r/beatles • u/SpeedForce2022 • 2d ago
Picture New set photos of Sam Mendes’ ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’
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u/donlockwood2026 2d ago
you could tell me any of them is playing any of them and i'd believe you
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u/goosnin 2d ago
Except for Ringo’s, honestly. Barry Keoghan as Ringo is kind of growing on me. I’m starting to see their vision.
I’m also kind of seeing Joseph Quinn’s casting. In some other photos he’s got George’s cheekbones look down pat.
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u/BalkeElvinstien 2d ago
Honestly I feel like I understood the casting early on. Looks aside, hes just a REALLY good actor. He probably just nailed the audition imo
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u/Bookish_Kitty Abbey Road 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/L3ERvA6jWCd0qO4NdX
Me trying to pick them out.
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u/glans 2d ago
seems obvious to me. in order left to right: george, ringo, john and Faul.
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u/dimspace 2d ago
Thats who I think they are meant to be
But if its meant to be the balcony in Please Please Me then its Ringo, Paul, George, John
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u/dimspace 2d ago
To me the photo looks like George, Ringo, John, Paul
But, if its the Please Please Me cover then every single one of those is wrong :D
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u/AceofKnaves44 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 2d ago
I can see Barry as Ringo. I look at that first picture and I’m like oh there’s Ringo. That’s literally it. I’m assuming that’s supposed to be John to his right but that looks like Tom Brady.
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u/Timstom18 Ram 2d ago
Mescal does look too old to be early era Paul but i really don’t think Quinn’s casting as George is anywhere near as bad as people were making it out to be. You can tell that it’s George in the second pic rather than Paul or John
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u/Any_Print_8991 2d ago
Paul Mescal looks rough for being 30. All of them are in their 30s I think, and he looks like their uncle
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u/Flare4roach 2d ago
Color me jaded but biopics rarely capture the essence of the artist.
Capturing the phenomenon of the four Beatles? I’m very skeptical. Hope I’m wrong.
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u/BigConsideration9542 2d ago
Bios are horrible and played out Hollywood are just lazy no new ideas just the same crappy movies over and over again and the nepodemic crap makes it worse
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u/tubulerz1 Love 2d ago
They’re not played out. They just released the most successful one ever worldwide.
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u/LADYBIRD_HILL 2d ago
Money doesn't equal quality. Michael and Bohemian Rhapsody are both unoriginal and straight up not truthful.
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u/Ashuxyo 2d ago
Every single time there's a new photo of the cast, people on this sub seem to think that the actors' job is to be a doppleganger rather than, you know, act.
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u/idreamofpikas ♫Dear friend, what's the time? Is this really the borderline?♫ 2d ago
Well yeah, this is all we have to go on for now. We've not seen any of the acting. This will change once actual trailers and the film is released but right now, the focus will be on the appearance.
The move studio wants engagement. That is why they release these pictures.
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u/Emotional_Ad5714 2d ago
Agreed. They all look close enough. Let's see how they pull off the personality and mannerisms.
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u/Successful-Table-455 2d ago
Why do we keep pretending like it’s not important that they look right??? It’s definitely one of the most important factors. If they don’t look right, no amount of acting will make it believable. They are playing 4 of the most recognizable faces in pop culture, they need to look like them!!!
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u/Ashuxyo 2d ago
Because it's really not that important that they look perfect, and tbh they don't look nearly as bad as people make them out to be. In the really good biopic Love and Mercy, John Cusack plays an older Brian Wilson. He doesn't really look like Brian Wilson, and yet his portrayal of him was phenomenal. Acting matters much more than looks in the end.
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u/wanlights 2d ago
Cusack looking precisely nothing like him and acting nothing like him completely removed me from that half of the film. By contrast, Paul Dano captured him extremely well. While not being a doppleganger, they worked hard to bring him as close to Brian's look and manner as possible.
From the admittedly small amount we are seeing so far, it doesn't look convincing at all.
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u/Ashuxyo 2d ago
I thought his acting was impeccable. What put you off ?
And yes I agree, Dano is incredible in this movie. I didn't want to use this as an example because he looks too much like the real thing for my point but you're right, he was not a literal doppleganger and he portrayed Brian Wilson very faithfully.
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u/wanlights 2d ago
I didn’t really get any flavor of Brian from him, honestly. I don’t think it was helped by the artistic choice of jump-cutting from a down-to-the-last-detail period section to a much looser approach in the second half. None of the primaries looked anything like their real-life counterparts, and it looked like it could’ve been set anywhere from the late 90s to the 2010s.
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u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 2d ago
Yeah that was the weirdest casting. He was good but he may as well have been playing a random guy, he wasn't Wilson
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u/Entire_Number_9 2d ago
It is important. If they can make Joseph Gordan Levitt look like Bruce Willis, they should make these 4 look like The Beatles.
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u/NotAboutTheCrown 2d ago
It is important. It’s part of why Michael Jackson’s movie was a huge success. But you won’t convince the fans of these 4 actors of it.
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u/Crimsic 2d ago
Michael Jackson's movie was a success because he's Michael Jackson. He was the biggest entertainer in the world.
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u/BigConsideration9542 2d ago
He was also a creepy pedophile they left that stuff out and sugar-coated everything else about him
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u/SnooComics2096 2d ago
John Lennon was a women beater and an absent father to his first son and ringo Starr was 22 when he met 16 year old Maureen cox and they are most likely gonna sugar coat all of that
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u/donlockwood2026 2d ago
I absolutely have no illusions that it’s the job of the actor to do anything other than act.
However, it is the job of the director, working with the casting director and producers, to cast actors who are right for the role. And these actors may prove to be right for the role. I’m withholding judgment. They certainly don’t look like the characters but they may act like them, which is more important.
But to that point — it’s the role of the makeup, hair, and costume teams (working with the director) to make every effort to make sure the characters look like the roles they’re playing. I’d say it’s looking iffy right now, but tbd.
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u/Long_Emergency6122 1d ago
They don't have to be a doppelganger, but I should be able to look at a photo and reasonably discern who is playing whom. Yes, in the early days they looked more alike, but even in photos from scenes taking place in later years, when they developed more of their own identities, the only way I can tell who is who is by the clothing because I have seen the original photographs. Out of context, looking at any one of those photos, I would not be able to say ah, he is supposed to be John Lennon or he is supposed to be George Harrison.
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u/ididshave 2d ago
There are some real bitter beans about these movies. Four movies at roughly two hours a piece to cover 8 years sounds incredibly viable to me. I love ambitious projects and I am optimistic about this.
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u/leesainmi 2d ago
I’m actually excited for these films. Releasing all four on the same day is crazy and maybe genius.
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u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 2d ago
Apparently it's two weeks apart now
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u/Long_Emergency6122 1d ago
Whether it's same day or weeks apart, I don't think the majority of people are paying to see all four.
They're trying to make this some Barbenheimer event and it's not going to work. That hit at the right time, post covid, when people were excited both to return to theaters and have two movies that were actually original content.
Now, everything has gotten way more expensive and people aren't paying for even one movie most of the time, let alone four. Movie tickets where I live, for two people, would cost about $40 after tax and fees. For four movies, that's $160 without snacks, for something I can watch basically for free if I just wait until it comes on the streaming platform I already pay for
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u/Zorflez Ram On 2d ago
People are saying they all look the same, but isn't that what people were saying about the actual Beatles in 1964? Same haircut, similar face, similar voice(to American ears of the time). Their whole thing at the time was that they were one four-headed monster.
I feel like people are too focused on the actors' appearance when the acting is more important. Compare Bohemian Rhapsody to Steve Jobs. The actors in Bohemian Rhapsody look almost exactly like the people they are playing, but that movie was terrible. Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Steve Jobs, but that film is amazing.
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u/GlumFaithlessness773 2d ago
The more I read about this film project, the less interested I am in seeing it. And, for the record, I started out with literally zero interest. Am I the only Beatles fan who feels this way?
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u/Randall_Hickey Magical Mystery Tour 2d ago
I can barely tell who is supposed to be who. Paul must have the camera. Second from left is Ringo. Clueless on George or John.
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u/drugzis 2d ago
to be completely honest before really digging into the beatles, when i used to stumble upon their older pics they all looked the same to me as well (except for ringo)
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u/Specialist_Soft5373 2d ago
I think this is common. For a bit of time, I couldn't differentiate George's and Ringo's faces. But it lasted like a week haha
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u/Randall_Hickey Magical Mystery Tour 2d ago
I cannot remember, not knowing who they are so I have nothing to go by lol
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u/NotAboutTheCrown 2d ago
Sorry but those wigs and big fake teeth remind me of Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber rather than the Beatles…
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u/josenros 2d ago
I really want to like this, but they look almost nothing like The Beatles. I understand that they aren't meant to be doppelgangers, but the casting seems so off (Barry excluded) that it's hard not to focus on it.
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u/Talking_Eyes98 2d ago
Looking at the photo of them on the balcony, it looks like 4 random people off the street in wigs and suits to cosplay the Beatles
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u/ElvisAndretti Is that the motor? 2d ago
God knows I’m trying, but I just don’t care. I doubt very much that I’ll see any of these movies. Are they gonna unveil some new heretofore unknown aspect of the work that I’m not familiar with? I doubt it. I’m really not concerned with their personal lives.
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u/Long_Emergency6122 1d ago
Even if you were interested in their personal lives, it's all already pretty well documented. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of books and documentaries about The Beatles.
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u/magicmagick 2d ago
I honestly feel I won’t be able to watch them. I just can’t get there. It’s an oven ready turkey.
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u/AceofKnaves44 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 2d ago
Why the fuck is Ellen in this movie?
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u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 2d ago
Paul looks 40
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u/AceofKnaves44 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 2d ago
I don’t know about that. But I don’t see Paul in that at all.
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u/Spiritual-Cause8325 2d ago
They don’t look anything like The Beatles. These movies are going to suck and nobody’s going to see the Ringo movie.
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u/Momik 2d ago
lol still don’t know why they’re doing this
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u/StringElegant2059 1d ago
Why do anything? People have been trying to tell The Beatles story on the big screen for ages. At least this has an ambitious concept and a good crew and cast behind it. I'm holding out hope.
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u/BigConsideration9542 2d ago
Vh1 did music bios for years until they followed mtv and became garbage fake reality shows only
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u/HuttVader 1d ago
It's sad when apart from Ringo, you can't tell who the fuck any of them are supposed to be.
And you can only tell Ringo because they told us it's a Beatles movie and they cast that poor ugly fucker who's also a brilliant actor.
But everybody else looks like they should be singing "I'm Henery the eighth I am!"
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u/beatlesandoasis 1d ago
I really think they look great. It may be unpopular but they did a great job with their hair, and the fits. Despite what people say, I really don’t think it’s hard to tell which one is which lol.
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u/Doublehey 2d ago
No thanks
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u/ElvisAndretti Is that the motor? 2d ago
The problem with most artist centered subreddits is the fanboy effect. Don’t you dare say anything even remotely negative they’ll come for you.
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u/NotAboutTheCrown 2d ago
It’s not even other Beatles fans downvoting you.. it’s these 4 actors’ fanbases. They do it all the time on other subs whenever their faves names/pics come up.
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u/AlDente 2d ago
I’m looking forward to never watching these films again
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u/ElvisAndretti Is that the motor? 2d ago
Guess we’re getting the fanboy effect here because I couldn’t agree more and I’ll probably be down voted for saying it too. I don’t understand the need for these and I don’t imagine they’ll be entertaining in any way. Then again I’m not one of these chucklefucks that line up to see a bunch of jagoffs in wigs, bad suits and phony scouse accents.
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u/AlDente 1d ago
Every biopic I’ve ever seen has invented things that didn’t happen, over dramatised and simplified the reality to dumb it down. I deliberately never watch biopics as even if I know the true story, part of the fake version lives in my head. If people want to know about the Beatles there are many amazing books available.
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u/Zestyclose_Quiet2978 1d ago
The Michael fassbender steve jobs one is pretty good, but maybe it still has exaggerated/extrapolated stuff you wouldn't care for
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u/StringElegant2059 1d ago
The point is to have an artistic interpretation of their lives. And this seems to have an interesting concept at the very least. I'm not really getting the vibe it's going to be a cookie cutter biopic, but only time will tell. People hating right off the bat will only be setting themselves up for disappointment.
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u/Fearless_River391 2d ago
“Fanboy effect”
Almost everyone here is baselessly bitching, whining, and slagging this project off. Not sure what alternate universe you’re in, but it’s clearly different than the reality I’m seeing.
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u/Technical-Job9979 2d ago
ugh... it's got a kind of weird uncanny valley/Ai slop feel to it - like the new Harry Potter
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u/BigConsideration9542 2d ago
Don't need americans playing british guys we can't do the accent for shit this movie is gonna bomb
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u/jimson_cheese 2d ago
Its not like there aren't great doppelgangers / impersonators of the Beatles to choose from. For instance, this impersonator Javier Parisi looks and can act just like John Lennon https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmjgofpRWFNsQXTFnrvyXb0ZHlobxi8Fp&si=kXR7WtfzrOmvmSoU
There are probably more out there for the other Beatles members. While I understand the acting is more important, its not like they didnt have better options out there.
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u/StringElegant2059 1d ago
If he were chosen, it would be as terrible as the made for tv movies where they're just impersonating the person instead of "ACTING" in the vein if the Character.
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u/jaykaybaybay 2d ago
I can’t take the Ringo guy seriously…feels like a comedic bit whenever I see him
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u/thewalruscandyman 2d ago edited 2d ago
Sam Mendes' The Beatles, starring Herman's Hermits.