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Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese appears pretty prominently in the new Beatles documentary on Disney+, Beatles ‘64, and it’s not immediately obvious what he has to do with the Beatles. While it hasn’t been quite as widely acclaimed as Disney’s other Beatles docs, Get Back and Let It Be, Beatles ‘64 has a great soundtrack, and it’s been well-received by fans. It offers an intriguing insight into one of the most crucial periods in the history of the band, with newly restored footage of some of their most significant performances.

Beatles ‘64 explores the cultural impact that the Beatles had on the United States after their first visit to America in February 1964. It features gorgeously restored footage of the Beatles’ turning-point performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The documentary contrasts footage of the Beatlemania fad with the interpersonal conflicts between the band members. It has a lot of...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Beatles '64.

The soundtrack of the Disney+ documentary Beatles '64 features many original songs and covers by The Beatles and classic rock songs performed by their American idols. Directed by David Tedeschi, who edited classic music documentaries such as Rolling Thunder Revue (2019) and George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011), Beatles '64 showcases the rise of The Beatles during their revolutionary visit to New York City in 1964 on the heels of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The documentary contains rare footage that captures Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr's legendary impact on American music and culture.

While not everyone is a fan of The Beatles, the documentary captures some of their most devoted supporters throughout the decades who remember how the arrival of the British phenomenon in the United States changed their lives forever. Despite the fringe conspiracy theory that Paul faked his own death,...

Produced by Martin Scorsese, the new documentary Beatles '64 has debuted on Disney+ with an impressive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by David Tedeschi, Beatles '64 traces the cultural impact of The Beatles on the United States in the aftermath of their inagural three-week visit to the country in February 1964, following their historic first performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. The film is the latest in a long line of musical documentaries for Scorsese, who directed Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, as well as another doc about a Beatle – George Harrison: Living in the Material World.

Beatles '64 debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a near-perfect score of 97% based on 30 reviews. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw rated it 5/5 and called it "An amazing split-second of cultural history." The Wrap's Matt Goldberg said, "Perhaps 'Beatles ’64' will only appeal to Beatlemaniacs like me, but...

Beatles ’64 aims to be the best chance yet for music lovers to feel like they were there during the legendary band’s first trip to the United States. Told through a blend of modern interviews, archival videos, and footage from the era shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles and upscaled to 4K, Beatles ’64 offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of the band and shows how fans reacted to their arrival. The documentary even features new interviews with original band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The Beatles documentary was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and brought to life by two of his frequent collaborators in director David Tedeschi and producer Margaret Bodde. Both Tedeschi, an accomplished editor, and Bodde have worked in various capacities on other Scorsese documentaries including The Rolling Thunder Revue and George Harrison: Living in the Material World. Beatles ’64 is Tedeschi’s debut as a solo feature film director,...

The world needs another Beatles documentary like it needs a live-action remake of “Moana,” but Disney has never met a well it didn’t want to suck dry.

And so, not long after Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” became the must-stream event of Thanksgiving 2021 — a second hyper-restored look back at the band will hit Disney+. This one is called “Beatles ’64,” it’s directed by frequent Martin Scorsese collaborator and “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” editor David Tedeschi (with a technological assist from Jackson’s WingNut Films), and though it’s much shorter than the three-episode miniseries everyone gorged on three years ago, Tedeschi’s 106-minute film operates on much the same principle: It never feels the least bit new or necessary, and yet almost every second of it sparks the joy of a genuine revelation.

Similar to “Get Back,” “Beatles ’64” puts a formative moment from...

If there’s any chapter of the Beatles’ saga that Beatles fans the world over feel they know in their bones, it’s the early months of 1964, when the Beatles first came to America — a happening that shook the world, and that changed it profoundly. “Beatles ’64” is a documentary that chronicles the three weeks the Beatles spent in the U.S. starting in February of that year. They came to New York to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” (their first appearance on the show was Feb. 9). They then took a train to Washington, D.C., to give a concert at the Washington Coliseum, then flew to Miami Beach, where they did their second “Ed Sullivan” appearance.

“Beatles ’64” opens with an extended sequence devoted to the early-’60s reign of John F. Kennedy — because, as has been noted so often, JFK was assassinated just a little over two months before their arrival,...

A clip in Beatles ’64 features Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan making a salient observation: “The chances of your understanding anything going on in your own time are very small, except through the means provided by artists. Artists are people who enjoy living in the present.” That perspective is both supported and disproven by the film’s candid access to John, Paul, George and Ringo — surnames not required — on the cusp of global superstardom during their first visit to America in 1964.

The band members are by no means oblivious to the seismic momentum of Beatlemania, becoming virtual prisoners at New York’s Plaza Hotel as it’s surrounded by a mob of screaming fans. And yet they remain at that time disarmingly innocent, almost incredulous — fundamentally still four goofy working-class lads from Liverpool with mop-top haircuts who appear to view the hysteria mostly as a lark. Only in interviews years...

Martin Scorsese is expanding his music documentary empire to include The Beatles.

Disney+ feature “Beatles ’64” is directed by David Tedeschi, with Scorsese producing. The film centers on the iconic British band’s first visit to America, which began the stateside phenomenon of Beatlemania.

The official synopsis reads: “On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. ‘Beatles ’64’ presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.”

“Beatles ’64” includes never-before-seen footage, which was filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles. The clips were restored...

It’s one last waltz for Robbie and Marty.

Variety reports that Martin Scorsese is directing the filming of a tribute concert dedicated to his late friend and collaborator Robbie Robertson for a concert film. The Blackbird Presents (Outlaw Music Festival)-produced concert, called “Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson,” will take place Thursday at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Plans for the release of the future film have not been set.

Robertson, the legendary musician and songwriter best known for his work with the legendary roots rock outfit The Band, died in 2023 at age 80. His relationship with Scorsese went back to the 1970s, when Scorsese directed “The Last Waltz,” the 1978 star-studded concert film commemorating The Band’s final performance. Robertson then worked as a composer, music supervisor, or consultant on many of Scorsese’s films, including “Raging Bull,” “The Color of Money,” “Casino,” and “The Irishman.

Martin Scorsese's latest documentary centered around The Beatles has officially set its release date for Disney+.

Per Deadline, Beatles '64, which follows The Beatles' first trip to America, will land on Disney+ on Nov. 29. David Tedeschi directed the upcoming documentary, with Scorsese serving as producer alongside Margaret Bodde, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, Jonathan Clyde, and Mikaela Beardsley. Jeff Jones and Rick Yorn serve as executive producers on the project. Beatles '64 will document the band's first trip to America, including never-before-seen footage, restored in 4k. The documentary will feature brand-new interviews with McCartney and Starr, as well as interviews with fans who experienced The Beatles' incredible rise to the top of the music industry.

Related Martin Scorsese Addresses Possible Retirement After Upcoming Jesus and Sinatra Films

Legendary director Martin Scorsese explains if he will continue his filmmaking career after his planned Frank Sinatra biopic and The Life of Jesus.

Celebrated filmmaker Martin Scorsese is once again diving back into the world of The Beatles, this time opting to explore the entirety of the Fab Four in the new documentary Beatles '64, which hits Disney+ on November 29, and chronicles the bands journey to America to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. This will be Scorseses second Beatles doc; back in 2011, he delved into the history of one of its members with the film George Harrison: Living in the Material World.

Per Variety, Beatles '64 follows John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they land in New York City for the first time to perform their iconic set on The Ed Sullivan Show, which saw them bang out five songs in total, and change the face of music as we know it. Beatles '64 was executive produced by Scorsese and directed by editor and Scorsese collaborator David Tedeschi. Featured in the new...

A new Beatles documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi has been set for premiere on Disney+ on November 29th.

Titled Beatles ’64, the film will feature never-before-seen footage of the band’s first trip to the United States in February 1964, shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles. Promising to tell “a more intimate behind the scenes story” of their breakout performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, it includes new interviews with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — both of whom also co-produced.

Get Paul McCartney Tickets Here

This isn’t Scorsese’s first Beatles documentary. In 2011, he helmed George Harrison: Living in the Material World, which traced the guitarist’s life from his early days in Liverpool to his travels to India.

One week before the documentary, a box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono will be released, featuring seven Beatles album reissues...

A new Beatles documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi has been set for premiere on Disney+ on November 29th.

Titled Beatles ’64, the film will feature never-before-seen footage of the band’s first trip to the United States in February 1964, shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles. Promising to tell “a more intimate behind the scenes story” of their breakout performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, it includes new interviews with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr — both of whom also co-produced.

Get Paul McCartney Tickets Here

This isn’t Scorsese’s first Beatles documentary. In 2011, he helmed George Harrison: Living in the Material World, which traced the guitarist’s life from his early days in Liverpool to his travels to India.

One week before the documentary, a box set titled The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono will be released, featuring seven Beatles album reissues...

Martin Scorsese is producing a new Disney+ documentary that chronicles The Beatles’ first trip to the U.S. in 1964. The documentary, aptly dubbed “Beatles ’64,” will hit Disney+ on Nov. 29, the streamer announced Monday.

Directed by Scorsese collaborator David Tedeschi, “Beatles ’64” will look at the rise of Beatlemania in the States, with recently unearthed behind-the-scenes footage and new interviews from Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.

“Beatles ’64” will follow The Fab Four — McCartney, Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison — from the first moment they landed in New York City on Feb. 7, 1964, just two days before 73 million people watched them perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Footage from that historic performance, as well as the group’s first American show in Washington, D.C., will be mixed among clips that show a “more intimate behind the scenes story,” according to a press release from the band.

Scorsese is, of course, no stranger to music or Beatles-related documentaries.

The Beatles’ 1964 trip to America will be chronicled in a new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi.

Titled “Beatles ’64,” the film will be released on Disney+ on Nov. 29 and features never-before-seen footage of the band and its legions of young fans during the height of Beatlemania. It also includes new interviews with the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The doc follows McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Starr as they land in New York City in February 1964 and solidify their status as the biggest band in the world. “Beatles ’64” promises to tell “a more intimate behind the scenes story” of the Fab Four as they debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to more than 73 million viewers, which back then was the most-watched television event of all time.

“Beatles ’64” features rare footage filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles, restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand.

“Jim Henson Idea Man” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18 ahead of its worldwide premiere on Disney+ on May 31, just in time to qualify for the 2024 Emmys. The film ultimately racked up eight nominations and leads our racetrack odds for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special based on the combined predictions of Gold Derby users. But not everyone agrees with that consensus. The Expert journalists we’ve surveyed from major media outlets think differently.

Helmed by Oscar winner Ron Howard, “Idea Man” chronicles the life and career of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. It’s the most nominated film in its Emmy race, with bids for its cinematography, directing, picture editing, music composition, sound editing, sound mixing and writing in addition to its nom in the top category. It’s backed by five out of 11 Gold Derby Editors, 21 of our Top 24 Users and 20 of our All-Star Top 24, giving...

Nine years after “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” won the Emmy for Best Documentary Series, its previously unplanned second season is up for the same award. Unlike last time when it stood out as the only crime series in its lineup, it is now joined in that regard by both “Telemarketers” and “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”

Unlike most Primetime Emmys, Best Documentary Series is a non-competitive area award that is bestowed upon any nominee that earns the approval of 90% of the members of the TV academy’s documentary peer group. This means that the five programs in the 2024 lineup are not vying for a single trophy and could all potentially prevail. However, if no nominees hit said 90% threshold, only the highest-rated one will win.

In order to determine which of this year’s nominees has the best shot at being approved for victory,...

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has officially kicked off the announcements for the 35th annual Producers Guild Awards on Thursday, December 7 with the news that Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese will receive the 2024 David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his breadth of achievements in producing over the course his career, which has lasted over six decades. He will accept the honor at the 2024 PGA Awards taking place on Sunday, February 25, 2024.

In addition to last year’s winner Tom Cruise, the prestigious David O. Selznick Achievement Award highlighting a producer’s outstanding body of work in motion pictures has gone to directors Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and George Lucas, as well as people at the top of the profession like Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Brian Grazer, and Kathleen Kennedy.

“Marty’s trailblazing career as a producer, marked by decades of bold, breakthrough projects, demands to be celebrated,” said PGA presidents...

The Killers Of The Flower Moon producer, director, and co-writer will accept award at the 35th annual PGA Awards on February 25.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) will present Martin Scorsese with the 2024 David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his “monumental achievements in more than six decades of producing”.

The Killers Of The Flower Moon producer, director, and co-writer will accept the award at the 35th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 25.

The David O. Selznick Achievement Award recognises producers for their “outstanding body of work in motion pictures” and prior recipients include Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent,...

The Producers Guild of America has announced Martin Scorsese as the recipient of the David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his six decades of producing. Scorsese will accept the honor at the PGA Awards on Feb. 25.

The David O. Selznick Achievement Awards recognizes producers for their outstanding body of work in motion pictures, with previous honorees including Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Tom Cruise, Brian Grazer, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, and George Lucas.

“Marty’s trailblazing career as a producer, marked by decades of bold, breakthrough projects, demands to be celebrated,”said PGA Presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain in a statement. “His mastery and unwavering commitment to the craft are truly unparalleled. We are proud to honor him and his many filmmaking achievements this year at the PGA Awards.”

Scorsese said, “In March 1965, I was flown out to Los Angeles by the PGA to receive an award...

Scorsese's Letterboxd list reveals his love for cinema, featuring companion movies from a wide range of genres and time periods. The list demonstrates Scorsese's role as a scholar of film, with many obscure choices that show his depth of knowledge. The cinematic elements in Scorsese's latest epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, reflect his passion for classic works and his ability to reimagine them.

Martin Scorsese details which films are the ideal double-features for his movies in his Letterboxd list. The auteur filmmaker directed his first feature movie, Who’s That Knocking at My Door, in 1967. Since then, Scorsese created more copious iconic epics and features, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Wolf of Wall Street, and most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon, which is currently in theaters.

Taking to Letterboxd, Scorsese reveals an annotated list of the best companion movies to his work. The list included titles across nearly a century of cinema,...

Tuesday, April 25, Showtime hosted the FYC event for the documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only.” The screening, panel and reception were held at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles. Panel participants from the film included: Director and Producer Martin Scorsese, Director and Editor David Tedeschi, the one and only David Johansen, Producer Margaret Bodde, Executive Producer Mara Hennessey, and film interviewer Leah Hennessey. The conversation was moderated by Cynthia Littleton, Variety Editor-in-Chief.

“It was shockingly good,” Johansen said of the film about him. “I especially liked the fact that I didn’t die at the end. A lot of people, when they do documentaries about music, they ask me to be in them and I normally refuse because it’s the most horrible thing to have an opinion one day and then two years later see it in a film. Because, evolution and transcendence and all that jazz, you...

Showtime’s Personality Crisis: One Night Only may showcase a multi-hyphenated personality – David Johansen is a band member, solo artist, and a songwriter who composed the show’s tunes for his own alter ego, Buster Poindexter – but there is no crisis. Co-directors Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi are documenting a party, Johansen’s 70th birthday in January 2020, which he spent at the Café Carlyle.

Martin Scorsese knows how to set a table, serving up Thanksgiving dinner along with The Band for their farewell performance in The Last Waltz at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom. But the fancy venue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is an intimate space with just enough room for Johansen’s special friends, and he only has to take an elevator to put in an appearance. But what an appearance! Performing as Buster Poindexter, Johansen’s got the best pompadour in the business, an attentive band...

“Inimitable storyteller” and “mythic storyteller” were a few of the superlatives sung of David Johansen, former New York Dolls frontman turned lounge act Buster Poindexter, at the Metrograph premiere of “Personality Crisis: One Night Only” in New York Tuesday.

But they could easily apply to the film’s co-director, Martin Scorsese, who made the cabaret concert documentary with David Tedeschi, the longtime editor on his past nonfiction music films like “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” and Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Revue.”

Curiously for an Oscar-winning filmmaker who has made eight music documentaries along with Fran Lebowitz portraits “Pretend It’s a City” and “Public Speaking” and other nonfiction efforts, Scorsese doesn’t exactly subscribe to the term documentary itself. Or differentiate it from his fiction features like “The Irishman” or the upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon” at all.

“For me, what I’m trying to do is...

Martin Scorsese has turned his camera on the legacy of glam rock, as embodied by the famed band the New York Dolls.

Oscar winner Scorsese and Emmy nominee David Tedeschi (“The 50 Year Argument”) co-direct documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only” about music legend and New York Dolls frontman David Johansen. The synopsis reads: Framed around an intimate cabaret performance filmed in January 2020 at New York City’s storied Café Carlyle, the film explores the life and musical transformations of New York Dolls frontman David Johansen’s enormous influence as he regales the audience with stories and music illuminating the art and cultural evolution of New York City.

“Vegetarian, gay, straight; I just wanted to bring those walls down and have a party,” Johansen says in the trailer.

Scorsese has helmed multiple documentaries, especially centered on rock ‘n roll. Past docs include “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,...

While HBO Max is undergoing a sea change behind the scenes, the streamer still boasts an impressive catalog of films. Its documentary line up is particularly strong, thanks to partnerships with TCM, the Criterion Collection, and HBO itself, as well as the inclusion of several HBO Max originals. On the service, you'll find everything from groundbreaking classics that defined the genre, like "Nanook of the North," to docuseries that dive into seminal artists and cultural icons, like "George Harrison: Living in the Material World," to investigative films that probe the human condition, like "Mommy Dead and Dearest."

Whether you're looking to learn more about an overlooked moment in history or dive into the dark underbelly of true crime, there's something for every kind of documentary fan on HBO Max. From the countless hours of material to choose from, we've gathered the best documentaries streaming on HBO Max right now.

20 Feet From Stardom...

The Grammys took place in April, but we might not be done with music award winners just yet. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Sheryl Crow, and The Beatles are the subjects of documentary programs that are eligible for this year’s Emmys. Will they be recognized by the TV academy just like they have been by the Recording Academy?

Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” didn’t win any Grammys, alas, despite its seven nominations including Album of the Year. But her Disney+ special “Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles” is eligible for Emmys and is being submitted for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special, as well as for its music direction, cinematography, and sound mixing. However, Eilish is not a credited producer or music director on “Love Letter,” so she herself won’t take home an Emmy if it wins its top category. Alas, the Grammy and Oscar winner...

White Horse Pictures, the production company behind recent documentaries about the Beatles, Lucille Ball and the Bee Gees, is producing another look at a legendary entertainer: Gene Wilder.

Library Films’ Chris Smith, the filmmaker behind projects such as “Bad Vegan” and “100 Foot Wave,” is directing the documentary about the star of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and “Young Frankenstein,” which will be told through the perspective of Jordan Walker-Pearlman, the late actor’s nephew and a filmmaker in his own right.

The documentary is produced in association with Sobey Road Entertainment, Harlem Hollywood and Mojo Global Arts. White Horse president and partner Nicholas Ferrall and partner Cassidy Hartmann will produce alongside Smith and Sobey Road’s Andrew Trapani. White Horse partners Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa serve as executive producers alongside Mojo Global Arts’ Morris Ruskin and Joseph Mellicker. Joey Scoma will serve as editor and John Keller as co-executive producer.

Ron Howard is teaming with Disney Original Documentary to direct a feature film about Jim Henson and his career developing “The Muppets.”

The untitled film is being produced with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family and will feature never-before-seen personal archives, performances with his early puppets from when Henson was a teenager and explore the worldwide success of “The Muppets,” “Sesame Street” and more.

Howard is directing and producing the film, which will also be produced by Brian Grazer, Margaret Bodde (“George Harrison: Living in the Material World”) and Imagine Documentaries’ Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes are producing the film for Disney Branded Television under the Disney Original Documentary banner.

The film will be executive produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Michael Rosenberg and Disney Original Documentary’s Marjon Javadi. Mark Monroe will serve as writer/producer and Paul Crowder will edit and executive produce, both of whom...

Exclusive: Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are teaming up with Disney Original Documentary for what is promised as the “definitive portrait” of Jim Henson, the legendary creator of the Muppets.

The nonfiction project from Howard and Grazer’s Imagine Documentaries is being produced “with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family,” according to a release, “and will present a fascinating and intimate look at Jim’s illustrious career creating treasured characters and revolutionizing television and film. With never-before-seen personal archives, the film will give audiences an exciting first-person view into the life of one of the world’s most inspiring and iconoclastic creators through exclusive home movies, photographs, sketches and Henson’s personal diaries.”

Howard will direct and produce the untitled film. Grazer and Imagine Documentaries’ Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes will produce, along with Emmy winner Margaret Bodde (George Harrison: Living in the Material World...

A long-gestating movie about The Who’s late drummer Keith Moon is finally moving ahead, with plans in place to shoot in Britain this summer, Variety can reveal.

The project, which is tentatively titled “The Real Me” (the title of a song on Who album “Quadrophenia”), has Moon’s former band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend on board as executive producers. The pic is directed by Paul Whittington with a script from prolific British screenwriter Jeff Pope, who was Oscar-nominated for “Philomena.”

Los Angeles-based White Horse Pictures is producing. The outfit is best known for seminal Martin Scorsese documentary “George Harrison: Living in the Material World,” as well as Ron Howard’s Beatles documentary “Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years.” Founders Nigel Sinclair and Guy East are also known independently for movies like “The Ides of March” and “Rush.”

Shooting is set to begin on the Moon pic in June,...

Exclusive: White Horse Pictures and Homegrown Pictures have teamed on an untitled documentary feature about the legendary musician and genius keyboardist Billy Preston. He was called the Fifth Beatle, because he the only non-member ever to be credited on a Beatles recording. He had plenty of his own hits and co-wrote the song Joe Cocker made famous, You Are So Beautiful. Fifteen years after his death in 2006, Billy Preston was inducted this past weekend into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Paris Barclay, the multi-Emmy-winning director, producer, and writer will direct. Cheo Hodari Coker is writing the film alongside Barclay.

The film is produced by Homegrown’s Stephanie Allain, White Horse’s Jeanne Elfant Festa, (Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) and Nigel Sinclair. The exec producers are Barclay, Daniel Shaw, G. Marq Roswell, Olivia Harrison, Jonathan Clyde, and White Horse Pictures’ Nicholas Ferrall and Cassidy Hartmann. Coker is co-producing and Erikka Yancy serves as the film’s supervising producer. Pic is presented by Concord Originals alongside Impact Partners, Chicago Media Project, and Play/Action Pictures, Polygram Entertainment, Dave Knott, and Sobey Road Entertainment.

Said Allain: “A singular figure in music history, Billy Preston lent his genius to elevate the most celebrated artists of the 20th Century. Grateful to work with this team, using this soundtrack to explore his personal journey and finally place him front and center.” Barclay said “the Billy Preston we know was an incomparable musician,” but the Billy we’ll see in this documentary was a mass of contradictions. I’m thrilled to dig deeper into the complex man under the Afro, and behind the famous smile.”

A self taught prodigy keyboard player, Preston was just 16 when he met the not-yet-famous Beatles while playing for Little Richard while they toured Hamburg in 1962. He befriended the young, impoverished band by sneaking them food and drinks. Later in the ’60s, this led to Preston playing on The Beatles’ Let It Be and Abbey Road albums as a credited musician, and performing with the Beatles in their last live performance as a group – the famous Roof Top concert. The Grammy Award-winning artist had solo career that included number one hits, and working with The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nat King Cole, Sly Stone, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin and Mahalia Jackson, among others. Preston is featured in the upcoming Peter Jackson-directed documentary The Beatles: Get Back.

Despite an enviable career in music, Preston had a challenging personal story that involved sexual abuse he endured as a child. He struggled with his sexuality and had substance abuse problems he used to make his pain. Only later in life did he come to terms with his truth and so find his peace.

Barclay and Hodari Coker asked to make a shout out to those who knew Preston or worked with him, who and may have recordings, photographs, or personal memories to make contact through http://www.billyprestondoc.com.

UTA Independent Film Group with White Horse Pictures helped raise the funding and they will broker sales of the film.

Allain’s Homegrown is repped by UTA, First Artists and Marcy Morris; Barclay is ICM and Lovett Management.

As Britney Spears’ legal battle ravages on, the buzzy television documentary surrounding the pop star’s conservatorship and the #FreeBritney movement has been nominated for two Emmys.

“Framing Britney Spears,” which was produced by the New York Times for FX and Hulu, has been nominated for outstanding documentary or nonfiction special and picture editing for a nonfiction program.

The Emmy nominations for “Framing Britney Spears” come just one day before Spears is expected to appear in court on July 14 for her latest hearing in her ongoing conservatorship saga.

Spears is currently fighting to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed from and terminate the conservatorship altogether. The singer is currently in talks with a major Hollywood power lawyer, who she hopes the court will approve to represent her on the ongoing matters, as she works to terminate the conservatorship that she has been under for 13 years. In 2008, her father became the...

Michele Farinola is no stranger to producing music documentaries: Her credits include “Foo Fighters: Back And Forth,” “George Harrison: Living In The Material World,” and most recently, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice,” which is up for best music film at the Grammy Awards Sunday night.

Farinola says she’s drawn to telling stories of legendary performers whose stories connect to today and to the audience’s own experiences. With Ronstadt, she felt this story of a woman who stayed true to herself as she made a name for herself in the ’60s was a story that could resonate with audiences. Together with producing partner James Keach, and directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Farinola made the documentary in conjunction with CNN Films.

Beyond its Grammy nomination, the film was nominated for three Critics Choice awards in 2019, and ultimately picked up two wins there, for Most Compelling Living Subject...

Martin Scorsese and his Sikelia Productions banner have signed a first-look film and television deal with Apple.

The acclaimed director is currently working with the streamer on the film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which will directed by Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The film is in pre-production and is expected to debut in 2021.

News of Scorsese’s deal comes just over a week after it was announced that DiCaprio and his Appian Way production company had signed a first-look television deal with Apple.

Scorsese is one of the most celebrated directors in film history, having helmed iconic features such as “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Goodfellas,” “Casino,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Departed,” “Hugo,” “The Aviator,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Silence,” and “The Irishman.” He has been nominated for the Academy Award for best director nine times, winning the award in 2007 for “The Departed.

Exclusive: Two and one-half months after it stepped up to become the producers of Killers of the Flower Moon, Apple has inked a first-look deal with its director, Martin Scorsese. The master filmmaker will base his Sikelia Productions banner at Apple in a multi-year deal for film and television projects Scorsese will produce and direct for Apple TV +.

The relationship kicks off with Killers of the Flower Moon, the Eric Roth-scripted adaptation of the David Grann non-fiction book which will star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro will star in. Apple won an auction with the $180 million + film originally optioned by Paramount came back on the market. Deadline revealed on May 27 that Apple won a deal that has Paramount releasing the film theatrically. The film’s produced by Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas at Imperative Entertainment. The film is in pre-production and expected to get underway February in Oklahoma.

Pact covers film and TV produced by Scorsese for Apple TV+ through Sikelia Productions.

Apple has partnered with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions on a first-look deal months after boarding the filmmaker’s upcoming Killers Of The Flower Moon.

The Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro FBI crime drama is the first title under the multi-year arrangement.

Apple announced it had come on board as principal financier in late May after the project had been set up at Paramount, with whom Scorsese has had a long relationship.

The deal covers film and TV produced by Scorsese for Apple TV+ through Sikelia Productions.

Is it a crime to fall in love with Frankenstein? Martin Scorsese has, and hard. Pre-punk hard. The director is best known for movies with killer soundtracks, but he’s also brought such classic musical films as The Last Waltz–he even got Michael Jackson down a subway platform in the music video for “Bad.” Not to mention the work he did early in his career following Elvis Presley. Scorsese will next tilt his camera at the legendary David Johansen in a Showtime documentary, according to Rolling Stone.

“I’ve known David Johansen for decades, and his music has been a touchstone ever since I listened to the Dolls when I was making Mean Streets,” Scorsese said in a statement. “Then and now, David’s music captures the energy and excitement of New York City.”

Scorsese will co-direct with two-time Emmy nominee David Tedeschi, who edited George Harrison: Living in the Material World...

Exclusive: White Horse Pictures chairman Nigel Sinclair and president Nicholas Ferrall have made a multi-picture partnership with Reelin’ In The Years Productions president David Peck to create more documentaries in the film and TV space.

The companies have worked piecemeal on films since 2006. Those collaborations include the Ron Howard-directed Pavarotti and The Beatles: Eight Days A Week — The Touring Years, as well as Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, George Harrison: Living In the Material World, the upcoming docu on The Bee Gees that Frank Marshall is directing, and The Apollo, the Roger Ross Williams-directed docu that opened at Tribeca and will be launched on HBO this fall celebrating the history of the iconic Harlem theater.

Reelin’ In The Years is a gatekeeper in licensing archival footage that feeds these documentaries, with over 30,000 hours of music footage and much more in interviews in its arsenal.

Sinclair, who...

Ira Spiegel on Brian DePalma's Carlito's Way: "A wonderful effects film with a grand shootout in Grand Central Terminal. Sound editors love violence and noise." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

When I met with Aviva Kempner, the director of The Spy Behind Home Plate, at Soundtracks F/T, where she and Martin Scorsese mainstay re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman were putting in the final touches on her documentary, I had the chance to borrow her sound editor Ira Spiegel (Ken Burns's longtime collaborator) for a short while to clue me in on his work in creating the velvety flow of the picture.

Ira Spiegel with Aviva Kempner while re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman works on The Spy Behind Home Plate. Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Carroll Ballard's The Black Stallion, executive produced...

“Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese” finally has a release date. The documentary will premiere on Netflix on June 12 and will also receive a theatrical release beginning in Los Angeles and New York in order to qualify for awards. In addition, the streaming service has booked one-night-only “road show” screenings in 20 different cities on June 11.

Those cities are London, Paris, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Portland, Tulsa, Tempe, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Bologna, Sydney, L.A., and New York.

Per its log line, the film “captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year” and is “part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream.”

The film marks the second collaboration between Dylan and Scorsese, the first being 2005’s “No Direction Home.” Though best known for dramas like “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,...

Netflix is holding its third annual Fysee campaign in its exclusive exhibition space at Raleigh Studios to celebrate the start of Emmy season — and let’s not forget the streaming service’s continued Oscar ambitions too. Opening on May 5 and closing on June 9, the online distributor’s Fysee events (full list here) will showcase its slate of programming with special guests including Martin Scorsese, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Ava DuVernay.

The opening night on Sunday, May 5, will feature Scorsese and Springsteen together. Springsteen is an Emmy contender this year for the Netflix special “Springsteen on Broadway,” which launched on the platform last December right after it finished its run on the Great White Way. Springsteen was given an honorary Tony Award for the production, which he added to a mantel that also includes an Oscar and many Grammys. He hasn’t yet won at the Emmys, but even if...

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival will once again host a robust lineup of its “Talks” series, which features in-depth one-on-one conversations with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Of particular interest is a two-fer of long-time collaborators taking to the stage to talk about their work together, including Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro (who will chat about their decade-spanning partnership and their much-anticipated Netflix mob drama “The Irishman”), along with David O. Russell and his frequent star Jennifer Lawrence. Other pairings of note include Sarah Silverman with Mike Birbiglia, Michael J. Fox with Denis Leary, and Queen Latifah with Dee Rees. Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro is also slated for a talk, along with Irwin Winkler, Rashida Jones, and Questlove.

“Our Tribeca Talks have been so successful because they bring together cultural icons to discuss and debate a wide range of topics,” said Paula Weinstein, Evp of Tribeca Enterprises,...

Exclusive: Stampede, the indie media company formed by former Warner Bros president Greg Silverman, continues to scoop up book deals for its growing slate. It has just acquired movie rights to Devastation Class, an unpublished sci-fi novel co-written by filmmakers Glen Zipper and Elaine Mongeon.

The novel follows an unlikely group of young cadets forced to mutiny aboard a revolutionary starship to save themselves from an annihilation force of invading aliens. When their escape transports them to a reality they don’t recognize and reveals unimaginably terrifying secrets, they must fight their way home to save not just everyone they love but also humanity itself. Standing in their way is an insurmountable enemy, a mystery eons in the making and the fabric of time and space itself.

“Zipper and Mongeon have created an incredible cast of brave young characters and a fresh approach to the classic space opera for a new generation,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (Steve James)

Steve James’ filmography has long been about finding entry into larger conversations through intimate portraits. The director’s landmark debut, Hoop Dreams, and latter-day efforts like 2014’s monument to critic Roger Ebert, Life Itself, don’t have much in common on the surface, but they both use their central characters to tell larger stories about big picture topics like structural dysfunction and the purpose of film criticism.

Netflix may be in massive debt, but that hasn’t changed much for the streaming giant, which announced a robust list of new additions today. Todd Haynes’ “Carol” is heading to Netflix, as well as two other masterpieces from provocative auteurs: Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream.” As the summer movie season winds down, Netflix has plenty of gems to carry you into fall.

Other titles heading to the streaming service include the entire “Jaws” franchise, Martin Scorsese’s Daniel Day Lewis vehicle “Gangs of New York,” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Squid and the Whale.” Check out the complete list of all the new films joining Netflix in September, 2017 below, including our 7 must-see choices.

Read More:tv Imports: The Best Foreign Netflix Shows to Binge, Part 3 “Amores Perros” (September 1)

September kicks off with “Amores Perros,” the breakout feature from “Birdman” and “The Revenant” director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Beatlemania is alive and well on planet Earth. Director Ron Howard’s documentary “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years” has been filling theaters around the world despite Hulu releasing the film on its streaming platform the same weekend as the doc’s U.S. theatrical release.

Watch: ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week’ Trailer: See the Band on the Run

What was initially planned as a one-week U.S. theatrical run in 85 theaters has expanded to 180 cinemas, with nearly every venue holding the movie over for a second week, according to Richard Abramowitz, president of specialty distributor Abramorama. Appetite for the film is so strong that some Beatles fans have even emailed producer Nigel Sinclair’s White Horse Pictures complaining that the movie wasn’t being shown in their town.

According to Sinclair, Abramowitz immediately booked the film in towns that reached out. Since hitting theaters...

Directing legend Martin Scorsese ironically appears to be having all sorts of trouble with his latest film, Silence. You'd think that a man of his caliber would have no trouble getting all the funding he needs for his projects, but from the get-go, this passion project of his faced the problem of no mainstream appeal. The film stars Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, and Andrew Garfield, and is set in the 17th century. It follows two Jesuit missionaries and their desire to spread their faith in the country of Japan. Along the way, they face violence and persecution in a world where outside views are treated with ridicule.

In short, this isn't really the uplifting, fun tale of the year that families will be running to the theaters to see. In fact, all the well-known actors had to work for scale wages, and Scorsese himself had to work for less than...

Ron Howard's upcoming Beatles film will be featured in Hulu Documentary Films, the streaming service's newest division. Howard's movie – working title The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – will debut in theaters and on Hulu this fall, Variety reports. The deal marks Hulu's first exclusive documentary premiere following a theatrical run.

Eight Days a Week focuses on the Beatles' iconic early years between 1962 and 1966. It will feature rare and previously unseen footage. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and the late George Harrison's wife Olivia Harrison are involved in the production.

Asif Kapadia's breathtaking documentary Amy is already wowing critics and fans, so its official release this week makes it a good a time to be reminded of some other great music documentaries.

There's David Byrne's giant suit and Bob Dylan's oversize shades. Two films from Martin Scorsese but just one from Julien Temple. Punk rockers and pop superstars. We count through ten leading music documentaries below.

10. The Filth and The Fury (2000)

Julien Temple's first Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle was Malcolm McLaren's make-it-up-as-you-go-along take on things. Twenty years on the same director gave the group the right to reply, including Sid Vicious with some beyond-the-grave archive footage.

9. In Bed with Madonna (1991)

Known as Madonna: Truth or Dare in the Us, this absurdly naughty chronicle of the Queen of Pop's infamous 'Blond Ambition' tour is arguably her greatest on-screen moment. Bitchiness, bottle-fellating...