Over the past 45 years, the legend of Pete Best has grown to the point where his name is shorthand for those who couldn’t capitalize on a great opportunity. But when it came to the upcoming movie “The Rocker,” the former Beatles drummer wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“It’s a variation on the Pete Best story, and he actually came to set one day and did a line in the movie,” gushed Emma Stone, the “Superbad” actress who appears in the flick alongside Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate. “I freaked out about it, because I’m a Beatles fanatic. I was very excited.”
Now, fans of the Fab Four will be similarly thrilled when the so-called “Fifth Beatle” — who was fired by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison roughly a year before the group exploded — shows up in “The Rocker” to get the last laugh.
“Rainn’s character was in this Eighties hair band, and he got kicked out right before they became famous, just like Pete Best,” Stone said of the film’s plot. “So he’s sitting at a bus stop and says ‘Man, this is tough! I can’t believe this happened to me!’, and Pete says ‘I know what you mean!’. And then the bus pulls up.”
Now 65 years old, Best has learned to laugh at his misfortune, and remains so famous to Beatles fans that the makers of “The Rocker” don’t even feel the need to identify him. “No, nobody ever says ‘This is Pete Best,’” Stone revealed. “[The cameo] will just be for Beatles hardcore fans.”
In “Rocker,” which also stars Jason Sudeikis and Teddy Geiger, the Best story is mined for laughs with Wilson as a middle-aged character determined to change his fate. “He ends up joining a high school band that I’m in,” she said of the “Office” star, who’ll be a long way from the dorky Dwight Schrute.
“Dwight is very uptight and Fish — his character in ‘The Rocker’ — is just all-out, completely throwing caution to the wind,” Stone insisted. “He’s this hysterical, old, washed-up rocker guy from the Eighties. He still has the long hair, and wears all the crazy clothes and snakeskin pants. We end up going on tour, and he completely wrecks himself during the tour he never had, with these eighteen-year-old kids. It’s pretty funny.”
Watch our visit to “The Rocker” set below!
God bless you Pete you handled he Beatles thing very well and you never went to the newspapers to make a quick buck.....you've come out better than your former friends.
Personally - I have lived a dream - getting to know Pete a litte bit it the past year, at a couple of his band's shows in the the US. What can I say about the man? Humble like Pie. Amazingly Gracious. A remarkable teacher in the world of 'taking the high road', and being a better human being for it.
...kudos to you, Pete Best.
Congratulations Pete.
Take a stroll back in time... See Pete and his "powerhouse" sounding band.. The Pete Best Band live,(now this is some band!!). Catch a show. Check out www.petebest.com for details of 2008 tour dates.. and... a sneak peek on some details of his upcoming New CD due out later this year.
Looking forward to seeing the movie..
A big Congratulations to you pete!