Billy Joel‘s legal team has lashed out at an upcoming attempt to chronicle the Piano Man’s early years. According to Variety, the film, Billy & Me, is in development with editor/director John Ottman (Michael) attached to direct the project that Joel has reportedly been fighting to halt for five 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 rep 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 film will reportedly look at Joel’s career before the 1973 album Piano Man catapulted the singer to fame, as told through the eyes of Joe’s first manager, Irwin Mazur, who discovered the singer in 1966 and then signed him in 1970 and guided his career until his signing to Columbia Records in 1972.
Despite the pushback from Joel’s camp and the tussle over life and music rights, casting for the film is reportedly underway, with production slated to begin this fall in New York and Winnipeg. Last year, HBO aired the two-part career retrospective two-part documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes.
According to Variety, in addition to securing the exclusive life rights to Mazur’s story, the movie also has the same rights for Joel’s longtime friend, drummer and video director Jon Small, who is also a consultant, co-executive producer and second unit director on the project. Small kept time in the duo’s early band, the Hassles, as well as in their ill-conceived acid-rock duo, Attila, which released one little-noticed album in 1970.
It’s unclear how the filmmakers will tell Joel’s story without the rights to his music or life story, which might explain why the script will seemingly focus on Mazur and Small’s experiences. The script is being written by Adam Ripp (Devil’s Whisper), with Small describing the story as “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. 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.”
In a seeming dig at other music biopics that have drawn criticism for eschewing warts-and-all storytelling in favor of career burnishing, 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.”
