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Grammy award-winning director, Jonas Åkerlund, who has previously worked on multiple Paul McCartney music videos, is set to direct a movie all about Brian Epstein, the manager who discovered the Beatles and many more incredible musical artists.
The new movie, titled Midas Man, will tell the story of a Liverpudlian record-shop manager with a knack for forecasting hits and spotting potential future stars.
Epstein’s impact on pop culture and music has continued to prevail, having signed the Beatles, and discovering Cilla Black and Billy J Kramer. He even went on to open his own theatre as a way of promoting and launching artists like Jimi Hendrix and The Who.
In an interview with the Guardian, the film’s producer, Trevor Beattie (Moon), said: “Epstein’s one of the most extraordinary men of the 20th century. His story hasn’t been told properly. He’s often taken for granted by the wider world, but he was ahead of his time from his vision of music and pop culture, through to gender identity.”
“He was gay at a time when homosexuality was illegal. He lived a secret life. He made some risky decisions in handling the business of stars. Compared with what Brian had to live in his life, they were not a risk.”
Epstein first met the Beatles as the age of 25 in November 1961, but tragically died in 1967, following a barbiturate overdose at the age of 32.
“It’s a tragic story,” continued Beattie. “But it’s also life-affirming, a triumph for the human spirit, because in those few short years, he changed pop culture forever.”
There have been previous attempts to make a movie based on Epstein’s life, but none have managed to get off the ground.
Midas Man is being produced in collaboration with Liverpool, where most of it will be filmed. It is likely that production will also take place at the iconic Cavern Club, where Epstein first encountered Cilla Black and the Beatles.
The movie has also received a boost of a multi-million-pound investment from China, where the 1960’s look, sound and style of the Beatles remain widely popular.
Beattie has also spent the last two years researching Epstein and talking to people who knew him, such as Gerry Marsden from Gerry and the Pacemakers, who told him “stories that haven’t been printed yet and that we’ll introduce into our film”.
Casting has already begun, with the movie aiming for a 2021 cinematic release.
Midas Man will be released in 2021.