A legal dispute has erupted over the in-development biopic Billy & Me. According to Rolling Stone, Billy Joel's camp has issued a statement about the project, directed by editor-turned-filmmaker John Ottman, declaring it "legally and professionally misguided."
Joel's spokesperson said: "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 production is moving forward without Joel's approval, and his team is making that public.
Ottman has responded with his own statement. The director argues that the film is about his first manager, Irwin Mazur, who discovered Joel in 1966 and signed him in 1970, not about Joel himself. "The biopic neither depicts nor seeks to use any of Billy Joel's original music because it takes place during his formative years performing cover songs," Ottman explained.
Ottman added: "To characterize the project as legally and professionally misguided does not accurately reflect the actual nature of the film or the rights underlying the production." Producers hold exclusive life rights to Mazur and have also secured rights from Jon Small, Joel's longtime friend, drummer, and video director, who will serve as consultant and co-executive producer.
Screenwriter Adam Ripp and ArtPhyl Pictures are backing the project. Small defended the film's integrity: "This is the most honest, heartfelt, and authentic portrayal of Billy's early life." He said Billy & Me is "grounded in truth, shaped with care, and built with the insight of people who genuinely know and love Billy."
The dispute is unresolved, and Joel's legal team has not indicated whether it will attempt to block the film.
