Zemeckis Hopes to Recruit Beatles for "Yellow Submarine"

As Rolling Stone previously reported, director Robert Zemeckis and Disney brokered a deal that would allow them to re-submerge the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, turning the 1968 animated film into a performance-capture 3-D digital production. What was at first a Hollywood rumor is now a fact as Zemeckis confirmed to MTV Movies Blog that he's already working on the script, which he'll also direct. However, one thing the Back to the Future director doesn't know is whether Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr will participate in the film.

"We haven't gotten the word yet on the two surviving Beatles, whether they're interested in doing it or not," Zemeckis said after admitting his wish is that Macca and Starr provide the voices for their characters. In the original Yellow Submarine, voice actors played the role of the Beatles, with the Fab Four only appearing in a live-action sequence at film's end.

Look back at iconic Beatles moments.

Zemeckis plans to utilize the technology he's previously showcased on films like The Polar Express, Beowulf and this weekend's Disney's A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey. "I think Yellow Submarine is a perfect example of a movie that can be re-envisioned in the digital cinema and be absolutely beyond spectacular," Zemeckis told MTV. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers isn't exactly the biggest fan of this type of filmmaking, often arguing that film's live-action transition to digital CGI often leaves the characters with dead, emotionless eyes (see his review of A Christmas Carol).

The Beatles' complete album guide.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Yellow Submarine is eying a 2012 release that will coincide with the Summer Olympic games in London. A musical based on the film may also spawn out of Zemeckis and Disney's deal.

Related Stories:
• Disney, Zemeckis Plot Remake of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine"
• Why the Beatles Broke Up: The New Issue of Rolling Stone

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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