Billy Joel Rep Slams Unauthorized Planned Biopic, Says 'Misguided' Film 'Will Not Be Able to Secure the Music Rights Required'
Billy Joel Rep Slams Unauthorized Planned Biopic, Says 'Misguided' Film 'Will Not Be Able to Secure the Music Rights Required'
Jack SmartWed, May 20, 2026 at 12:21 AM UTC
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Billy Joel in July 2024
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty
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Billy and Me, a Billy Joel biopic, is now officially in the works
A spokesperson for the musician said in a statement that the biopic's filmmakers “will not be able to secure the music rights required”
The statement added that “any attempt to move forward without” Joel's authorization “would be both legally and professionally misguided”
Following the news that a biopic about him is in the works, Billy Joel is making it clear that the project is unauthorized and will not include his music.
Billy and Me, a feature film from director John Ottman and screenwriter Adam Ripp, will begin filming in the fall, Variety reported on Tuesday, May 19. Back in 2022, a proposed Joel biopic from Ripp and Michael Jai White's Jaigantic Studios was titled Piano Man.
A rep for Joel, 77, spoke out against the planned project in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel's life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project," the statement reads.
The Grammy winner “has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided," the spokesperson continued.
Billy Joel in July 2024
Credit: Myrna M. Suarez/Getty
Ottman, the Oscar-winning editor behind Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, recently oversaw the underscore of Michael, the Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic in theaters now. Ripp was the writer and director of the 2019 horror film Devil's Whisper.
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Billy and Me, per Variety, will be told from the perspective of Irwin Mazur, the manager who oversaw Joel's career in the time leading up to his 1973 breakout hit “Piano Man.” Ottman and Ripp have the exclusive life rights to Mazur and drummer Jon Small, who is also involved in the production. Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber, was previously married to Small.
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Joel's life made it to the screen in directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin's two-part documentaryBilly Joel: And So It Goes, which aired on HBO in July 2025 with the musician's blessing.
“I've resisted this kind of thing for so long. I'm sick of talking about myself,” Joel told PEOPLE exclusively at the time. “Some of the stupid stuff I did, that's painful to talk about. [But] they asked me for some thematic guidance. I said, ‘Just tell the truth.' ”
Billy Joel in 1982
Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty
The doc offered glimpses of the “Uptown Girl” singer's private world, including overcoming substance abuse, his mental health struggles and life now with his wife Alexis and his three daughters.
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