Billy Joel Denies Rights For New Biopic, Calls It “Legally And Professionally Misguided”

Before he became famous as a solo artist, Billy Joel was one half of Attila, a psychedelic rock duo from Long Island. Joel's bandmate in Attila (and, before that, the Hassles) was drummer Jon Small, the other guy in the photo above. Small was married to a woman named Elizabeth Weber, but she left him and married Joel instead. Shockingly enough, the band did not stay together. Later on, Weber and Joel broke up, and a depressed Joel attempted suicide more than once. After his second suicide attempt, Small found him and brought him to the hospital. He and Joel made up. Joel and Weber made up, too, and Weber eventually became Joel's manager. That sounds like a movie, right? Especially if we're going to make biopics of every damn famous musician?

That story already has been a movie, sort of. The Billy Joel documentary And So It Goes came to HBO last year. But now, Variety reports that the story will be the subject of an actual biopic. John Ottman, a film editor and composer who's most famous for working with disgraced director Bryan Singer, has signed on to direct Billy & Me, a new movie about the adventures of young Billy Joel. Ottman recently edited the music biopics Bohemian Rhapsody and Michael, both of which became big hits after going through chaotic production processes. Also, Ottman directed 2000's Urban Legend: Final Cut, so we're dealing with an experienced auteur here.

Billy Joel himself does not approve of the biopic. A rep for Joel told Variety: "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. 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."

Instead, producers got the life rights for Jon Small and for Irwin Mazur, Joel's first manager. Mazur will reportedly be the movie's point-of-view character. Sounds great. We all love movies about music managers. It'll reportedly end before the release of "Piano Man," the 1973 song that became Joel's breakthrough. The movie is currently being cast, and it's supposed to film in New York and Winnipeg this fall.

The real question: How will Billy & Me possibly do a more complete, nuanced job telling the young Billy Joel story than Nick Kroll on The Kroll Show?

In other news, Billy Joel's album Turnstiles is 50 years old today. Happy birthday, Turnstiles!