With the first images of Sam Mendes’ four-part Beatles biopic released, the internet is abuzz with discussion of these upcoming films. Will Paul Mescal nail that McCartney role? Will Ringo’s nose be large enough? And most importantly, just how goddamn annoying are Beatles devotees going to be about it?
The Harpoon reached out to musicologist, Oko Yono at the University of Liverpool, for more clarity on the topic.
“When these types of films come out, we typically see two reactions. One is a collective yawn from the general public feeling cheated out of a few hours and twenty bucks to see Timothée Chalamet in a film without getting spanked on screen. The other is from the fans, who gather in a sort of hivemind to endlessly ‘erm actually’ their friends while watching,” said Yono.
Yono says she receives a large volume of calls every time a musical biopic comes out, and that trend has only gotten worse.
“I can’t imagine what’s going to happen when those four Beatles movies drop. All I can say as a professional now is to stock up on food and water for the shelter. Yes, shelter. It might be safest to ride out Beatlemania underground with a Spotify account and no music from before 1990,” she added. “If the fans try to talk to you about anything Beatles related, just stand your ground and say confidently that you listen to Radiohead. That seems to short-circuit their brains.”
The Bowdoin Harpoon 