The FIfth Beatle Adds Producer Bruce Cohen

The Fifth Beatle adaptation adds producer Bruce Cohen

Academy Award winning producer Bruce Cohen will join Vivek J. Tiwary in producing The Fifth Beatle, a film adaptation of Tiwary's graphic novel of the same name to be released by Dark Horse Comics on November 19, 2013. Cohen won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2000 for American Beauty and has been nominated twice more for Milk (2008) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). The Fifth Beatle, screenplay written by Tiwary, will be the first feature film about The Beatles to obtain the rights to use their original songs and will begin production in 2014.

Here's what Bruce Cohen had to say about the project in a statement.

"I am thrilled to be joining Vivek to help bring the extraordinary true story of Brian Epstein to the screen. The combination of Vivek's powerful script, Brian's fascinating and complicated life and the unprecedented ability to use The Beatles' original songs should make for a truly phenomenal film."

The Fifth Beatle is an uplifting, tragic, and ultimately inspirational human story chronicling the life of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, of whom Sir Paul McCartney said, "If anyone was The Fifth Beatle, it was Brian." The graphic novel is written by multiple Tony Award-winning producer Vivek J. Tiwary (Green Day's American Idiot, The Addams Family, Mel Brooks' The Producers) and painted by fanboy favorite Andrew C. Robinson (Dusty Star, King Conan, Starman, Superman) and multiple Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Kyle Baker (Why I Hate Saturn, Plastic Man, Nat Turner).

Vivek J. Tiwary had this to say in his own statement.

"I've been researching and developing The Fifth Beatle for more than half my life-- it's a true labor of love! And I'm confident that the next stage in telling Brian Epstein's story is in extremely capable hands with Bruce, whose sensibilities and talents are simply perfect for The Fifth Beatle. You could say I'm a Bruce Cohen fan-- so I'm elated to see The Fifth Beatle coming to life as a film under his guidance!"

Cohen will join Tiwary, Robinson, bestselling author and founding editor of Creem Magazine Dave Marsh, and top record producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Fishbone, Sublime) in the New York Comic Con panel discussion "Spotlight on The Fifth Beatle: The Story of Brian Epstein" on October 11, 2013.

Tiwary is represented by David Alpert and Lawrence Mattis at Circle of Confusion and Cohen is represented by CAA.

For more information please visit TheFifthBeatle.com.

The Fifth Beatle comes to theaters in 2014.

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