Lord of the Ringos: Peter Jackson to direct Beatles movie

Film will come from 55 hours of unseen footage from 'Let it Be' sessions

The Beatles at the press launch for their new album 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', held at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London, 19th May 1967. Left to right: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon (1940 - 1980) and George Harrison (1943 ���� 2001). (Photo by John Downing/Getty Images)
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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles legendary gig on the roof of Apple Records' Savile Row office, and to celebrate the occasion, the band (or at least their official Twitter account) have announced that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will make a new film using hours of never-before-seen footage from the recording sessions of their Grammy-winning 1970 album Let it Be.

Jackson said in a statement: “The 55 hours of never-before-seen footage and 140 hours of audio made available to us ensure this movie will be the ultimate ‘fly on the wall’ experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about. It’s like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together.”

The Let it Be sessions have become notorious among fans for the rapidly deteriorating interpersonal relationships between band members, but Jackson further revealed: "I was relieved to discover the reality is very different to the myth. It's simply an amazing historical treasure-trove. Sure, there's moments of drama — but none of the discord this project has long been associated with. Watching John, Paul, George, and Ringo work together, creating now-classic songs from scratch, is not only fascinating — it's funny, uplifting and surprisingly intimate."

No release date has been announced, although Variety quotes sources who say there's every reason to suspect that the still-untitled film will come out in 2020 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Let It Be album and movie.

Jackson concluded: “I’m thrilled and honoured to have been entrusted with this remarkable footage — making the movie will be a sheer joy.”

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