For years, writer-director Robert Zemeckis seemed to have a mainline into the American zeitgeist, turning out films that were not simply commercially successful, but that almost immediately became part of the pop-cultural fabric that's now so much a part of how we communicate and live.  Used Cars.  Back to the Future.  Forrest Gump.  Romancing the Stone.  Think about that filmography for a moment and try not to be impressed.  For the last decade, however, he's worked exclusively in the realm of motion-capture, directing The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, but now he's returning to live-action, and doing so with Denzel Washington as the leading man in the redemption drama Flight.

Paul McCartney once said, "If anyone was The Fifth Beatle, it was Brian."He was referring to Brian Epstein, the legendary manager of The Beatles. Epstein has been credited with their discovery as well as their success.

Broadway Theatre Producer Vivek Tiwary has secured $25 million in financing for his much-anticipated and long-awaited foray into film entitled THE FIFTH BEATLE. A story ripe to be told, the film will be centered on the Fab Four’s manager, a closeted homosexual in the days when being so was illegal in the UK. The film will focus on how Epstein suffered with his outsider status and dealt with his pain all while The Beatles became world famous.

Robert Zemeckis, the director who gave us the Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Cast Away, has spent the last decade directing exclusively through performance capture.  Through his motion capture animation studio, ImageMovers, he's directed Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, as well as producing Monster House and last weekend's Mars Needs Moms.  Zemeckis' next film was intended to be a 3D motion capture remake of The Beatles' triptastic 1968 cartoon Yellow Submarine, but an abysmal opening for Mars Needs Moms has led Disney to cancel their plans to ride the eponymous submersible.

Plans for the making of Robert Zemeckis’ Yellow Submarine reboot looked to be in full bloom as 2009 gave way to 2010. A cast was selected that consisted of Cary Elwes, Dean Lennox Kelly, Peter Serafinowicz, and Adam Campbell, all set to star as George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, respectively. However, in order to cut costs, Disney shut down Zemeckis’ mo-cap workshop, leaving things looking a bit grim.

So then, what’s to become of The Beatles? While George Dunning’s original is a splendid viewing, this is one remake I wouldn’t mind seeing.

Nowhere Boy is one of the most moving and emotional films I’ve seen in a long time. Whether or not you are a Beatles or a John Lennon fan, it is hard not to find a sense of joy and heartbreak in this truly inspiring tale.

Director Sam Taylor-Wood takes a page from musical history that we may not have learned. Way back before John Lennon was making music, before The Quarrymen, we see the rebellious youth side of John, with a terrific performance from Aaron Johnson. Fresh off of Kick-Ass, Aaron takes on this iconic role with fervor and conviction as we see John as a real life teen dealing with very difficult issues. The stability he is offered is through his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his Uncle George (David Threlfall).

On the evening of December 8, 1980, John Lennon was on his way home after a late-night recording session. It was the night when Mark David Chapman murdered the music legend after stalking him for three days.