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NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. director Peyton Reed is to helm "The Fifth Beatle," the film adaptation of a graphic novel about the late Beatles founder and manager, Brian Epstein. "From the moment I read Vivek [J. Tiwary's] graphic novel, I knew I wanted to be the person to bring Brian's story to the big screen," Reed said in a statement Wednesday.
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"I'm a lifelong Beatles fan, obviously, but it's Brian's fascinating life that really blew me away and drew me to this project. He's the ultimate outsider who, against all odds, became the ultimate insider. He was responsible for shepherding the most popular artistic expression of 'love' in the history of modern culture, and yet he wasn't allowed to express his own love during that time," Reed said, referring to the fact Epstein was gay.
This marks the first feature film about the Beatles to secure music rights to their songs and the filmmakers said in a news release they have been granted unprecedented access to the John Lennon/Paul McCartney music catalog.
To be written by Tiwary, the project is slated to begin production in 2014.
No casting has been announced yet.
Reed's film credits include "Bring it On," "Down with Love," "The Break-Up" and "Yes Man."
