Billy Joel is about to have his biopic moment. Variety reports that the early years of the singer/songwriter/Oliver & Company star’s career will be captured in the upcoming feature film Billy & Me, to be directed by John Ottman.
Billy & Me, per Variety, “tells the origin story of Joel before fame, before the hits — and, significantly, before ‘Piano Man,’ the 1973 song and album that lofted him to stardom. The film is told through the eyes of Joel’s first manager, Irwin Mazur, who discovered the singer in 1966, signed him in 1970 and oversaw his career up to his breakthrough deal with Columbia Records in 1972.”
Joel does not seem to be involved with the film, as producers are working with the life rights of Mazur as well as Joel’s collaborator and friend Jon Small. Small told Variety that “This is 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.” Anyone who watched the two-part HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes knows that this was a dramatic period of Joel’s life, featuring numerous ups and downs.
Ottman has previously directed one film — the 2000 horror sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut. But as a longtime collaborator with Bryan Singer, he was the editor on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and also edited and oversaw all post-production on this year’s Michael. The script for Billy & Me will be written by Adam Ripp.
