A world where the Beatles have never existed inspires the new film by Danny Boyle | Movie

Imagine a world without the music of John Lennon or Paul McCartney. Imagine, in other words, a world without Imagine, not to mention She loves you and yesterday. The new film by Danny Boyle is based on this principle: and if the idea sounds familiar, it's not surprising. In the 90s, the TV sitcom good evening darling, starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, used a similar conspiracy device.

"I've noticed the similarity, of course," said Maurice Gran, who wrote the highly-regarded series with Laurence Marks. "I'm terribly generous about this, of course, but Laurence is already in contact with hitmen."

Boyle's movie, YesterdayThe World Premiere, May 4 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, tells the story of a struggling singer-songwriter who wakes up and realizes he's the only one who can remember Beatles and their songs. Naturally, the hopeful musician, played by Himesh Patel, decides to capitalize on the situation and claims the songs as his own. It stars Lily James, but has appearances for Ed Sheeran and James Corden and is expected to contain the last two Beatles.

In the BBC's sitcom, which lasted six series and is set to become a musical at the beginning of next year, a time travel portal brought the hero back to London during the war, before the Beatles even exist, leaving him free to play his own pub piano tubes.

Boyle's film is based on a Jack Barth story and features a screenplay by Richard Curtis. This weekend, Gran, 69, conceded that no one had the monopoly of stories that play with time: "It's a tempting backdrop. We know Richard Curtis quite well, but we did not have him on the phone yet. I guess we'll have to be nice because he's really a saint with the work of Comic Relief. "

The musical version of good evening darling will include at least one Beatles song. It is difficult, Gran admits, to find modern songs whose melodies correspond to the melodies of the 1940s. "I do not know exactly how the rights of the song were managed by the BBC. They had special arrangements and it was mostly short shots. I remember a bomb shelter scene when all the actors sang I Am the Walrus. But then, in terms of royalties, singing songs is different from playing the actual record.

"I guess to flatter ourselves, Laurence and I could say that good evening darling is so much a part of British culture now that it has to be dipped to a certain extent, "said Gran. "But if people think, good idea. I wonder if Curtis sends a box of champagne to Marks and Gran? 'So I guess it will not hurt us.'

The new musical is a 12-year project for Birds of a feather writers. "Of all the television series that have been turned into musicals, this one really deserves it because it concerns part of the songs. We asked Nicholas Lyndhurst to participate. "Thank you, but I can not sing, I can not play the piano and I am too old".

A Boyle spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.