The Beatles Biopic At Abbey Road Started Filming And The Photos Are Unreal
Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan were photographed walking across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios in London in full Beatles costume, filming a scene for Sam Mendes' four-film Beatles biopic series, and the images immediately went around the world. Mescal, playing John Lennon, walked in character across the crossing that appears on the cover of the Abbey Road album, one of the most recognized photographs in music history, alongside Keoghan as Ringo Starr. The crossing outside the studio in St. John's Wood has been a pilgrimage site for Beatles fans for more than half a century, with tourists recreating the walk continuously throughout the day. Watching two of the most acclaimed actors of their generation cross it in character was, for many people who saw the footage and photographs shared by onlookers, something between surreal and genuinely moving. The production also drew crowds of onlookers and fans who gathered outside the studio for the duration of the shoot, some of whom had been following the biopic's progress since its announcement.
Sam Mendes is directing all four films simultaneously, with each one telling the story of the Beatles from the perspective of a single member, meaning the Abbey Road crossing sequence will appear in at least two of them from different points of view. Mescal was confirmed as John Lennon, Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Josh O'Connor as Paul McCartney, and Harris Dickinson as George Harrison, a casting announcement that generated significant excitement partly because all four are Irish or British actors at the peak of their careers. The Beatles themselves provided their blessing to the project and gave Sony Music access to their full catalogue, meaning the films will be able to use the actual recordings throughout rather than recreations. The Abbey Road album was released in September 1969 and the photograph on its cover was taken by Iain Macmillan on the morning of August 8, 1969. The crossing has been a Grade II listed structure since 2010. Fifty-seven years after that photograph was taken, two actors walked across the same spot for a film, and the world stopped to watch.
