Christopher Polk | Billboard
Billy Joel’s legal team is pushing back against a planned biopic exploring the singer’s early career. According to Variety, “Billy & Me” is currently in development with John Ottman, director of “Michael,” attached to lead the project Joel has allegedly been trying to block for several years.
“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,” read a statement from Joel’s representative to Variety. “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.”
The project is expected to focus on Joel’s years leading up to his 1973 breakthrough album “Piano Man,” telling the story through the perspective of his first manager, Irwin Mazur. He had discovered Joel in 1966, signed him in 1970 and remained with him until Joel’s 1972 deal with Columbia Records.
Even with opposition from Joel’s representatives and ongoing questions around rights, casting is said to be moving forward. Production is currently scheduled to begin this fall in New York and Winnipeg.
According to Variety, filmmakers have also secured exclusive rights to the story of Mazur, as well as those of Joel’s longtime friend Jon Small— a drummer, video director, and consultant on the project who also serves as co-executive producer and second unit director. Small previously played alongside Joel in the Hassles and later in their short-lived acid-rock duo Attila, which released a single album in 1970.
How the project plans to portray Joel without access to his life or music rights remains unclear, which may explain its emphasis on Mazur and Small’s perspectives. The screenplay is being written by Adam Ripp, a co-writer of “Devil’s Whisper.” Upon reading the script, Small called the project “the most honest, heartfelt, and authentic portrayal of Billy’s early life and rise to becoming one of the greatest musical voices of our time.”
“Billy & Me is grounded in truth, shaped with care, and built with the insight of people who genuinely know and love Billy,” Small said. “As someone who was there from the very beginning, I can say this script captures not just the music, but the friendships, struggles, humor and creative spark that defined those years.”
Expanding on criticism often leveled at music biopics for sanitized or selective storytelling, Small added, “Too often, stories about artists get lost in exaggeration or mythmaking. Billy & Me reflects the real history with integrity and respect. I first met Billy when he was 16 years old, and after reading the script, I felt the filmmakers truly understood who he was before the world knew his name.”
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