How we're getting a new Beatles song
And Mike Flanagan assembles amazing cast
What to know
The Beatles’ “final” song “Now and Then” to be released Nov 2, thanks to AI… The song has a pretty interesting backstory. John Lennon recorded a demo of the track in 1978, that featured just his vocals and piano. Yoko Ono gave the song to the rest of The Beatles in 1994 and they tried to add the full band to the track, but technical issues at the time prevented them from separating John’s vocals from the piano. Flash forward to the 2020s, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr enlisted Get Back director Peter Jackson to work his magic on the recording. With the help of AI, they were finally able to isolate John’s voice. (So no worries here about generative AI replicating the deceased.) They then added guitar parts recorded by the late George Harrison in 1995, plus new instrumentation and vocals from Starr and McCartney. The result, as Sir Paul calls it, is “a genuine Beatles recording.” Pretty cool! 🪲
Fantastic Beasts creator says franchise has been “parked” by WB… No surprises here. Warner Bros. is learning, like all the other major franchise holders, that people want mainline stories featuring characters they know and love already. Beasts got too tangential to Potter, in my opinion. Plus there’s the JKR of it all. This all leads to Max’s plan to reboot Potter as a 10-season series, which I stand by being a good idea, but I’m still holding out hope for a Cursed Child adaptation eventually. 🪄
The Who’s Tommy is heading to Broadway in the spring… I guess the newsletter is full-on British classic rock today. It’s about time the rock opera got a proper revival. It’s shaping up to be a pretty packed and competitive Broadway season this spring. 🇬🇧
Mike Flanagan has the good sense to add Matthew Lillard, Harvey Guillén, and David Dastmalchian to The Life of Chuck… They join Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay in the Stephen King feature adaptation. Dang! 👏
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series in development at Amazon… Third time’s the charm, I guess? 🐉
Paramount cancels Rabbit Hole and Fatal Attraction… Add it to the list of strike cancellations. ❌
What’s new
Life on Our Planet — Oct 25 | Netflix doc series | Ⓜ️ 57
Pain Hustlers — Oct 27 | Netflix drama film | Ⓜ️ 43
Five Nights at Freddy’s — Oct 27 | Horror movie in theaters & Peacock | Ⓜ️ 29
Anatomy of a Fall — Oct 27 | French drama in theaters | Ⓜ️ 87
Returning: The Gilded Age s2
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!