Billy Joel has made it clear that a biopic about him currently in the works is unauthorised and will not include his music.
Billy and Me, a film from director John Ottman and screenwriter Adam Ripp, will begin filming this autumn, Variety reports.
Back in 2022, a previous proposed Joel biopic by Ripp was titled Piano Man.
A rep for Joel spoke out against the project in a statement shared with multiple media outlets.
“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,” the statement reads.
The Grammy winner “has not authorised or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided”.
Ottman, the Oscar-winning editor behind the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, recently oversaw the underscore of Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic currently going gangbusters at the box office.
Billy and Me will be told from the perspective of Irwin Mazur, the manager who oversaw Joel’s career in the time leading up to his 1973 breakout hit Piano Man, according to Variety.
Ottman and Ripp have the exclusive life rights to Mazur and drummer Jon Small, who is also involved in the production. Joel’s first wife, Elizabeth Weber, was previously married to Small.
Joel’s life has already made it to the screen in the two-part documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which aired in July last year with the musician’s blessing.
