Billy Joel is the latest artist set to receive the biopic treatment, sort of.
Per Variety, the Joel biopic will be aptly named Piano Man, and it will focus on Joel’s early years “…from being discovered by his first manager Irwin Mazur at age 16, to playing in a Long Island cover band in the 1960s, to his breakout performance in 1972 that captured the attention of Clive Davis.”
There’s a bit of a catch with the project, though: A rep for Joel told Variety the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer isn’t involved with the film, nor does the film have any rights to Joel’s music, name/likeness or his life story.
So, how can you make a Billy Joel biopic without his cooperation? Variety notes that Jaigantic Studios, who is producing the film, acquired the rights to Mazur’s life story, and he managed Joel from 1965 to 1972.
Whether this snag will deter fans from checking out the movie is yet to be determined, but perhaps a biopic with Joel’s cooperation wouldn’t be a bad idea. Thanks to the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen catalog generated a reported $18 million as a result in renewed interest in the band.