Universal Pictures To Develop a John Lennon and Yoko Ono Film with Director Jean-Marc Vallée

The epic love story of John Lennon and Yoko Ono is going to going to get the big screen treatment thanks to Universal Pictures. The studio is currently in negotiations to option the rights to the untitled drama.

Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild) has been set to direct and edit the film from a script that will be written by Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, Darkest hour). Michael De Luca (Captain Phillips, The Social Network) is producing. This is a pretty solid team of talent!

I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the relationship of John and Yoko, but just in case you need a refresher:

Ono and Lennon first met in the late ’60s, when she was an up-and-coming artist and he was one of the biggest music stars in the world. She became indelibly linked with Lennon as he transitioned from the Beatles breakup to a soaring solo career. Together they became provocative advocates for peace, and activism against the Vietnam War. After a brief separation in the mid-1970s, they again became constant companions until his 1980 murder in New York. She remains the gatekeeper of his music and legacy.

This film project has been in the development process for several years, but now all of the right talent has come together to bring the story to life. Producer Nathan Ross had this to say in a recent statement to Deadline about the film:

“We are all huge Beatles fans, and this is a dream come true. There were inner and outer struggles John had, and family turmoil as a child, and things she had to endure before John’s tragic death. The thing we loved about the script was its stark honesty. You see so many biopic scripts where you can see that the cooperation of the subject’s family had something to do with the editorial, and that wasn’t the case here.”

The report went on to explain that the film will stop short of Lennon’s assassination. The producers want to make the movie more a celebration and journey of a couple. De Luca added:

“We’ll have to make a deal for the music, but with Yoko producing with us, we’ll have access to the estate and the library of songs. I’ve been listening to John’s songs forever, but as we developed the movie, I became aware of just how profound is the emotional impact of the music and their legacy is upon me.”

When talking about bringing Jean-Marc Vallée on to direct, producer Josh Bratman said:

“Everything Jean-Marc does, he leads with his heart and that was perfect for a love story that showed the acquiring of grace in the face of intolerable emotional pain, and overcoming adversity with love, peace and understanding. It is an especially poignant message today.”

I’m sure that this is going to turn out to be a great film and there’s no doubt that fans of John Lennon are going to to be interested to see how it turns out. I’m certainly looking forward to it.