Why Ringo Starr Had His Beatles Biopic Script Changed

Ringo Starr said he was happy with the way his Beatles biopic is progressing after he spent two days with director Sam Mendes dealing with issues in the script.

The drummer’s story will be released in April 2028, alongside films focusing on the lives on bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Starr said he’d had particular issues when he first read scenes that feature his first wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett.

READ MORE: Beatles Four-Part Biopic: Release Dates and Cast Photo

“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 reported. “That’s not how we were. I’d say, ‘We would never do that.’”

The concerns were resolved when the pair met in London – but Starr expressed doubts over Mendes being able to meet the deadlines attached to the four-movie project. “But he’ll do what he’s doing, and I’ll send him peace and love,” the drummer said.

He and Maureen Cox married in 1965 and had three children together, including former Who drummer Zak Starkey. They divorced in 1975 and she went on to marry Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Isaac Tigrett, and died of cancer in 1994, aged 48.

Why Ringo Starr’s Songwriting Made The Beatles Laugh

In the same article, Starr joked about trying to write songs for the Beatles, saying: “It’s hard to come to the front when you’ve got John and Paul. I’d say, ‘I’ve got this song.’ And halfway through they’d all be laying on the floor laughing, because I wasn’t writing new songs. I was writing new words to old songs!”

Surviving colleague McCartney observed of their lifelong friendship: “With John and George not here, I think we realize nothing lasts forever. So we grasp onto what we have now because we realize that it’s very special.

“It’s something hardly anyone else has… There’s only me and Ringo, and we’re the only people who can share those memories.”