New Billy Joel Documentary Features AI Recreation of Singer Alongside 1971 Interview Audio

Joel is not involved in the production for ‘1971: Billy Joel’s Lost Interview,’ PEOPLE confirmed

NEED TO KNOW

• A new documentary uses AI to recreate a young Billy Joel alongside real audio from a 1971 radio interview
• The 20-minute film will premiere at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame on Sept. 25
• Billy Joel is not involved in the project and has previously opposed unauthorized biopics about his life

Billy Joel‘s lost 1971 interview is being brought back to life through artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival announced it would include the documentary film 1971: Billy Joel’s Lost Interview in its opening night lineup — and the teaser trailer features an AI version of 22-year-old Joel.

Though the “Vienna” singer appears in AI form, the film does include real audio from the radio interview on C.W. Post’s WCWP station’s That’s Interesting show with Ed Mann right after the release of his first solo album Cold Spring Harbor. The film is 20 minutes long and directed by Adam Ripp.

Joel is not involved in the film’s production, PEOPLE confirmed. It will premiere at the film festival on Sept. 25 at the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village.

“We are entering a new era in filmmaking, where emerging technologies like artificial intelligence are creating new possibilities for preserving and sharing stories from the past,” said Tom Needham, executive director of the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival, in a press release.

He continued, “We recognize that AI in entertainment is a topic that will generate discussion and different viewpoints, but this film demonstrates how technology, when used thoughtfully, can help us reconnect with important moments in music history. 1971: Billy Joel’s Lost Interview allows audiences to see a young Billy Joel before worldwide fame changed his life, and we hope people will experience it with curiosity and an open mind.”

Earlier this year, a rep for Joel, 77, slammed an unauthorized planned biopic called Billy and Me, which Ripp is also a part of as a screenwriter. The film, directed by John Ottman, is set to begin filming in the fall, Variety reported in May. Back in 2022, a proposed Joel biopic from Ripp and Michael Jai White‘s Jaigantic Studios was titled Piano Man. 

“Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel’s life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project,” Joel’s rep said in a statement shared with PEOPLE at the time.

The rep added that Joel “has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided.”

In July 2025, Joel’s life made it to the screen in the two-part documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which aired on HBO with the musician’s blessing. The documentary was directed by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin.

“I’ve resisted this kind of thing for so long. I’m sick of talking about myself,” the “Uptown Girl” singer told PEOPLE exclusively at the time. “Some of the stupid stuff I did, that’s painful to talk about. [But] they asked me for some thematic guidance. I said, ‘Just tell the truth.’”

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