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In 1972, ABC aired an exposé on the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York, which had been accused of abusing and neglecting its intellectually challenged wards. A young, hungry investigative reporter named Geraldo Rivera took a camera crew inside the institution, and gave the country a firsthand look at the appalling conditions the underage patients were forced to endure. Thousands upon thousands of viewers reacted with shock, anger and demands for Willowbrook to close its doors forever. Two of them, sitting in a cluttered apartment in Greenwich Village, decided...

Sean Ono Lennon calls the new documentary movie 'One to One: John Yoko' "a window through which you can view the lives of my parents".The film has been directed by Kevin McDonald and features footage from the two 'One to One' benefit concerts that John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Elephant’s Memory performed at Madison Square Garden in August 1972.These concerts were the only full live shows Lennon ever did between the breakup of the Beatles and his death in 1980 but Sean insists that the documentary is about more than music, calling it "multi-layered [with] macro and micro narratives".He told Variety: "Honestly, I think Kevin is an amazing director and obviously he’s made many great films, so he knows what he’s doing. And his angle on this story is something that I couldn’t have imagined, I guess. Because I probably would’ve imagined ... some people might be imagining,...

Every Friday, Gold Derby rounds up some of the best stories of the week from our friends across the web. Maybe you missed these, maybe you were too busy to read them at the time, maybe you bookmarked them and forgot, but hopefully you'll have some over the weekend to check them out. Happy reading!

Is the Yokossance Finally Here?

With a new biography on Yoko Ono, David Sheff's Yoko, and a new documentary about her and John Lennon, Kevin Macdonald's One to One: John & Yoko, out now,  The New York Times' Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz debate whether the cultural reassessment of Ono's legacy is now complete.

"You Know There's No Actual F--king": Jon Hamm and Tina Fey Reunite

We want to go to there. Tina Fey interviews Jon Hamm for Interview, during which the frequent collaborators reminisce on their parallel runs on 30 Rock and Mad Men,...

The new documentary “One to One: John & Yoko” being released in theaters this weekend is much more than a concert film — but its Imax big-screen release is a sure indicator that many fans expect the live performance core of the movie to deliver on that level, whatever else has been built around that footage. At its center is a healthy amount of the “One to One” benefit concerts that John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Elephant’s Memory performed at Madison Square Garden in August 1972, which turned out to be the only full live show Lennon ever did between the breakup of the Beatles two and a half years earlier and his death eight years later. The concert stuff needs to blast out of those speakers in the best fidelity possible, and charged with making that happen was Sean Ono Lennon, who worked on fresh mixes of this material, just...

This review was originally published during the 2024 Venice Film Festival. “One to One: John and Yoko” opens from Magnolia Pictures on IMAX screens Friday, April 11, 2025.

In the fall of 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved into an apartment on 105 Bank Street in the West Village of Manhattan. It had been two years since Lennon told his Beatles bandmates that he wanted “a divorce,” and the recently married couple craved a fresh start in America away from the oppressive shadow of the group he founded. By this point, Lennon and Ono’s lives were completely intertwined—they were not merely lovers, but also close creative collaborators whose artistry was developing in tandem. Her background in the avant-garde and gallery world intermingled with his experience with pop music and celebrity until their work became inseparable from persona. Together they garnered a more focused political conscience as the Vietnam war continued unabated amidst an increasingly fractured,...

Few stories about pop culture are more prevalent than the myth that Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles. For decades, it has been clear other extenuating factors led to John Lennon leaving the band, and yet the story continues to percolate. To help dispel this idea, One to One: John & Yoko examines the famous couple during their life in New York City in 1972. In the process, it follows Lennon and Ono as they mount various pressure campaigns to change the policies and politics of the era. While not entirely successful in showcasing the couple, director Kevin Macdonald paints a compelling, if overly broad, vision of the moment.

Related“I feel like I understand John and Yoko better”: One to One: John and Yoko Director Kevin Macdonald Discusses Creating a Different Type of Beatles Documentary One to One: John & Yoko — The Plot

1972 was a year of tumultuous change for America,...

A collection of staggering TV clips and amazing audio of Lennon and Ono’s life in 1970s NYC, this film is a mosaic of countercultural moments

Film-maker Kevin Macdonald has created a fever dream of pop culture: a TV-clip collage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s time in New York in the early 70s, as they led the countercultural protest. It’s a film that mixes small screen zeitgeist fragments and madeleine moments, a memory quilt of a certain time and place, juxtaposing Jerry Rubin and Allen Ginsberg with Richard Nixon and George Wallace, John and Yoko in concert with ads for Tupperware – all inspired by the fact that John and Yoko did an awful lot of TV watching in their small New York apartment of that time, with John in particular thrilled by the American novelty of 24/7 television.

It was also on TV that John and Yoko saw...

Sean Ono Lennon approves of Sam Mendes’ Beatles biopic process. The musician, who is the son of late Beatle John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono, confirmed to Vanity Fair that he has “every confidence” in Harris Dickinson’s ability to portray John Lennon in the buzzy four-part biopic. The full casting for all four Beatles was announced at CinemaCon 2025, with Paul Mescal portraying Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, in addition to Dickinson’s John Lennon.

Each of the four films will center on a different Beatle’s perspective about their rise to fame. Mendes teased that the project will be the first “bingeable” moviegoing experience, with all four films hitting theaters simultaneously in April 2028.

“We are all in touch with Sam,” Lennon told Vanity Fair while promoting documentary “One to One,” adding, “I told him I am not interested in second-guessing his casting choices as a director.

Who else to play the gargantuan band The Beatles in four different biopics but actors whose names are currently in the lights?

The casting choice for the upcoming ‘The Beatles’ biopic was revealed at this year’s Sony’s CinemaCon. Joseph Quinn has been cast as George Harrison, Paul Mescal is Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan is Ringo Starr and Harris Dickinson is John Lennon.

Just picture that! Ahhh… Maybe it’s a bit too early to start doing that as it will be rolling out in theaters in April 2028, so it’s probably best not to get too excited right now. It’s still a long ways from 2028. Trust me.

Sam Mendes Shares Insights Into Upcoming ‘The Beatles’ Biopics

I think that I’ve heard somewhere about a John Lennon and Yoko Ono documentary being spear-headed by his widow Yoko Ono and son Julian Lennon. Something about it being acquired by Magnolia Pictures.

When you are thinking about the most famous musicians in the world, John Lennon is probably at the top of that list, and that’s partially because there are so many films about this brilliant artist. It’s hard to find a film that offers a new perspective on his life, but that is exactly what One to One: John and Yoko does, exploring the relationship and work of Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in the years after The Beatles dissolved.

At the film’s Sundance premiere, FandomWire got to speak with One to One: John and Yoko’s Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald about his unique approach to the music documentary, exploring a different side of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s story, and why he thinks this — and other music documentaries — make for such an intoxicating experience in IMAX.

One to One: John and Yoko Interview

FandomWire:...

Warner Bros. and Legendary mined box office gold this weekend with the spectacular debut of “A Minecraft Movie,” which towered over the competition with £15 million ($19.1 million), according to Comscore.

The film, based on the beloved video game franchise, delivered the highest opening of 2025 so far in the U.K. and Ireland.

Landing in second place was Universal Pictures’ “Six The Musical” – the stage-to-screen adaptation of the West End hit that reimagines the six wives of Henry VIII as pop queens – which also posted a robust debut with $2.7 million.

Disney’s “Snow White” dropped to third place in its third weekend, earning $853,612 and bringing its cumulative total to $10.1 million. A new entry at No. 4, dark comedy “Death of a Unicorn,” distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors, opened with $621,275.

Warner Bros.’ Jason Statham vehicle “A Working Man” landed in fifth place with $422,325 in its second weekend, bringing its total to $1.7 million.

Rounding out...

The director of One to One: John & Yoko reveals how he was given access to a trove of intimate and family archive material that changes how we see the star couple

People are usually at their most interesting when they are in flux – uncertain of the way forward, of what life they ought to build. That was the case with John Lennon and Yoko Ono when they arrived in New York in 1971. They were both fleeing England – the recriminations around the Beatles breakup; the terrible misogyny and racism levelled at Ono – but also running towards the optimism and creative excitement of the New York art scene.

This is the period I have tried to recreate in my film One to One: John & Yoko – using a plethora of previously unheard phone recordings, home movies and archive. It’s an unconventional film in many ways, pitching the viewer headfirst into the life,...

Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald wasn't interested in making yet another film about the Beatles. That's why when producer Peter Worsley approached him with the rights for One to One — John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1972 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden — the filmmaker asked himself, "What can we do to make this a must-see film rather than just another thing documenting Lennon and the Beatles' careers?"

The answer was a revelatory inside look at the 18 months Lennon and Ono spent living in Greenwich Village and delivering an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon's only full-length, post-Beatles concert. With music produced by Sean Ono Lennon, One to One: John and Yoko premieres exclusively in Imax theaters on April 11.

"It has pretty incredible rarity value, and it was only ever released before on VHS in 1986 — with very poor quality — and the family...

A comprehensive exhibition of Yoko Ono’s art, “Music of the Mind,” will open at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (McA) in October. The institution will display more than 200 pieces, covering a span of more than seven decades’ worth of work. These include photography, musical compositions, participatory instruction pieces, installations, and a curated music room, among several other highlights. London’s Tate Museum previously showed “Music of the Mind” last year and reported record turnouts.

Some of the notable works featured include Cut Piece (1964), which invited participants to cut off her clothing,...

Marvel just dropped the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday, and, well, it was a lot to take in. In a five-hour live stream on YouTube that felt like a Yoko Ono performance piece and a test for even the most patient fans (as interesting as watching paint dry), an endless row of empty chairs slowly gained name tags – Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, and on and on it went. One by one, names appeared, some expected, some not as much, until Robert Downey Jr. showed up, shut it down, and left me with more questions than answers.

The 27 confirmed names did not have all of the usual suspects but focused on a few returning Avengers, the Thunderbolts, the new Fantastic Four, and, most surprisingly, the classic X-Men from the Fox era. Channing Tatum’s Gambit, a character that has spent more time in development hell than on-screen, is somehow in the mix,...

Here’s a toast to the happy couple. For Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, turning their love story into an album is the least they could do. I Said I Love You First is a valentine that delivers exactly what it promises — a pop icon and a superstar producer celebrating a real-life romance that we all can root for. As Selena once sang, it’s just like the Battle of Troy — there’s nothing subtle here. These two crazy kids are young, they’re in love, and they can’t...

Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono documentary One to One: John & Yoko will get its Asia premiere as the closing film for the second edition of the Red Lorry Film Festival in India. The country’s international cinema showcase is organized by BookMyShow.

This year’s second edition of the festival features a lineup of more than 120 films, including premieres, retrospectives and special screenings. Among its titles are Oscar winner Anora, The Last Showgirl and such classics as Pretty Woman.

At the heart of the doc are the One to One Concerts, John Lennon’s only full-length performances after The Beatles, for which he was joined by Yoko Ono, The Plastic Ono Band, Elephant’s Memory and special guests. With remixed concert audio produced by their only son, musician Sean Ono Lennon, the film showcases newly restored and transferred footage, along with previously unseen and unheard personal archives,...

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for One to One: John & Yoko, a documentary directed by Kevin Macdonald that explores John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s early years in New York City and their One to One concert at Madison Square Garden in 1972. The film will premiere in IMAX on April 11 before expanding to wider theaters on April 18.

The documentary, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year, features archival footage, including previously unseen home movies and restored clips from the benefit concert where Lennon performed with guest musicians, members of the Plastic Ono Band, and backing band Elephant’s Memory. The concert was Lennon’s only full-length solo performance after leaving The Beatles, serving as both a musical event and a call to action during the Vietnam War and the Nixon administration.

Macdonald, known for One Day in September and The Last King of Scotland, directed the...

Gold Derby's top news stories for March 12, 2025.

Sadie Sink is joining the Spider-Man franchise

Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming Spider-Man movie is teaming up Tom Holland with Sadie Sink. The Stranger Things actress has time on her hands after wrapping up production on the fifth and final season of her Netflix hit. Holland is back as Peter Parker for his fourth feature film, following Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). That doesn't count all of the times his version of Spidey appeared with the other Avengers in various MCU productions. The new Spider-Man begins filming later this year.

The Last of Us Season 2 trailer breaks the internet

The new trailer for The Last of Us Season 2 is coming on like a fungal infection. Since its release at SXSW on March 8, it has amassed 158 million global views across all platforms. That officially makes it HBO's...

Director Kevin McDonald (“The Last King of Scotland”) is behind a brand new documentary, “One To One: John & Yoko,” that explores the lives of iconic musicians John Lennon and Yoko Ono while they were living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s.

A new trailer has been released by Magnolia Pictures alongside an announcement that the pic will be heading to IMAX on April 11 and then subsequent theaters on April 18.

Continue reading ‘One To One: John & Yoko’ Trailer: New Documentary From Kevin McDonald Coming This April at The Playlist.

Dogwoof unleashed the trailer for the feature documentary featuring John Lennon and Yoko Onom ‘One To One: John & Yoko.’

Directed by renowned British director Kevin Macdonald and co-directed and edited by Sam Rice-Edwards, the feature delivers an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon’s only full-length, post-Beatles concert. With mind-blowing remastered audio overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon, the film is both compelling and bittersweet, challenging pre-existing notions of the iconic couple.

On August 30, 1972, in New York City, John Lennon played his only full-length show after leaving The Beatles, the One to One benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, a rollicking, dazzling performance from him and Yoko Ono. Macdonald’s riveting documentary takes that legendary musical event and uses it as the starting point to explore eighteen defining months in the lives of John and Yoko.

By 1971 the...

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s iconic love story will be explored in an intimate new documentary title One to One. The film will be screening exclusively in IMAX on April 11th.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, One to One centers around Lennon’s only full-length show after leaving the Beatles. He and Ono put on the One to One benefit show at Madison Square Garden on August 30th, 1972. The film explores the 18 months leading up to the show, when the couple shared an apartment in Greenwich Village and found themselves heavily immersed in American television.

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for One to One: John & Yoko, which takes an intimate look at John Lennon and Yoko Ono as they settle into a new life in New York City while associating with the anti-war movement and being targeted by the U.S. government. The documentary is directed by Kevin Macdonald and produced by Peter Worsley. Sam Rice-Edwards would co-direct and edit the feature. Macdonald produces the film with Alice Webb and the executive producers on board include Sean Ono Lennon, Marc Robinson, David Joseph, Steve Condie, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.

The official synopsis reads,

“An expansive and revelatory inside look at John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s life in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s, One To One: John & Yoko delivers an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of John and Yoko’s only full-length concert.

Following The Beatles’ breakup in 1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to Greenwich Village to escape tabloid attention. That’s the time period explored in the trailer for the new documentary, One to One: John and Yoko. Watch it below.

“I fell in love with an independent, creative genius. I started waking up,” Lennon says about Ono after footage of the couple enjoying New York City is shown. “I really feel at home here.”

Later, the musician discusses his legendary 1972 “One to One” benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, saying he made it free to “change the apathy that youth have” by singing and speaking to them. “I would do anything to get them alive again,” Lennon adds. “Viva la revolución.”

Coming from The Last King of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald, One to One: John and Yoko contains never-before-seen material and newly restored footage from the concert. It also features...

Following The Beatles’ breakup in 1970, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to Greenwich Village to escape tabloid attention. That’s the time period explored in the trailer for the new documentary, One to One: John and Yoko. Watch it below.

“I fell in love with an independent, creative genius. I started waking up,” Lennon says about Ono after footage of the couple enjoying New York City is shown. “I really feel at home here.”

Later, the musician discusses his legendary 1972 “One to One” benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, saying he made it free to “change the apathy that youth have” by singing and speaking to them. “I would do anything to get them alive again,” Lennon adds. “Viva la revolución.”

Coming from The Last King of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald, One to One: John and Yoko contains never-before-seen material and newly restored footage from the concert. It also features...

"How would you like to be remembered?" "Just as two lovers."...

"Exhilarating." "Electric." Magnolia Pictures has unveiled another quick teaser trailer for the time capsule documentary film titled One to One: John & Yoko, arriving to watch in theaters this April. For anyone who feels the need to revisit the past. This first premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival last fall, and we also posted a teaser trailer then just before its debut. Set in 1972 New York, this documentary explores John and Yoko's personal lives amid a turbulent era. Centered on the "One to One" charity concert for special needs children, it features unseen archives, home movies, and restored footage. A unique take on a seminal time in the lives of one of music’s most famous couples, One To One: John & Yoko explores the 18 months that John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in Greenwich Village, during the early 1970s - and how their relationship is changed by their experience in America.

Anna Sawai, star of FX's award-winning historical drama Shōgun, has responded to rumors she's attached to play Yoko Ono in a series of four Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes. The actress told reporters at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards following her winning outstanding performance by an actress in a drama series, "I think a rumor is just a rumor." So we likely won't be seeing Sawai as Ono anytime soon.

As far as what her next project might be, Sawai says she is still looking. "I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do, so I'm reading a lot of scripts. I'm also doing a lot of meetings and I just want to make sure that what I’m choosing is the right thing. So it might take time for me to find the right project, but I'm trying to be selective so that I can...

Conclave took the marquee Ensemble in a Motion Picture prize at the 31st annual SAG Awards, which were handed out tonight at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The papal drama from Focus Features, which won Best Film at the recent BAFTA Awards, is up for eight Academy Awards next weekend.

The category is SAG’s version of Best Picture and, as often as not, has produced some interesting upsets that sent movies such as Parasite, Coda and others on to Best Picture Oscar glory. All of SAG’s Ensemble nominees also are up for the top Academy Award.

Related: John Lithgow On Why ‘Conclave’ Resonated’ With Audiences; Isabella Rossellini Sends Well Wishes To Pope Francis

Related: Demi Moore Credits “Truth And Humanity In A Performance” For Lead Actress SAG Awards Win: “It’s What We Connect To”

Elsewhere at the last major Hollywood guild awards ahead of the Oscars...

Anna Sawai has responded to rumors that have her pegged to play Yoko Ono in the upcoming set of Beatles films from director Sam Mendes.

“I think a rumor is just a rumor,” the actress said backstage at the SAG Awards, following her latest big award win for her breakout role in FX’s Shōgun.

In discussing her next professional steps, Sawai told Deadline, “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do, so I’m reading a lot of scripts. I’m also doing a lot of meetings and I just want to make sure that what I’m choosing is the right thing. So it might take time for me to find the right project, but I’m trying to be selective so that I can surprise everyone who’s going to watch it.”

We were first to report on the four Beatles movies Mendes...

Who doesn’t love a good celebrity success story? More so, who would not love the money that comes with it? There is, of course, plenty of money to be made in Hollywood, and celebrities can’t deny that they have the art of raking in cash nailed down to the tee.

While most of us are figuring out whether shelling out for another streaming service is actually worth it, the big peeps of the entertainment industry are, perhaps, much more concerned about how to add another comma to their net worth. Call it Russ Hanneman’s Tres Comas.

Nevertheless, how does one even calculate this? Ranking them by earnings project-based earnings? That seems like a splintering headache in the making and does not fit the variety of celebrities and projects out there. Paydays come in all shapes and sizes, don’t they? Do you then go by the total money made throughout their careers?...

Smallville star Tom Welling recently shared that there was one episode of the series he refused to film. An episode in the show’s sixth season was originally planned to be a musical.

The revelation comes on the latest episode of Welling and Michael Rosenbaum’s Talk Ville podcast, where the two actors rewatch the show and provide exclusive commentary for its fans. While rewatching Smallville Season 6, Episode 2, Welling provided some context about the show’s intended musical episode. "That episode was supposed to be a musical, a musical noir," he said. "When they brought it up to me, I literally was like, 'I will not show up to work. You can film it, but…'"

RelatedShogun Star Reportedly Eyed to Play Yoko Ono in The Beatles Cinematic Universe

Sam Mendes' interconnected Beatles biopics may have found their Yoko Ono.

'Noir’ was the 20th episode of Smallville’s sixth season,...

Anna Sawai may have just found her next big role. After standing out as a fan favorite in the TV shows Shogun and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Sawai may next be playing the widow of music legend John Lennon.

Per film scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider, Sawai is currently being eyed to play Yoko Ono in the upcoming Beatles biopics from filmmaker Sam Mendes. Each member of The Beatles will be given his own biopic, though all four will be connected, essentially forming their own cinematic universe. Sawai's casting hasn't been officially announced, though she's not the only person whose name has come up in the rumor mill as being attached to a major role in the quadrilogy.

RelatedScorsese's Beatles Movie Sets Disney+ Release Date 3 Years After Peter Jackson's Emmy-Winning Series

Three years after the success of Peter Jackson's Beatles docuseries, Martin Scorsese brings a doc of his own to Disney+.

As Linda Martell now famously said in the intro to “Spaghettii” on Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter, “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?” Music has evolved drastically in the last couple of decades, largely due to the internet. For years the industry has used genre to categorize and market music to different audiences. But as the years progress and music is more readily available than ever before, many genres have been evolving at a rapid pace, taking from each other in a way we have frankly never seen before. And the Grammys — music’s biggest industry peer-group honors — are finally catching on.

The first Grammys, hosted in 1959, were divided by genre right off the bat, including specific awards for jazz, country/western, R&b. This isn’t a problem: after all, without genre divisions, some music might be overlooked — Latin, R&b, and hip-hop — by a mostly white,...

When Sean Ono Lennon, the only child of John Lennon and artist/activist Yoko Ono, was growing up, his father’s third solo album, Mind Games, was “just sort of the lore of my family; his music was always playing in the house,” he tells Gold Derby. Mind Games eventually became not only his favorite John Lennon album, but also one of his favorite albums, period, of all time. It was only when Sean began working on Mind Games — The Ultimate Collection (Super Deluxe Edition) that he realized the album had been poorly received and generally misunderstood by both critics and fans at the time of its 1973 release.

So, now that the Mind Games project has been nominated for Best Boxed Set or Limited Edition Package at this year’s Grammy Awards, Sean feels “very vindicated, because I always felt that Mind Games was one of [John’s] best albums and it...

Magnolia Pictures has secured the North American distribution rights for One to One: John & Yoko, a documentary offering an in-depth look at an 18-month period that redefined the lives of one of music’s most iconic couples, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Details Of The Documentary

The film, directed by Academy Award-winner Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September), delves into the couple’s life during the early 1970s when they resided in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

It features rare, never-before-seen footage and newly restored material from Lennon’s only full-length post-Beatles concert. This audio restoration was overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon.

The documentary had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, followed by screenings at the Telluride Film Festival, and is set to be featured in the Spotlight section of the Sundance Film Festival, which runs from January 23 to February 2, 2025.

Magnolia plans an exclusive...

Plot: A year in the life of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as they settle into a new life in New York City while associating with the anti-war movement and being targeted by the U.S. government.

Review: If you’re a Beatle-maniac like me, the last couple of years have delivered a virtual treasure trove of new footage centered around the Fab Four. First, there was Peter Jackson’s mammoth effort, Get Back, then the re-release of the long-buried Let It Be documentary, Hulu’s recent Beatles ’64 (which happened to feature one of the late David Lynch’s last on-camera interviews – as he remembered seeing The Beatles in his youth), Paul McCartney’s One Hand Clapping and now One to One: John & Yoko.

While plenty of excellent documentaries have been made about Lennon (such as Imagine: John Lennon), directors Kevin McDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards take a particularly bold approach,...

Early on in One to One: John & Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald and co-director Sam Rice-Edwards, we hear audio of an interview given by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It’s the early ‘70s, after The Beatles became the biggest band in the world, while their break-up is still fresh in everyone’s memory, and after Lennon and Ono had moved to Greenwich Village in New York City. During the interview, one caller replies that due to recent events, he sees John and Yoko as actual people. To the caller, this comes off as a revelation, that two icons of this time — icons who have only grown in the public’s estimation over time — could actually be the same as you or me.

Kevin Macdonald’s Venice and Telluride premiere One To One: John & Yoko has been picked up by Dogwoof for release in the UK-Ireland.

The documentary screened in the Spotlight section at Sundance yesterday (January 23). The feature will preview exclusively in Imax on April 9 and 10 before opening in cinemas nationwide on April 11.

The film offers an inside look at the 18 months John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in New York’s Greenwich Village in the early 1970s with never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon’s only full-length, post-Beatles concert, in Madison Square Garden. Their son, Sean Ono Lennon,...

Kevin Macdonald’s Venice and Telluride documentary One To One: John & Yoko has found a home in North America, landing at Magnolia Pictures ahead of a Sundance slot in the Spotlight section.

The film looks at the 18-month period in the early 1970s when John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived in Greenwich Village and features previously unseen material and restored footage of Lennon’s only full-length post-Beatles concert. Sean Ono Lennon oversaw the remastered audio.

One To One: John & Yoko will open exclusively in Imax on April 11 before expanding into additional theatres and, late this year, debuting on HBO...

Ahead of its screening as part of the Spotlight section at the Sundance Film Festival, the documentary “One to One: John & Yoko” has secured distribution from Magnolia Pictures for a release that includes Imax exhibition and a streaming home on Max.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”), the film chronicles the 18 months that John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s, with never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon’s only full-length post-Beatles concert. Sean Ono Lennon, their son, oversaw the audio remaster and the film previously played at the Venice and Telluride film festivals.

Magnolia will open the film exclusively in Imax on April 11 before expanding to additional theaters. The film will air on HBO and will be available to stream on Max in late 2025.

“’One to One: John & Yoko’ is a revelation,” Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles...

Exclusive: Magnolia Pictures is taking North American rights to Kevin Macdonald’s documentary One to One: John & Yoko, which after making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and playing at Telluride is making a pit stop in the Spotlight section this week at the Sundance Film Festival. One to One: John & Yoko is getting an April 11 release exclusively in Imax. Pic will air on HBO and stream on Max in late 2025.

The docu is a revelatory look at the 18 months John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s with never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon’s only full-length, post-Beatles concert. Sean Ono Lennon, the couple’s son, oversaw the audio remastering of the concert in the pic.

On August 30, 1972, in New York City, John Lennon played his only full-length show after leaving the Beatles: the One to One...

The Sundance Film Festival remains the largest independent film festival in the United States, and as was the case in both 2023 and 2024, the 2025 edition will be in a hybrid format, with screenings in Park City and Salt Lake City, Ut, along with limited selections available online for viewers across the United States. This provides cinephiles ample opportunity to check out some of the most exciting indie cinema that will be coming your way this year.

FandomWire is delighted to again be covering the Sundance Film Festival, but this year, for the first time in person in Park City, Utah! We will be reviewing many of the films we see on the ground, but for now, we wanted to let you know about some of the films we have gotten the opportunity to see early and you won’t want to miss.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear in One to One: John & Yoko...

After just three brutal weeks of 2025, some of us may already feel like we could use a break. With its dazzling stop-motion animation and eclectic, engaging plot, Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs makes a fantastic candidate for some much-needed escapism — and it's headed to Hulu on February 1.

Tackling heavy-handed themes like nationalism, xenophobia, and systemic power, Isle of Dogs may seem no different from the bleak landscape of everyday life. But only Anderson is capable of translating such grim and complex topics into a charming and heartfelt story that can only be described as "the chicken soup of movies." Isle of Dogs takes place in the futuristic Japanese city of Megasaki, where all dogs have been banished to a place called Trash Island due to a cruel decree from the tyrant Mayor Kobayashi. But the mayor's ward, Atari, sympathizes with the dogs' plight, and subsequently hijacks a plane and crash-lands on Trash Island,...

Julian Lennon had such high hopes when he released his latest record, ‘Jude,’ that it hurt so much when he was brought back to earth by minimal fan reception.

Lennon, 61, who is also the first son of John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia Powell, opened up about how fan disinterest in his album hurt him, especially since he it was his first record in over a decade.

Julian Lennon – On Wanting To Do Late Night Shows If They’d Have Him

The thing that makes us humans is the hope we have for things that haven’t happened yet. You’re starting up a company and you already have big dreams for it, even though, truthfully speaking, it could go either way.

This was true for Julian Lennon, who made his first musical return in over a decade only to discover that fans don’t really care for any new music from him.

Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, has embarked on a remarkable journey of preserving and redefining his late father’s legacy. At 49, he has not only delved into the stewardship of John Lennon’s works but has also made a name for himself as a creative force.

This year, Sean earned an Academy Award for a short film inspired by the 1971 classic “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)” and received his first Grammy nomination for producing the deluxe box set of Mind Games (1973).

“It feels overwhelming and surreal,” Sean shared, reflecting on these milestones. His recent accolades include a Webby Award alongside his mother for her interactive art project, “Wish Tree.”

A Connection Through Creativity

Losing his father at the age of five, Sean views his work as more than preservation—it’s a personal bridge to understanding John Lennon.

On the Mind Games project, Sean reimagined his father’s recordings,...

Paul McCartney has set a New Year’s resolution for himself: Finish his next album.

In a short Q&a with fans on his website, McCartney confirmed that he’s “been working on a lot of songs,” but had to put the album “to the side” because of his Got Back Tour (which launched in 2022 and finally wrapped this month with a special London show featuring Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood).

“I’m hoping to get back into that and finish up a lot of these songs,” McCartney wrote. “So,...

Erik Nelson creates a tapestry of fame and purpose in Daytime Revolution, capturing a fleeting yet important moment in 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared on the platform of The Mike Douglas Show.

Here, the banal fabric of daytime television was converted into a canvas for radical discourse, a space where the personal became political, and entertainment became a tool for change.

Nelson’s documentary is more than just a recital of events; it is a philosophical investigation into how celebrity may serve as a Trojan horse for ideas that challenge the existing quo.

The film alternates between archive material and intimate interviews, contrasting light and shadow, with laughter and activism coexisting. It invites us to ponder if the brilliant lights of celebrity can reveal the darkest corners of societal complacency or if they simply cast longer shadows.

Shadows of Dissent: The Socio-Political Landscape of the Early 1970s

The...

The holidays are coming, and if the weather outside is not to your liking, maybe binging on some excellent music documentaries could save the day

Focusing on Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance as one of her key live performances up to that moment, the film focuses on everything that was involved for her as an artist to reach such a peak, and the quality of the insights might also lie in the fact that Beyoncé also produced and directed this documentary herself.

Keith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)

Taking a look at the musical legend and an intriguing character that is Rolling Stone’s Keith Richards was an intriguing prospect that could have gone awry at any point, but the film’s director, Morgan Neville, was able to escape all the possible traps and come up with a film that is so easy to watch.

Miss Americana (2020)

The devoted fans of Taylor Swift...

New documentaries about Selena, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Jeff Buckley, and Sly Stone are among the films competing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival next month.

Amir “Questlove” Thompson’s long-in-the-works Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) — the follow-up to the Roots drummer’s Oscar-winning directorial debut Summer of Soul — will premiere at the fest, which begins in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah on Jan. 23.

“It’s official! Sly Lives! (Aka The Burden of Black Genius) will premiere at the 2025 #Sundance Film Festival,” Questlove wrote on social media Wednesday.