According to Variety, director John Ottman is developing the feature film “Billy and Me,” with production expected to begin this fall in Winnipeg and New York. Casting for the project is currently underway.
The Film Will Focus on Billy Joel Before ‘Piano Man’
Rather than covering the height of Joel’s chart success, the picture is set to examine the formative years that shaped his career before the release of “Piano Man,” the 1973 song and album that transformed him into a major recording artist. The story will reportedly be told through the perspective of Irwin Mazur, the manager who first discovered Joel in the 1960s and later helped guide him toward his breakthrough deal with Columbia Records.
The project arrives shortly after HBO released the two part documentary “Billy Joel: And So It Goes,” which explored the musician’s life, songwriting, and personal history through extensive interviews with family members, collaborators, and fellow artists. Directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, the documentary traced Joel’s evolution from a working class upbringing on Long Island to becoming one of the best selling recording artists in music history.
Over the course of his career, Billy Joel has sold more than 160 million records worldwide and produced a catalog that includes songs such as “Uptown Girl,” “Vienna,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” and “Just the Way You Are.” Nicknamed the “Piano Man” after his signature 1973 hit, Joel became one of the most commercially successful solo artists of his era while maintaining a strong connection to New York throughout his work and live performances.
With filming scheduled to begin later this year, “Billy and Me” joins the growing wave of music centered feature films focused on the origins of iconic performers rather than their already established fame.
Director John Ottman is widely recognized in Hollywood for his unusual dual role as both editor and composer on major studio productions, particularly through his longtime collaboration with director Bryan Singer on films such as “The Usual Suspects,” “X2,” and “Superman Returns.” He also won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and his latest endeavor was serving as an underscore producer on “Michael.”