Paul McCartney to âNowhere Boyâ Star: John Lennon Never Punched Me!
Do you want to know secret?
Nowhere Boy, the new John Lennon biopic opening Oct. 8âon the eve of what wouldâve been the rock iconâs 70th birthdayâisnât 100 percent accurate.
So says fellow Beatle Paul McCartney.
Interviewed on Milling About, Nowhere Boy star Aaron Johnson discusses Sir Paulâs reaction to the flick.
âPaul said he loved it and thought it was great,â the British actor tells host Robin Millingâbut then adds:
âHe said, âI canât remember Lennon ever punching me in the face!â during one of the scenes.
âBut if thatâs the only thing he was worried about, then weâre off.â
Aaron also asked Johnâs widow, Yoko Ono, how she felt.
âYoko gave her blessing and basically stayed out of the way while we were making the film,â he says. âAnd she cried when she saw the movie.
âShe was very gracious and complimentary about our performances in the film and how I portrayed Lennon when he was younger.â
Aaron talks, as well, about feeling Johnâs presence while filming.
âWhen I got out of the cab by The Dakota [the Manhattan apartment building where John was slain in 1980] and got out where he got outâI know this might sound really strangeâbut it felt spooky, and the energy around there is upsetting.
âThere was this one time where I perform Hello Little Girl in this room and it was quite last-minute where we found this location.
âIt was a house and it was in south of London. I was sitting on a sofa where I was trying to sing the song,â he says.
[Director] Sam [Taylor-Wood] didnât like the carpet either, so she wanted to take that out and move the sofa.
âWhen we did pick up this carpet, underneathâexactly where I was sittingâwas this newspaper preserved from the 1960s, and it had Lennonâs face right on it!â