Scorpion TV has signed a distribution deal for "Meeting the Beatles," under which it has secured the global rights to the feature-length documentary, including theatrical, TV and VOD outside of the US and Canada. “Scorpion is well known for its eclectic slate of blue-chip factual programming — and you don’t get more eclectic or exclusive than unseen images of the Beatles at the ashram in Rishikesh. Until I saw Meeting the Beatles in India, I thought every scrap of Beatles material had been shared, dissected and recycled, but this film is a genuinely new look at a vitally important time in the band’s history. "
The 79-minute India-based project is directed and produced by Paul Saltzman, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, and is executive produced by David Lynch, among others, and is narrated by Morgan Freeman. "It’s an honest, intimate story, told from the perspective of a young man outside of the Beatles entourage. We’re honored to bring such a fascinating addition to our shared global culture to screens around the world."
"Meeting the Beatles" in India also gives Saltzman’s first-hand account of the Beatles’ songwriting process. Among many fascinating vignettes, it shows the exact spot at the ashram where Paul and John first sang Dear Prudence to Prudence Farrow, sister of Mia, who was so devoted to her daily meditations that the band became concerned about her well-being. In 1968, then 23-year-old Saltzman spent a week hanging out with the Beatles at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, one of the most flamboyant gurus of the hippy era.
His film recounts that extraordinary experience in vivid first-hand detail, with the help of more than 40 never-before-seen personal photos and never-before-seen film footage from the ashram. The narrative retraces Saltzman’s life-changing journey, which started with a broken heart and ended with learning transcendental meditation and spending intimate personal time with John, Paul, George and Ringo at a remote retreat in northern India. It was during this time that much of the Beatles seminal White Album was conceived.