Tim Riley's "Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music"

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NPR critic Tim Riley is the author of Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (Knopf/Vintage 1988); Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary (Knopf/Vintage1992, Da Capo 1999); Madonna: Illustrated (Hyperion 1992); Fever: How Rock'N'Roll Transformed Gender In America (St. Martin's/Picador 2005).

Here he writes about the above-the-line talent for an adaptation of his latest book, Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music:

This is easy: Brad Pitt has been talking about doing Lennon for a couple years, and he would be both box office and a fascinating entry to the Lennon sweepstakes. My favorite Lennon so far is Ian Hart in The Hours and Times, but those who underrate Pitt should watch The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The role calls for a combustible mix of hilarity and doom.

Cameron Crowe should direct, obviously. Yoko: much harder to cast, but I'd vote for Cate Blanchett. She's a chameleon with a vast sense of humorous ennui. Ryan Reynolds as Paul McCartney, Christopher Plummer as George Martin, Adam Lambert as George Harrison, Jack Black as Allen Klein, Fozzie the Bear as Ringo Starr, Scarlett Johansson or Angelina Jolie as Julia Stanley Lennon, Wally Cox as Brian Epstein, and Maggie Smith as Aunt Mimi -- in this movie she gets to... kill John's dog Sally.

Learn more about the book and author at Tim Riley's website.

Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music is on the Christian Science Monitor's list of the five best books on John Lennon.

--Marshal Zeringue