‘Let It Be’ Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg on His Beatles Documentary Finally Shedding Its ‘Orphan’ Status: ‘You Don’t Always Get the Second Chance in Life’

Ringo Starr has given the newly restored Let It Be documentary his seal of approval, despite previously claiming that there was “not a lot of joy” in it.Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Let It Be was first released in cinemas 54 years ago, and featured footage of The Beatles while they were working their 12th and final studio album of the same name in 1969.While the original film has been difficult to obtain over the past five decades, last month, NME exclusively announced that Disney+ were to release a restored version of the 1970 film.The film arrived on May 8, and was restored by renowned filmmaker Peter Jackson – who also worked on the 2022 docuseries Get Back. He used state-of-the-art digital technology to restore the 55-year-old film reels to crisp, modern quality.However, before the film was shared earlier this month, drummer Ringo Starr made headlines after revealing that he thought that the film didn’t have “a lot of joy in it”.Speaking with Associated Press, he said: “I think Peter Jackson has done an incredible job.

Spoilers ahead for the “Young Sheldon” series finale. In Wednesday night’s series finale, Sheldon (Iain Armitage) agreed to get baptized to please his mother, Mary (Zoe Perry), despite his atheism. He also finally went to Caltech, wrapping up the childhood chapter of his life.

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Many audiences were first introduced to British actor Orlando Bloom thanks to Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy playing the charismatic and cocky Elf archer, Legolas. One of Bloom’s first major follow-up roles was in the Greek epic “Troy,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Brad Pitt.

The Beatles‘ classic 1970 documentary film Let It Be was premiered in London earlier this week (May 7), before arriving on Disney+. Speaking at the press launch, creators explained how one of the most vital scenes – and significant moments in music history – never happened.The film was screened in front of an audience at the Curzon Mayfair which included original recording engineer Glyn Johns and Giles Martin (son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, who remixed the music in Let It Be), Louis Theroux, James Bay, The Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and Captain America and Indiana Jones actor Toby Jones.The documentary, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was first released in cinemas 54 years ago and has been difficult to obtain since primarily because the original master tapes were stolen from Apple Corps shortly after the film was made.Speaking in a Q&A hosted by former Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman, Jonathan Clyde producer of the film and director of production at Apple Corps, said: “When we first started talking about [restoring] it with [head of Apple Corps] Neil Aspinall in 2000, he said rather unenthusiastically, ‘I suppose we’d better do something about Let It Be’.“But the problem was that the master sound, that’s 450 to 500, 15 minute reels of master sound from the 20-odd days of shooting, had been stolen from Apple [Corps] in the early ’70s.”He continued: “So in truth, there was not a lot we could do except whoever it was who pilched them was licensing them to bootleggers who were then bootlegging vinyl and CD box sets.

finally available to stream on Disney+ this week.Was it worth the 54-year wait?Well, yes — and no.Some context is needed here first: If you watched “The Beatles: Get Back” — the three-part, eight-hour docuseries directed by none other than Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson that also premiered on Disney+ in 2021 — you’ve already seen a lot of this.And seen it in the kind of exhaustive detail — from the same footage that Jackson used from “Let It Be” director Michael Lindsay-Hogg — that you can probably break down the level of scruffiness in Paul McCartney’s faux-badass beard.But thankfully — whether or not you’ve already watched the tedious-at-times “Get Back” — this is only 80 minutes versus eight hours of your time.For anyone but the biggest of Beatlemaniacs, that math is math-ing.But here’s the real difference: Whereas “Get Back” captured every bit of Liverpudlian shade, side-eye and Yoko Ono rock-blocking, this “Let It Be” is all about the music that was made in the slow fade of the Fab Four.For most of this film — which documents The Beatles working out songs for what would turn out to be their final album, 1970’s “Let It Be,” in January 1969 — it’s just like being a little four-winged insect on the wall of those sessions at their Apple Corps headquarters in London.Rehearsing, working out songs and just jamming — even with all the mounting tension which is actually more between McCartney and George Harrison than Sir Paul and John Lennon (for all those who still blame Ono for the Beatles’ breakup) — it’s a magical mystery tour behind the scenes of what many consider to be the greatest band of all time.When McCartney and Lennon are in such easy harmony and camaraderie on “Two Of Us” — with the

A new Lord of the Rings movie is coming in 2026, and we have details including a title!

UPDATED with name of film, details: The first of two new films — working title Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum — will be directed by and star Andy Serkis (Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle), with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens set to write the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). The film will be executive produced by Ken Kamins, with Serkis and The Imaginarium’s Jonathan Cavendish.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Beatles‘ “Let It Be” documentary, which first released in theaters in 1970, finally sees the light of day once again.

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Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The smell of success is… well, you know what it is: too sweet. Hozier has never been about chasing the hit, but he’s got one regardless, as the Irish singer-songwriter’s “Unheard” EP quickly generated the first No. 1 Hot 100 single of his career, in the form of “Too Sweet,” a wry ballad about mismatched lovers.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Maggie Rogers is headlining arenas for the first time this fall, but she didn’t want it to feel like moving into bigger spaces for her concerts would mean a more impersonal experience. So for 11 shows that just went on sale in late April, she went out and personally manned the box office on opening day to help sell tickets for those big shows.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic One of the buzziest — or should that be tipsiest? — performances at this past weekend’s Stagecoach came from an artist who wasn’t even listed on the poster art. Late-breaking sensation Shaboozey was squeezed into the festival as a performer in the Bud Light Backyard tent, where there was other squeezing going on as Sunday’s festivalgoers stood in line to get a glimpse of the artist whose “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has proven to be a straight-out-of-the-box smash among both country and hip-hop fans. Shaboozey isn’t coming to stardom himself in any kind of overnight way; the 28-year-old, Virginia-born singer-rapper put out his first single 10 years ago, and he’s about to release his third major-label album.

In partnership with Disney+ UKNME Screens returns next month for a special London showing of Let It Be, the 1970 film that documents the making of their 12th and final studio album of the same name – and has long been out of circulation. Find out how to get free tickets below.Creating exclusive film and TV experiences for NME‘s millions of readers in print, online and social media – NME Screens was launched last year, and has since hosted sold-out screenings of Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black, saucy tennis thriller Challengers, Wes Anderson’s offbeat sci-fi comedy Asteroid City, acclaimed social satire Saltburn and many more.Our next event is an even hotter ticket – and a must-see for music fans.

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