Billy Joel has disowned Billy and Me, a new film dramatizing his life in the years before his superhit “Piano Man.” Told from the perspective of Joel’s first manager, Irwin Mazur—whose own life rights provide the basis for much of the screenplay—the feature is directed by John Ottman, a composer and editor whose credits include The Usual Suspects, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Michael. The makers of Billy and Me have been trying to secure the rights to Joel’s life since 2021, a representative for the singer-pianist told Variety. “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,” they added.
Casting for the film is nonetheless under way, with the close involvement of Jon Small, Joel’s former drummer and longtime friend; as well as providing his own life rights, he will serve as a consultant, co-executive producer, and second unit director. Small told Variety, “I first met Billy when he was 16 years old, and after reading the script, I felt the filmmakers truly understood who he was before the world knew his name…. As someone who was there from the very beginning, I can say this script captures not just the music, but the friendships, struggles, humor, and creative spark that defined those years.”
The filmmaker Adam Ripp, who wrote the script and is producing the film, added, “Billy and Me focuses on the period surrounding Billy Joel and the Hassles, and features the cover songs performed by them during that era. As such, characterizing Billy and Me as ‘legally and professionally misguided’ does not accurately reflect the nature of the project nor the legally obtained rights underlying the production. The film is based on Irwin Mazur and Jon Small’s firsthand experiences and Irwin’s legitimate right to tell his own life story and perspective regarding the events depicted in the film.”
The debacle recalls the back-and-forth between the David Bowie estate and the makers of the 2020 film Stardust, which did not secure his music rights. In that case, the producers were forced to respond to criticism from Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, by clarifying that the film was not a biopic but “an ‘origins story’ about the beginning of David’s journey as he invented his Ziggy Stardust character.”
