Peter Jackson to Direct New Beatles Film From Unreleased ‘Let It Be’ Footage
A new Beatles film is in production using 55 hours of unreleased footage of the Beatles recording their twelfth and final studio album, Let It Be.
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, is collaborating with the Beatles on the movie he promises “will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience” that fans have longed for. The film is being made in full cooperation with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison.
The footage, which was shot by British director Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg in 1969 from Jan. 2-31, was originally intended for a TV special. However, the project ultimately morphed into Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 documentary, Let It Be.
In a statement, 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 – it’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together.”
Regarding the rumored conflict between the members during the creation of Let It Be, Jackson says he was "relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth.” “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.”
Currently, there is no title or release date. In addition to Jackson's Beatles film, a restored version of Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be will be released.
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Article image: The Beatles performing in Belfast in 1964. (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland [Available through Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons.)