Beatlemania is back with four films about The Beatles on the far horizon.
Director Kevin MacDonald worked on his documentary One on one: John & Yoko Long before Sony’s four-part Beatles biopics were announced and long before they will ever be seen, because they are only released in 2028 but he is happy to think deeply about how their story could be brought to the big screen.
One on one: John & Yoko Together never weaves images of the musical couple, from their concert performance in Madison Square Garden and their lives at home in Greenwich Village in New York. It also contains moments in American politics that happened at the same time, such as opposition to the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam war.
The “One -To One” benefit concerts were the only full concert versions that Lennon did after he left the Beatles in 1970. Willowbrook: the last big shame That sheds light on abuse that took place in the facility.
One on one: John & Yoko Seated at Sundance Film Festival in January, where MacDonald spoke with Yahoo Entertainment about his unconventional documentary, the journey to bring it to life and what a Beatles film should record to be successful.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Are you planning to make something that felt different from other Beatles documentaries?
Straight up, yes. When the producer, Peter Worsley, who had spent many years to get the rights to this concert of the family, approached me about doing, we did not know each other and I was torn apart in two ways.
When I was 13, John Lennon died and that let me down to become a total Mad Lennon fan in that very suggestive era of your early teenagers. Part of me was like: “Yes, this is a child dream!” But another part of me was like: “There have been so many Beatles-related films and books, I don’t just want to add it.” So I thought I had to do something else that is artistically challenging and interesting for me, and the audience also gives a different kind of experience. Make something that is not about the facts and the rational, it is about hanging around with them, to get to know them in a more intimate way to be immersed in music and immersed in time. The most compelling film experience you can have is in IMAX.
I threw it up to Sean Lennon, who has control over the family, and he said, “My mother would love that idea, let’s do it.” Then he left me alone. I have never had an interference there or whatever. They have all these boxes with incredible phone calls and black and white home film images and so transferred.
The subject of the film is this great concert – although the concert was filmed, it was very badly recorded. But because of the progress in sound technology, they have discovered ways to remove background noise. Then you can start with remixing and balancing again, and that’s what they have done. Sean did that and he did great.
So Sean was the connection you needed –
Absolute. Sean and the people who work for the estate. In fact, they handed a ride that had many of the images, and then all the original audio of the concert. Then about four or five months after editing, I get this phone call from a man named Simon Hilton who works for the family. He is an executive producer in the film. He said: “Oh, we just found this box with audio tape from exactly your time period. We don’t know for sure what’s on it.” It was like, 25 hours of telephone calls. They are incredible. You feel that you are listening to them when normal people are chatting. I remember that I was sitting at them for days and listened to them. I really have the feeling that I am with them. I really feel like I know them! That was still a bit lucky. For all documentaries you rely on happiness.
How did you get through that huge volume video and recordings?
I have a great editor who is also co-director of the film, Sam Rice-Edwards. He works much harder than me. He has traveled a lot through things to find the good pieces. Then I would come in and listen to the good pieces. Then we would work.
There is a lot of trial and standing up with trying to find out how much story we need. We need a bit, so the audience is going a bit, so it’s not entirely random. But you want the audience to always be about to give the feeling that this can go everywhere. It is completely random! But hopefully not too much.
One of the things we mainly wanted to do was to do – when you realized why the concert happened, that it was by the children [at Willowbrook] – That’s the kind of “Oh Shit!” Moment that is the turning point in the film. It’s all at the end. It is the context that you get for what was going on in the world and what was going on in their lives. Then the images of the clips. It is only towards the end when you realize – oh my God, these children.
Something I took away from this – Wow, John and Yoko were these big dreamers who gave great speeches and then actually followed what they said.
Today it is so different from most young people.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the documentary One on one: John & Yoko. (Courtesy of Magnolia pictures)
They saw a documentary [Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace] And said, “Let’s do something for these children.” Something else I think a lot about is how people nowadays have difficulty seeing celebrities as people and understanding that they have lives and wishes and needs and boring daily life as we do. This film shows so much of their everyday, daily life that they also did large, world -changing things.
One of the things I really wanted to do was find a way to humanize Yoko for people. Many fans of Beatles are still so negative about her. It’s incredible. I think she is a great artist – not only visually, with her artworks – but as a musician. People think, “Oh, she can’t sing. She screams!” And now, that’s the point! You can hear in the film that she can sing beautifully. But she is like a punk. She expresses herself and does this primary scream. That is confronting, but intentionally. I think I wanted people to understand that.
We have almost done this switcheroo, so when you come at the end of the film, it almost becomes the perspective of Yoko. She is at a feminist conference and John is just tagging. He is the only man in the room. They vote to get rid of him to give her a little to give her that moment of sympathy. And then she sings that beautiful song, 39 years old, feel pretty suicidal – and you suddenly understand that she is a human being broken by the way people have treated her. She hurts because she has lost her child that has been abducted. And you know, people have known that forever from her daughter Kyoko. It’s no secret. But nobody has ever talked about it. Perhaps because there was some way interest in her context. But as soon as you look at what is going on in their lives, and you see it because of the perspective of missing their child, it suddenly makes everything very different.
The point is that they miss their daughter and the pain. That’s why they are so moved by the children on TV because they miss their child. And in the end things are made justice by the fact that they have Sean. It’s about the children in your life and the pain if you don’t have them and the loss and joy they bring. How they love their daughter who misses this great concert.
There is a lot of talk about upcoming films about The Beatles. Is there something that you think that you have to record in those films to be successful?
I don’t know what it is exactly that they do. I think they don’t do that either. I know they do four films, each from the perspective of another Beatle. If I did, I would do that [this]: One of the Beatles [is the subject] Until the point that they become the Beatles in 1961 or 1962, then the Beatles era is done. And then people do the 70s – that would be John. Then they do afterwards. So you put it through their eyes. I’m not sure what they are doing, but that’s what I would do.
You could start with the early part of it until 1962 as Biopic van Ringo and he joined the band. Then you might have Paul for the Beatles period. Then you have John. Then you have – I don’t know. Anyway, whatever. I’m not sure how they are going to do it, but I hope it will be social. It is about time as about them as individuals. I feel that we know them pretty well at this stage, especially during the Beatles period. So I hope they make it so much about what is happening around them.
I really enjoyed it A completely unknown. … I am a big one [Bob] Dylan Fan, and I thought, “Why do we need a Biopic from Dylan?” But I saw it and I thought, “This is really smart because they have made it over time!” They made it – or what I took was – to be an artist, you also have to be Bastard. That is part of the territory. You have to go on. You have to trample people. You have people you want to keep there. You just have to ignore and keep those siren calls in motion. I thought, “That is really worth making a movie.”
One on one: John & Yoko Now plays in theaters (including IMAX).
