Paul McCartney has one specific note for Sam Mendes' four-film Beatles project: do not make him look shorter than John Lennon. Variety reports that McCartney raised the issue on Amy Poehler's "Good Hang" podcast after seeing a production still from an Abbey Road crossing scene.
According to McCartney, Mendes sent him the image after they had discussed the height difference between Paul Mescal, who plays McCartney, and Harris Dickinson, who plays Lennon. McCartney said Mescal's character looked "markedly smaller" in the still, so he texted the director: "Sam! Smaller? Don't do this!"
Why the height difference bothers McCartney
McCartney said the Beatles were roughly the same height, apart from Ringo Starr being "a bit smaller."
He pointed to 2009's "Nowhere Boy" as an earlier example. In McCartney's telling, Thomas Brodie-Sangster's version of him appeared smaller and less forceful than Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Lennon. McCartney said director Sam Taylor-Johnson reminded him that the film was not a documentary, an explanation he did not find persuasive.
Four films, one for each Beatle
Mendes is directing "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event," with one movie centered on each band member. Mescal and Dickinson are joined by Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
Sony Pictures is backing the project, which Variety says is in the middle of a year-long production. All four films are scheduled for theatrical release in April 2028.
