Billy Joel has spoken out against an upcoming biopic titled Billy & Me, calling it “legally and professionally misguided.” The film, announced on Tuesday, is set to tell the story of Joel’s early career through the perspective of his first manager, Irwin Mazur.
Background of the Film
Billy & Me will focus on Mazur, who discovered Joel in 1966, signed him in 1970, and managed his career until Joel signed with Columbia Records in 1972. Joel’s breakthrough came a year later with the album Piano Man. Casting is currently underway, with filmmaker John Ottman, who recently edited the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, set to direct.
Joel’s Stance
In a statement to Variety, Joel’s representative said: “Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel’s life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project. Billy Joel has not authorised or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided.”
Response from the Filmmakers
Screenwriter Adam Ripp responded to Joel’s comments in the Hollywood Reporter, stating: “At no point have we ever claimed to control or possess rights to Billy Joel’s original songs, nor has this film ever been conceived around the use of his hit catalog. The project was always designed as an intimate origin story focused on the people and relationships surrounding Billy during this specific period of his life.” Ripp added that the production holds the exclusive life rights for Mazur, as well as Joel’s longtime friend and former bandmate Jon Small, who is attached to the film as a consultant, co-executive producer, and second unit director.
Jon Small’s Role
Small and Joel first met as teenagers and played together in the 1960s band The Hassles, which produced Joel’s first recordings. After that band disbanded, they formed the acid-rock group Attila, which Joel later described as “psychedelic bullshit.” Attila broke up in 1971 after it was revealed that Small’s wife, Elizabeth Weber, was having an affair with Joel. Weber left both men, and Small rushed Joel to the hospital after a suicide attempt during a subsequent depressive period. Weber later became Joel’s third manager and married him in 1973, but they divorced in 1982. Small went on to become an acclaimed music video director, directing and producing videos for several of Joel’s hits, including “Uptown Girl” and “Piano Man,” as well as his concert films. Small has praised Billy & Me as “the most honest, heartfelt, and authentic portrayal of Billy’s early life,” adding that it would be “grounded in truth, shaped with care, and built with the insight of people who genuinely know and love Billy.”
Director’s Vision
Ottman described the film as “a deeply emotional and fun story,” saying: “This is the formative years of Billy and his relationship with Irwin Mazur, the man who recognised Billy’s amazing talent even before Billy did himself. Sure, the long hair, cigarette smoke and authentic look of the period turns me on as a film-maker, but what truly drew me to the material was the humanity at its core … It’s funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately very inspiring.”
