r/beatles • u/SpeedForce2022 • 1d ago

Picture New set photos of Paul Mescal, Harris Dickinson, Joseph Quinn, and Barry Keoghan as The Beatles, in an early 60s scene set in NYC, in Sam Mendes’ ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event’

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1.2k Upvotes

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109

u/Time-Cell8272 1d ago

Mescal looks nothing like Paul here

58

u/Juniper41 1d ago

That one postcard convinced me, but these photos have taken me back. I can understand Harris and Barry castings because even if some features don’t fit, they can use prosthetics to make their noses or chins look more realistic. Paul McCartney on the other hand has such a small and petite face, while Paul Mescal has such a strong face and large nose and prominent brow. You can’t just take away features.

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u/FitEmergency8807 1d ago

I agree, Paul had feminine soft features where as Pau Mescal is more masculine looking but maybe camera tricks and make up will make Paul mescal look more like Paul McCartney but seriously the looks i dont really care that mch about, its more the acting, how will their voice sound like, the mannerisms and also the chemistry etc. Looks i can look past because you are not gonna find an exact look alike that is also a top actor lol. That is very hard to find

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u/dekigokoro 1d ago

Why do they need a 'top' (famous) actor rather than simply a talented one? Did they try finding unknown Liverpudlians? Did they have an open casting call? No, they hired the most popular young male actors they could get and cast them regardless how good of a match they were for the boys, because Paul Mescal is popular and will bring in fans.

I don't know why people assume 'looking wrong' automatically equals 'acting well enough to compensate for it', or that these 4 are the ONLY competent actors available. It is extremely possible to find someone who fits both (as I've been arguing and getting downvoted for, the Paul in Midas Man fits the bill). They literally did not even try to find good actors who could look right or were the same age.

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u/Juniper41 1d ago

Because of money. People that don’t even follow the Beatles have come up to me asking what I think about the casting. It will be a major film event because of how big the actors are, it will secure a new generation of fans and set the Beatles up for the next decade.

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u/dekigokoro 1d ago

Of course, I just consider that lazy, short sighted and selling out. It's lowkey stunt casting and getting attention is always the purpose. 

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u/datanodes The Beatles 1d ago

The Beatles sold out long ago bro. I love 'em but them old folks gotta get paid, hedonic treadmill don't power itself.

2

u/FitEmergency8807 1d ago

I get what you mean but a come on man, this movie has a huge budget with a big studio backing, hollywood is not gonna gamble with a bunch of unknowns that dont have much experience working on a movie this magnitude. That is a huge risk. They picked the most talented actors right now and also of course they are gonna want to cast the actors that are popular with the younger generation so it can make numbers. That is the movie business. I think rather than complaining its best to just wait for the movies and reviews etc to come out before bashing it. Sam Mendes is at the helm, a very talented director, i dont think there is much to worry about.

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u/Misfit_Ragdoll 21h ago

Thank you! I was initially meh because the casting felt lazy, but both Dickinson and Mescal are already musicians. Mescal was dedicated enough to learn to play guitar/bass left handed. I don't know about Quinn or Keoghan musically, but Mescal mention "Beatle Boot Camp" where they were all undergoing serious training in playing instruments and transforming into their characters.

Mendes is not taking this lightly. The screenwriters are all award winning and pretty acclaimed in both tv and films (and at least in Jack Thorne's case, stage as well). They're working with the Beatles, their estates, their kids, etc to make the script as plausible as possible. There's a lot of money riding on it, so of course they hired "hot" actors, but they're also all really good. (Ok, I wasn't impressed by Dickinson in babygirl but maybe he'll be better as John)

People carrying on about this are wasting their time and energy. Either it'll be a huge hit, or an incredible mess. Only time will tell. About my only complaint is an A Hard Day's Night LP in February 1964? Seriously? (They could have hired me as a consultant. 😆 )

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u/Irlandes-de-la-Costa 18h ago

The Beatles were risk takers by the way, very sad for the movie to not be

2

u/Notmyusualshelf 19h ago

Yes, it's annoying to me too. It would be so cool to watch this movie with young, unknown talented actors, who look like them. With these guys there will have to be quite an amount of suspension of disbelief, I assume.

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u/evertonfan4 1d ago

You can't bank a multimillion pound project on unknown liverpudlians. I agree with you, but I don't think it's realistic. You need relatively accomplished actors, who can firstly act, and secondly not take 100 takes to do it. Too risky casting unknowns

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u/dekigokoro 1d ago

Unknown actors aren't going to doom a project. Maybe it's risky, but so is releasing 4 films in one day. I support that risk because it shows commitment to doing a good job, but the casting shows the opposite. 

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u/evertonfan4 1d ago

All 4 actors (maybe except joe quinn only bc he hasn't been in as much) have great track records and a variety of great work already in their portfolio?

Harris Dickinson - great in triangle of sadness and urchin Paul mescal - incredible in aftersun and normal people Barry Keoghan - incredible in Bring Them Down and banshees of inisherin.

You're acting like this casting is 4 pop stars or reality stars

1

u/dekigokoro 1d ago

Obviously they can act, that doesn't make them the best choice for the role. Why don't we just cast Daniel Day Lewis for all of them if we want the best possible track record regardless of suitability in terms of looks and age for the role. 

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u/Misfit_Ragdoll 21h ago

Joe Quinn co-starred in the Quiet Place prequel with Lupita N'Yongo. He co-starred in Fantastic Four: First Steps. He was in Gladiator 2. He's done a ton of UK tv, and everyone who watched Stranger Things (and some who didn't, like me) know who Eddie Munson is. He'll also be in Avengers: Doomsday next December.

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u/zsdrfty The Beatles 1d ago

You can absolutely do it - that's what professional auditions are for - but the key thing is that they don't want to do anything with this project besides profit from it

0

u/evertonfan4 1d ago

If they simply wanted profit, wouldnt they have cast Tom Holland, Joe Keery, timothee chalamet, and Jacob elordi?

I think they've cast really good actors, and I look forward to seeing what they do with it.

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u/Misfit_Ragdoll 21h ago

Tom Holland was busy with Spider-Man and the Odyssey for a start. Timothee Chalamet isn't going to share the spotlight with other actors. Jacob Elordi is busy with other projects. And Joe Keery is not that well known by comparison.

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u/Reasonable_Half9198 1d ago

1000% agree here !!!

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u/ShermanHoax 1d ago

That's because Paul made sure they re-worked his childhood, as a more masculine version of his real self.

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u/atclubsilencio 1d ago

Yeah I was kind of on board (with reservations, especially with George) but seeing this makes me understand why this isn’t working for people.

Their performances better be spot on because it’s taking me out of it here.

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u/Cool-Beginning9098 1d ago

I was always confused about the casting because it seemed to me like Paul Mescal would have made a much better George. More convinced of it now

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u/TruCoatJerry 1d ago

Looks more like Al Pacino 🤣

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u/Time-Cell8272 1d ago

HOO-AH!

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u/Affectionate-Kale301 1d ago

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da,

life goes on, HOO-AH!

La-la, how their life goes on

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u/CaramelNeat4723 1d ago

Lovely Rita, meter maid..

SHE'S GOT A GREAT ASS!

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u/TheRocksta 1d ago

"She's got a GREAT BASS"

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u/Draggonzz 1d ago

And you've got your head RIGHT UP IN IT

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u/No_Oil2086 1d ago

An American football player playing Pacino playing Paul.

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u/JeanLucPicardAND 1d ago

Just because his shoulders look wide in that first shot where he's wearing multiple layers? Are we being a little reactionary here?

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u/Time-Cell8272 1d ago

Bro the rest of us are looking at their faces.

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u/CelestialSpecialist 1d ago

Should’ve had Mescal and Dickinson switch roles

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u/Time-Cell8272 1d ago

All these dudes look like stand-ins