John Carney to Direct Paramount’s Bee Gees Biopic

Paramount announced on Wednesday that it has hired “Once” filmmaker John Carney to direct its upcoming untitled biopic about the Bee Gees, replacing “Belfast” Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh.

In addition, Paramount has also hired three-time Oscar nominee John Logan to write the script for the film. Logan earned his first Oscar nomination as writer of the Best Picture winner “Gladiator,” with his subsequent nods coming for Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture nominated films “The Aviator” and “Hugo.” He also won a Tony Award in 2010 for his play “Red.”

Bee Gees member Barry Gibb will be an executive producer on the film that will cover the career of one of the most famous bands of the 1970s, known best for the iconic disco song “Stayin’ Alive” that became a global hit after John Travolta strutted down the street to its beat in “Saturday Night Fever.” Graham King will produce via GK Films alongside Amblin and SISTER.

The Bee Gees biopic was first announced last year with Kenneth Branagh, who exited the project late last year amidst growing awards buzz for his acclaimed film “Belfast,” for which he won his first Oscar on Sunday for Best Original Screenplay. The project was set for release in November 2022 but has now been undated.

Carney is repped by WME and Logan is repped by CAA. The hires were first reported by Deadline.