John, Paul, George and... Ed?
Sheeran is set to star in Richard Curtis movie about a world where The Beatles never existed – except in one man’s dreams. Its title? All You Need Is Love, actually!
WHEN scriptwriter Richard Curtis started thinking about which star he’d like to appear in a film about The Beatles, the answer must have been blindingly obvious – All You Need Is Ed.
And now the chart-topping singer Ed Sheeran is set to land a leading role in Curtis’s new production about the Fab Four’s music.
Ed, 27, is in talks to appear in the new comedy – tentatively titled All You Need Is Love – about a man who wakes up one day to find he is the only person who can remember the songs of The Beatles.
It’s understood he’ll appear on screen and write new music for the film, which will also include Beatles hits. A source close to Working Title, the studio that is making the film, said: ‘Everything Ed touches
‘If anyone can make their songs better, Ed can’
turns to gold. He is the biggest hitmaker on the planet. If anyone can make a film about the Beatles songs even better musically, it’s him.’
Sheeran is known to be a massive Fab Four fan. In 2014, he took part in The Night That Changed America – a Grammys tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan show in 1964.
He performed an acoustic version of In My Life in front of a starstudded audience which included Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
McCartney was so impressed with the performance, he later sent Sheeran a guitar signed: ‘For Ed, who is brilliant.’
Sheeran, who is newly engaged to childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn, is known to be friends with Curtis and his partner Emma Freud. In 2016, he attended an all-star 21st birthday party for the couple’s activist daughter Scarlett. He is a regular visitor to the family’s sprawling family home in Walberswick, Suffolk, and sources believe the friendship will seal the deal.
The new film, which has been shrouded in secrecy, is one of the most hotly anticipated of the year.
It is understood that EastEnders actor Himesh Patel, who played Tamwar Masood, will also have a starring role. It is believed that Downton Abbey actress Lily James, now one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood, may also appear. It is believed filming will take place in London and eastern England over the summer.
Curtis – famous for romcoms Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually – has already written a script.
The movie will be directed by Danny Boyle, known for hits such as Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting. He is passionate about the project and is keen to get it made before he starts work on the forthcoming James Bond film. Sheeran, 27, who is best known for hit songs The Shape Of You, Thinking Out Loud and Sing, has not yet signed on the dotted line for the Beatles film but insiders insist he is keen.
Sheeran’s last foray into acting – a cameo appearance in Game Of Thrones – was not well received. Critics described his acting as ‘wooden’ and ‘dire’. But when he played himself as a singer in 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby, he won plaudits for his performance.
The source said: ‘Ed won’t be acting, so much as helping with the music and making a performance cameo.
‘No one is suggesting the Beatles music needs any help, but as Ed is a talented producer he will be of help to Richard and Danny behind the scenes.’
A Sony ATV spokesman said last night: ‘Sony and ATV Music Publishing has agreed to license Lennon and McCartney songs for the film.’ A spokesman for the project said: ‘The film is so early in development it is still untitled.’