The trailer for the new Midas Man has finally dropped, just weeks before the film hits Prime Video.
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd transforms into the man behind The Beatles, Brian Epstein, in the new biopic.
In the first look, Jacob, who plays Epstein, dedicates his life and soul to getting the group to number one in America.
The film follows The Beatles’ meteoric rise to stardom, with the help of their manager Epstein.
It pulls back the curtain on the triumphs, heartbreaks and secrets of the man who changed the face of music forever.
The trailer for the new Midas Man has finally arrived, just weeks before the film hits Prime Video (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd photo)
The film follows The Beatles’ meteoric rise to stardom, with the help of their manager Epstein
Within months, dressed at Epstein’s request in dark mohair suits, their hair cut by his personal hairdresser, and having learned their signature straight-back bow from him, the Beatles would conquer the world.
And as their visionary and extremely dedicated manager, he would become the fifth member of the Fab Four.
In addition to Jacob, Emily Watson stars as Epstein’s mother Queenie and Eddie Marsan as his father Harry.
The Beatles themselves are deliberately played by little-known actors, as Trevor Beattie notes, “This is a movie about Brian Epstein, not the band he led.”
Eddie Izzard makes a cameo appearance as Allan Williams, the Scouse music promoter, forever known as the man who gave away the Beatles.
American talk show legend Jay Leno makes a cameo appearance as Ed Sullivan, the king of American TV from the 1960s.
It was the band’s February 1964 headline performance at its show that rocked America, a pivotal moment in Midas Man.
That seismic backdrop is still described by Rolling Stone magazine as ‘the night the Beatles invented fun as we know it’.
Within just months of being under the wing of Brian Epstein (pictured right), the band dressed elegantly in a black suit – a look they were known for (pictured left: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Brian Epstein in Midas Man)
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (left) transforms into the man behind The Beatles, Brian Epstein, in the new biopic
In the first look, Jacob, who plays Epstein, dedicates his life and soul to getting the group to number one in America.
It pulls back the curtain on the triumphs, heartbreaks and secrets of the man who changed the face of music forever
Within months, dressed at Epstein’s request in dark mohair suits, their hair cut by his personal hairdresser, and having learned their signature straight bow from him, the Beatles would conquer the world.
And as their visionary and extremely dedicated manager, he would become the fifth member of the Fab Four
In addition to Jacob, Emily Watson stars as Epstein’s mother Queenie and Eddie Marsan as his father Harry (photo)
Eddie Marsan (right) plays Epstein’s father Harry
But we first see them at the Cavern Club, the basement of Mathew Street, Liverpool, where they played 292 gigs between 1961 and 1963.
Although the club still exists, it is actually a rebuild of the real thing that was demolished in 1973.
The £250,000 replica created for Midas Man is a faithful copy of the original, built on an industrial estate in Merseyside after weeks of research in Liverpool City Council’s planning archives.
“I hope Midas Man honors Brian Epstein,” says Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, “but I also hope it makes people love him because he was very likable.
‘You would think that as a manager he would only care about the money and legal matters, but he had been an actor himself, he was creative, a real cultural magpie.
‘He had a fastidious elegance, a natural friendliness, he spoke beautifully and was beautifully dressed.
‘When I studied him for this role, I started to think it was an armor with which he could face the world, and he had good reasons for needing it. How far he went, how far the Beatles went, came at a terrible personal cost.
‘Brian was such a complex person, extremely ambitious but also introverted. He wanted to be in the public eye, while knowing that it was a very dangerous place for him.
“I think about all the things he could have done if he had lived longer, how he would have expanded his universe, and ours.”
The group smiles as they pose with their manager Brian Epstein in the 1960s
The Beatle speaking at the premiere of ‘Hard Day’s Night’ in London on July 4, 1964
The danger he is referring to is the fact that Epstein was gay at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. In Midas Man we see his somber sexual encounters with strangers, and learn that he was arrested for solicitation; and attacked, robbed and blackmailed by those who knew his secret.
“But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a gay tragedy,” says Trevor Beattie. “Brian Epstein’s willingness to take risks, his ability to deal with them in all aspects of his life, explains a lot about his professional success. He had a lot on his plate. Managing the Beatles was the easy part.”
In the film we meet him as he begins to build his music empire, building on his family’s retail experience, his eye for design and the theatrical instincts that had earned him entry into RADA alongside Susannah York, Albert Finney and Peter O’Toole .
He signs up as the Beatles’ manager and tells John Lennon that he wants a 25 percent cut of the band’s earnings in exchange for everything he has to offer. “Is that standard?” asks Lennon. “It’s fair,” Epstein responds, promising, “I’ll take care of you.” Like family, but better. No secrets from each other.’
However, he keeps one secret: how the band’s music was rejected by record label after record label, until his meeting with Parlophone and producer George Martin’s life-changing invitation to “our house in North London, just off Abbey Road.”
Midas Man was given rare permission to film in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded nearly 200 songs between 1962 and 1970. ‘
Midas Man will stream on Prime Video from October 30