According to Deadline, the upcoming Beatles biopic Midas Man announced Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Queen’s Gambit) will be playing the legendary manager Brian Epstein. Alongside him will be the film’s Fab Four: Jonah Lees as John Lennon, Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison, and Campbell Wallace as Ringo Starr. Also announced earlier this week is Jay Leno, who will be playing Ed Sullivan, host of The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles’ first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show is largely regarded as the beginning of the British Invasion in the United States. The film will be directed by Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen’s Sara Sugarman, who replaced its previous director Jonas Åkerlund.
On the film’s casting choices, Sugarman told Deadline, “The actors playing the Beatles are an extraordinary group they ooze that very visceral feeling of the 60’s, are charming, playful, and so authentic and I have no doubt that Jay Leno will capture the essence of Ed Sullivan perfectly. His own experience as an American television host will bring forward a natural, and accurate portrayal and add an incredible element of modern showbiz to the story.â€
The film is currently in production in Liverpool and is expected to make the move to the United States soon.