While some have suggested Benedict Cumberbatch is playing gay in Sherlock, he’s now going to do it properly, playing Beatles manager Brian Epstein in a new biopic of the man who guided the Fab Four to fame.
The Tom Hanks produced movie will focus on the manager’s entire life, rather than just being a story about The Beatles from his perspective. Brian Epstein signed the iconic band back in 1961. He initially had difficulty getting a label to take them, before he launched them to international superstar status. While he’s best remembered for his relationship to the Liverpudlians, he also managed the likes of Cilla Black and Gerry & the Pacemakers.
Epstein was also a closeted homosexual, whose sexuality was completely concealed from the public, although it was an open secret amongst his friends and associates. It’s little surprise it was kept secret, as homosexuality was still illegal in the UK at the time. He’s also said to have had an ‘almost’ love affair with John Lennon, which was never consummated (at least that’s how Lennon put it). Epstein battled addictions with drugs and gambling, and tragically died of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills in 1967, just one month before homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales.
Todd Graff wrote the screenplay for the film. The openly gay Graff is a former actor (perhaps best known for The Abyss), who’s more recently written and directed music-fuelled movies such as Camp, Bandslam and Joyful Noise. However he won’t helm this one, as Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin, Push) has that job. The director already has a good relationship with Cumberbatch as he helmed four out of the six episodes of Sherlock that have been released so far.
It isn’t clear when this film might shoot. (Source: THR)
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