Acclaimed New Zealand film director Sir Peter Jackson has been recruited by The Beatles to make a film from the 55 hours of unused footage from the groups final sessions.
Exactly what they have in mind has not been made clear but this project sounds like Jackson has been hired to recreate the original ‘Let It Be’ film which to this day remains unreleased but is widely bootlegged.
The Beatles announced the project stating:
New Film Project
We are proud to announce an exciting new collaboration between The Beatles and the acclaimed Academy Award winning director Sir Peter Jackson
The new film will be based around 55 hours of never-released footage of The Beatles in the studio, shot between January 2nd and January 31st, 1969. These studio sessions produced The Beatles’ Grammy Award winning album Let It Be, with its Academy Award winning title song. The album was eventually released 18 months later in May 1970, several months after the band had broken up.
The filming was originally intended for a planned TV special, but organically turned into something completely different, climaxing with The Beatles’ legendary performance on the roof of Apple’s Savile Row London office — which took place exactly 50 years ago today.
Peter Jackson said, “The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us, ensures this
movie will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about.”“I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth,” continues Jackson, “it’s simply an amazing historical treasure-trove. Sure, there’s moments of drama – but none of the discord this project has long been associated with. Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating – it’s funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate”.
“I’m thrilled and honoured to have been entrusted with this remarkable footage – making the movie will be a sheer joy.”
The news came 50 years to the day that The Beatles last performed together on the roof of Apple Records in London.
Today is the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ final public performance. After wild discussions, deliberating on where they should play – “The QE2?” “The pyramids?” – the band surprised passersby when they appeared unannounced on the rooftop of their Savile Row offices, playing a 42-minute set despite protests from the police
A release date for the Jackson film is yet to be decided.
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