'Control' scribe penning Lennon biopic

Matt Greenhalgh, the writer behind last year's well-received Ian Curtis biopic Control, will pen a film about John Lennon's early life, The Guardian reports.

The BAFTA-winning screenwriter will write Nowhere Boy, a film based on a book by Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird which sheds light on the Beatle's unconventional upbringing.

Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi, who took him away from his mother Julia because she claimed her sister was "living in sin".

Greenhalgh admitted that after working on a film about Joy Division frontman Curtis, he was initially reluctant to pen another music biopic.

He said: "When looking for my next project I was wary of musical protagonists - but when John Lennon was floated, that vanished. He is beyond music; above it even.

"And his early life as told in Julia's book took me into a world that illuminated so much about this legendary genius. I could see the drama and film immediately. The women in his life, the men who weren't, the birth of rock 'n' roll; all imposing on a brilliantly complicated adolescent mind."

He added: "The nagging questions, the icy secrets, the need for love. John's angst and anger pouring out into his music, his thankful salvation. Without this story we would never have heard the Beatles - can you imagine that?"