The Pitch
In the tradition of such audience and Academy Award favorites as The Buddy Holly Story, Ray, Walk the Line and The Commitments, RORY STORM AND THE HURRICANES is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.
RORY STORM AND THE HURRICANES, written by Paul Guay & Scott Brion, is an electrifying mix of drama and comedy that celebrates sex, youth, and rock 'n' roll, set to the incendiary beat of the music that ignited a worldwide cultural revolution.
Bronwen Hughes (Forces of Nature, Harriet the Spy) will be directing. She is from Liverpool and has a great take on the film. Her work in Forces of Nature was terrific and having worked so well with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock, she will attract top talent.
Ringo Starr first became famous as a drummer for the Hurricanes, before he joined the Beatles.
John Lennon said, “Rory Storm and Ringo, they were professionals. We were amateurs. They really knew how to put on a show.”
When the Beatles were sent to Hamburg on Rory’s recommendation, the two groups held a contest to see which could crash through the rickety stage at the now-famous Kaiserkeller Club. It was Rory Storm and the Hurricanes who demolished the stage to the tune of “Blue Suede Shoes.”
Paul Guay conceived and co-wrote the Jim Carrey smash Liar, Liar (at the time of its release the sixth-highest-grossing comedy in history) and co-wrote The Little Rascals (Universal's second-highest-grossing film of its year) and Heartbreakers (which starred Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman and Jason Lee and opened #1 at the box office).
Scott Brion, music journalist (Rolling Stone, Harper's, The Los Angeles Times, VH1, etc.), music supervisor and screenwriter, traveled to Liverpool and London to interview Johnny Byrne, lead guitarist for the Hurricanes and Rory Storm's best friend. He also interviewed Bill Harry (publisher/editor of Mersey Beat, the music paper that chronicled the rise of the Liverpool sound), Allan Williams (the Hurricanes' and Beatles' first manager) and Derek Taylor (the Beatles' publicist).
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