How Paul McCartney Really Felt About Sam Taylor Johnson's John Lennon Biopic

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As the founding member, co-songwriter, and co-lead singer of the legendary rock group The Beatles, John Lennon first achieved popularity. Lennon carried on as a solo singer and composer after leaving the Beatles until his passing in 1980. Lennon's life and work have served as inspiration for numerous films throughout the years due to the enormous popularity of The Beatles and the tragic circumstances surrounding his passing.

Sam Taylor-Johnson, the filmmaker of 50 Shades of Grey, made the decision to make a film about John Lennon's life in 2009. The movie's creator, however, lied a little bit and used some artistic license while crafting the narrative. Paul McCartney participated in the production but ultimately decided not to attend the film's premiere because he didn't agree with many of Taylor-Johnson's decisions.

Sam Taylor-Johnson made her feature film directing debut in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a movie based on John Lennon's formative years. The screenplay for the movie, Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon, was written by Matt Greenhalgh and is based on Julia Baird's biography of the musician.

A little-known period of John Lennon's life was explored in the film. It provided light on the musician's complex connection with his mother, Julia, who died after being struck by a car when Lennon was only 17 years old and from whom he was estranged for much of his youth. The birth and early years of The Beatles are also extensively covered in the film.

Nowhere Boy had its world premiere in October 2009 at the London Film Festival before receiving a December 2009 theatrical distribution in the United Kingdom. The movie was released in the United States a year after its initial showing. In the end, the movie only took in a little more than $6.5 million globally, although it received a lot of positive reviews.

Sam Taylor-Johnson acknowledged that it was quite difficult to find performers to represent John Lennon and Paul McCartney in her biopic. But because she knew McCartney would be watching the movie, she was particularly anxious about choosing the appropriate person to play him.

In the end, she discovered Aaron Taylor-Johnson to be the ideal Lennon. It was difficult. In terms of casting, Aaron was probably eighth or ninth for me. I quickly recognized that he was correct, but I checked with another 300 just to be sure," she added. Both McCartney and Yoko Ono praised the actor, who was 18 at the time, for his superb portrayal of Lennon.

Despite his enthusiasm for Aaron Taylor-Johnson's portrayal of John Lennon, Paul McCartney didn't like how Sam Taylor-Johnson changed Lennon's life story for the film. To make the film as realistic as possible, the filmmaker contacted McCartney early on in the production process. However, the disagreement between the two was so intense that McCartney finally declined an invitation to the movie premiere.