My faith in Sam Taylor Wood‘s Nowhere Boy, the young John Lennon biopic that begins shooting sometimes between March and June, is all about Matt Greenhalgh‘s script. It has more or less the same concise, straight-from-the-shoulder British scruffiness that Greenhalgh’s script for Control had. Take out the Lennon-born-during-the-German-blitz scene in 1940, and the story spans from 1955 to 1960 — years of creative ferment and coming into one’s own.

Aaron Johnson; John Lennon at age 17

19 year-old Aaron Johnson (The Greatest) will obviously play Lennon from age 15 to 20 — not much of a stretch. They’d better get the hair color right — light reddish brown. And Johnson had better wear that signature Lennon nose. If they screw these things up they’re dead.

The great Kristin Scott Thomas will play Lennon’s Aunt Mimi, which is a larger, more expressive role than the part of Lennon’s mother Julia, which is being played by Anne Marie Duff. Paul McCartney arrives during the last 20-odd pages, so they’d better get somebody damn good to play him.

The story ends with Lennon and McCartney heading off to play an open-ended gig in Hamburg.

I’ll consider sending the script to anyone who’s really eager to read it. Just let me know.