Ringo Starr asked Sam Mendes for changes to Beatles biopic script

Ringo Starr is all about peace and love — but that doesn’t mean he’s afraid of pushing back.

The legendary musician has revealed that he had some notes for Sam Mendes, the filmmaker set to helm four separate movies about each member of the Beatles. With each film set to follow one of the band members, Starr told The New York Times that he spent two days with the acclaimed director, offering “extensive notes” on the script about his life, especially when it came his relationship with his family and first wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett.

“He had a writer — very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I,” Starr said. “That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that.'”

Starr, who will be portrayed in the film by Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan, wed Tigrett in 1965 and divorced a decade later. They had three children together, including former The Who drummer Zak Starkey, son Jason, and daughter Lee.

After going through the script line-by-line, Starr said he is now satisfied with how he’s depicted — but has some doubts about Mendes’ ability to deliver all four films by 2028. 

“But he’ll do what he’s doing,” Starr concluded. “And I’ll send him peace and love.”

In May, Mendes took the stage at CinemaCon with the four actors set to star in his unconventional biopic project: along with Keoghan as Starr, fans will see Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

Mendes said in his announcement that the separate films would enable the examination of the “four very different human beings” in the group. Penned by Tony Award winner Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Spectre), Academy Award winner Peter Straughan (Conclave, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Tony Award winner Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Enola Holmes), all four films are set to hit theaters simultaneously in April 2028. 

Half a year before Mendes’ announcement, Starr accidentally confirmed rumors that Keoghan would be playing him, calling the casting choice “great.”

He added, “I think he’s somewhere taking drum lessons, and I hope not too many.”

As for Keoghan, the actor later shared that he had not only met with Starr but watched the legendary musician in his element.

“I met him at his house, and he played the drums for me,” the actor told Jimmy Kimmel in May. “He asked me to play, but I wasn’t playing the drums for Ringo.”

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Keoghan shared that he was starstruck in Starr’s presence, but made sure to take it all in: “My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him. I want to humanize him and bring feelings to it and not just sort of imitate.”