Interview for Disc And Music Echo

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THE Beatles in The Bahamas, in Austria, in Britain. A transatlantic chase by a group of determined villains — with John, Paul, George and Ringo outwitting them at every turn. A comedy sequence with Ringo on skis in the Alps. Thrills, fun — and lots and lots of pretty girls.

This is a preview of what Beatle fans can expect when the long-awaited successor to the record-breaking “A Hard Day’s Night” hits the world’s screens around the autumn of this year.

Oscars

And it was given to me in an exclusive interview this week in the West End office suite of Walter Shenson, brilliant producer of “A Hard Day’s Night” — which is now tipped for nomination for no fewer than six major Motion Picture Academy Awards, or “Oscars.”

As originally reported in DISC WEEKLY, the new Beatles film will be a full-colour spectacle.

Director and scriptwriter have already been given the “all systems go” signal. And shooting commences in just five weeks’ time— on February 22 precisely — in the British West Indies.

“The Beatles will be there for two or three weeks, and then fly to the Continent for snow sequences — probably filmed in Austria,” says Mr. Shenson. “We shall all be there about a week, and then return to England for six weeks studio work. Altogether, shooting should take around 10 weeks.”

Exciting

“The film will have a very spectacular look about it. And we aim to make it even more exciting visually than ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ And I would just add that this film has been mentioned in ‘Variety,’ the American show business paper, as a possible contender for six Academy Award nominations. They are for The Best Black and White Photography, in two categories; the Best Black and White Art Direction; Best Picture; Best Direction, and Best Song specially written for a film — the title song. This is a tremendous tribute to director Dick Lester, ‘the crew, The Beatles, and myself. Now, we have a real challenge to meet with this new one.”

“I have already had talks with The Beatles on three separate occasions. One meeting was in my office with John and Paul — who sat on that settee where you are sitting right now. Unfortunately, Ringo was in hospital for his tonsils operation at the time. And George had just flown to the Bahamas on holiday. But I know John and Paul filled them in later on the broad outlines we had discussed over a cup of coffee.”

“Dick Lester, who directed ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ is very excited about the prospect of filming in the tropics and in the Alps. The colour of the Bahamas and the snow of the Alps will provide a wonderful background for The Beatles and the action of the film. And there will be a good deal of action in this one. For one thing, it will be much more ‘plotty.’ That’s why we have signed Marc Behm — an American who lives in Paris — to write the script.

“Marc has already drafted an outline script, and one of the things we discussed with John and Paul was how the story-line should be developed, and how we can translate the comedy into the special Beatles brand of humour.

Themselves

“We are in no way attempting to do another ‘Hard Day’s Night,’ but The Beatles will again play themselves. And there will be even more opportunities for them to show their natural acting talent as they get unwittingly involved in intrigue, and find themselves pressurised by big things from the mysterious East.

“Basically, the film is a chase with The Beatles running away from trouble. But it always turns up — in the Bahamas, on the Continent and in Britain. And one of John, George and Paul’s major problems will be to protect Ringo from the crooks.

“Songs? Most important — of course. Immediately after their Christmas Show at Hammersmith the boys will take a holiday. But John and Paul will be working even then — on the six new songs we plan for the film. There may even be a couple more. Then, during the week of February 15, they will record the new songs. This may or may not include the title song, but a single from the film will almost certainly be issued around Easter, with the album being released in the autumn, when the film is due for release. The songs will be worked into the film to complement the story-line and the action. The Beatles will not play them on a stage, or in a television studio, before screaming fans.

“We have already captured the fan fever in ‘ A Hard Day’s Night ‘ — which was intended to be a kind of documentary of a day in the life of The Beatles. The locations we are choosing are colourful, and there will be lots of picturesque scenes and pretty girls. But I can assure the fans that — again — no love interest will be allowed to intrude!

“The title of the film? That’s always a big problem. John is writing a new book, and maybe with his permission we could use something from that — if it turned out to fit the situation. But Ringo came up with such a perfect one last time — it became a catchword of 1964 — we may again rely on The Beatles’ spontaneity to do the trick.”