became their manager. Epstein died of a drug overdose in 1966.
For Tiwary the movie has been a labour of love and something he has spent years working on. “I’ve been researching and developing The Fifth Beatle for more than half my life– it’s a true labor of love! And I’m confident that the next stage in telling Brian Epstein’s story is in extremely capable hands with Bruce, whose sensibilities and talents are simply perfect for The Fifth Beatle. You could say I’m a Bruce Cohen fan– so I’m elated to see The Fifth Beatle coming to life as a film under his guidance!”
Vivek J. Tiwary’s productions have won 25 Tony Awards from 44 nominations. His shows include ‘The Addams Family’ and Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’. He was behind ‘the Producers’, ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘A Raisin In The Sun’.
He is also the co-founder of Musicians On Call, the nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to complement the healing process. Australia’s Pseudo Echo are donating 5% of money raised from their PledgeMusic fundraiser to the charity.
“I am thrilled to be joining Vivek to help bring the extraordinary true story of Brian Epstein to the screen. The combination of Vivek’s powerful script, Brian’s fascinating and complicated life and the unprecedented ability to use the Beatles’ original songs should make for a truly phenomenal film,” said Cohen.
Production of The Fifth Beatle will commence in 2014. Cohen will join Tiwary, Robinson, bestselling author and founding editor of Creem Magazine Dave Marsh, and top record producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Fishbone, Sublime) in the New York Comic Con panel discussion “Spotlight on The Fifth Beatle: The Story of Brian Epstein” on October 11, 2013.
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