'Man on the Run' Interview: Director Morgan Neville

Moviefone speaks with director Morgan Neville about the Paul McCartney documentary 'Man on the Run'. "I'm grateful to consider him a friend," Neville said.

'Man on the Run' director Morgan Neville.

Debuting on Prime Video February 27th is the new documentary 'Man on the Run', which was directed by Morgan Neville (‘Piece by Piece’) and follows the life of Paul McCartney from his formation of Wings through the 1970s.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Morgan Neville about his work on 'Man on the Run', how he got involved in this project, McCartney’s post-Beatles career, the legacy of Wings, conducting the interviews, choosing to only use the audio in the film, and what it was like for him to spend time with Paul McCartney.

Paul McCartney in 'Man on the Run'. Photo: Prime Video.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you got involved in this project and what interested you in telling the story of Wings and focusing on this specific post-Beatles point in Paul McCartney’s life?

Morgan Neville: I got a call from Paul's manager, almost five years ago, saying, "Would you be interested in working on a documentary that touches on the Wings era of Paul's career?” Within three seconds, I said, “Yes.” I've been an obsessive Beatles and Paul McCartney fan my whole life and a big Wings fan. The first record I ever bought was a Wings record, so I go way back. But I also knew that this period of his life was one that people don't know that much about. So, the film begins essentially the day the Beatles break up, and then Paul must figure out all kinds of existential questions about, “Who am I, who am I as an artist? What kind of person am I?” You know, in a very short period, he gets married, has a kid, adopts his wife, Linda's child, and the Beatles break up. Then he moves to a rural farmhouse in Scotland. I mean, this is all like within nine months this happens. So, that's kind of the beginning that sets up this story. But what you see is that Paul really struggles through this time for all these different reasons. So, it was kind of understanding the human part of it that I find very relatable.

(L to R) Linda McCartney and Paul McCartney in 'Man on the Run'. Photo: Linda McCartney. Copyright: © Paul McCartney under exclusive licence to MPL Archive LLP.

MF: What was it like conducting the interviews and can you talk about making the choice to only use the audio in the film?

MN: I did many interviews with Paul over many months. I never filmed them. I just did audio. Part of it was we could have more intimate conversations, I guess, and really try to take our time and talk. But the other thing I knew was that I don't want to have 80-year-old people saying, “50 years ago this was a great thing.” Those types of films are very retrospective. Somehow, when you take those off camera, it just becomes a present tense story. So, you're just kind of flowing through it, and all the voices from the archive voices to the new voices, just become this soup. I feel like it's a bit of a trance that the film can put you in. It feels like you never leave that decade, really, the 1970s through the film.

Paul McCartney in 'Man on the Run'. Photo: Linda McCartney. Copyright: © Paul McCartney under exclusive licence to MPL Archive LLP.

MF: Finally, as a fan, what was it like for you to spend time with Sir Paul McCartney and really get to know him on a personal level because of this project?

MN: Totally surreal. I am a huge fan, but I think about 15 minutes into the first interview, I said, “Okay, I have to take my fan hat off and put my filmmaker hat on and just talk to him as Paul.” Then there are moments where my fan hat pops back on. But the amount of trust and space he gave me to make this film is kind of remarkable. So, I am I'm very grateful to him and grateful to consider him a friend.

Paul McCartney in 'Man on the Run'. Photo: Rupert Truman. Copyright: © MPL Communications Ltd.

What is the story of ‘'Man on the Run'?

Paul McCartney forms new band Wings after Beatles breakup. Archival home footage shows his life with Linda McCartney, who influenced his music. The film follows Wings from formation through the 1970s, during which McCartney wrote hit songs.