EXCLUSIVE: Two years after it debuted at the SXSW film festival, music doc-biopic Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It is getting a theatrical release via Abramorama, White Horse Pictures and Homegrown Pictures.
The film went on the play DOC NYC last year and Palm Springs early this year. Abramorama will open the film in select North American markets in 2026, with the U.S theatrical premiere beginning February 20 at Film Forum in New York City.
The film, which overcame a legal challenge on the eve of its 2024 debut, charts the story of legendary keyboardist and Grammy winner Preston who played with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Little Richard and many others.
Preston generated his own No. 1 hits, including Outa-Space, Will It Go Round in Circles, Nothing from Nothing, and You Are So Beautiful. His first hit single, That’s The Way God Planned It – recorded in 1969 for The Beatles’ Apple Records – was produced by his lifelong friend, George Harrison. Fifteen years after his death in 2006, Preston was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021.
Despite his preternatural talent, Preston had a challenging personal story, including childhood abuse, addiction, run-ins with the law and demons he battled over his sexuality.
Directed by multi-Emmy winner Paris Barclay (Glee), the film is produced by Stephanie Allain, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Nigel Sinclair, Cheo Hodari Coker with executive producers Olivia Harrison and Jonathan Clyde.
Score was composed by multi-Grammy winner Robert Glasper and Derrick Hodge. Executive producers also include Paris Barclay, Daniel Shaw, G. Marq Roswell, and White Horse Pictures’ Nicholas Ferrall and Cassidy Hartmann.
The film’s sales rights are represented by White Horse Pictures’ Nigel Sinclair and UTA Independent Film Group’s Rena Ronson and Travis Tammero.
The film is presented by Concord Originals alongside Impact Partners, Play/Action Pictures, Chicago Media Project and Polygram Entertainment, DK Films and Sobey Road Entertainment. Serving as additional executive producers are Scott Pascucci, Sophia Dilley, Charles Hopkins, Regina K. Scully, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Lauren & John Driscoll, Meadow Fund, Ian Darling, Jeffrey Lurie, Marie Therese Guirgis, Steve Cohen & Paula Froehle, Jody Gerson, Bruce Resnikoff, Dave Knott, John Keller, Brad & Debbie Buss, Ben J. Murphy, and Andrew Trapani. Bob Valentine, Wesley Adams, Lauren Haber, Kelsey Koenig, Jane Solomon, David Peck and Alan Abrahams serve as co-executive producers.
“We are more than thrilled that the soul of Billy Preston will be reborn thanks to our friends at Abramorama — and in the theater, where everyone can experience it,” said director Barclay. “His story has reverberated with festival audiences, in part because we illuminate Preston’s brilliance — and also because it has so much to say about the world we live in today.”
“We are honored to once again partner with Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa alongside their exceptional team at White Horse Pictures and Stephanie Allain of Homegrown Pictures, as well as the Beatles family through Olivia Harrison and Jonathan Clyde,” said Abramorama’s Karol Martesko-Fenster, CEO and Damon G. Smith, SVP Business Growth & Strategy. “Billy was the only musician ever credited alongside The Beatles on a record label, and his genius touched generations of artists. This film celebrates not just his extraordinary talent, but his courage and humanity.”