by Paul Salfen, Christine Thompson for AMFM Magazine
AMFM Magazine™ is thrilled to spotlight Paul McCartney: Man on the Run, the highly anticipated documentary directed by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville. The film premieres globally on Prime Video on February 27, 2026 (following a limited theatrical release earlier in the month), offering an intimate, immersive look at Paul McCartney’s life and career in the 1970s after The Beatles’ breakup. It chronicles his reinvention through the formation of Wings with his wife Linda, featuring rare, previously unseen archival footage—including home movies, photos, and 16mm clips that bring the era vividly to life.
In an exclusive conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Neville shared insights into crafting this emotional portrait of one of music’s greatest icons. As a lifelong Beatles, Paul, and Wings fan, Neville approached the project with both passion and journalistic objectivity.
Morgan Neville says he is “a lifelong Beatles fan, Paul fan, Wings fan. And you know, I think my goal was just to try and show a part of Paul that we haven’t really seen before.”
The film draws heavily from Linda McCartney’s extensive photography and home videos, which capture everyday moments—from their kitchen to a near-drowning incident in Hawaii—that humanize the legend.
“You got access to so much footage and so many great things. It must be the hardest thing in the world to pare this down into one movie, right?” Salfen noted.
“Yeah, but that’s the fun part too,” Neville explained. “You know, it’s the going through the photos… Linda married a photographer… she was taking pictures of everything… There are all these things in the film that just start clicking… suddenly the home movies tell the whole story.”
To maintain immersion, Neville used audio-only interviews, allowing viewers to stay “in that time period the whole time… in that trance.”
He addressed the challenge of portraying his hero: “I have to take off my fan hat and put on my filmmaker hat… I wanted to take the idea of the Paul McCartney musical genius… just put that on the shelf. Like, we all know that. We’ve heard that. This is a story about a guy named Paul who’s dealing with the breakup of his band and has to go ask himself these really important questions.”
The core is emotional: Paul’s self-actualization in the 1970s, balancing artistry, family, and public expectations. “It’s really that emotional story I wanted to put at its core,” Neville said. The film resonates with younger audiences too, who discover the music anew and see it as “how to be an artist in the world… how do you balance everything? How do you listen to yourself and not what people tell you to do?”
Neville encouraged aspiring filmmakers: “The great thing about documentary is now you can just do it on your phone… I just encourage people to make stuff as much as you can.”
His approach? “Going into things, I actually really try and have no preconceptions… I’m not there trying to prove a point… I’m just trying to understand… I’m more of a journalistic filmmaker.”
The result is a film that demystifies the public “Paul McCartney fellow” and reveals the real person. “Paul… talks about the Paul McCartney fellow, this kind of public figure… part of the journey of the 1970s was that he didn’t have to be so separate anymore. He could just be Paul.”
Neville’s acclaimed career includes the Academy Award-winning 20 Feet from Stardom (2014, also a Grammy for Best Music Film), Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018, the highest-grossing biographical documentary ever), Best of Enemies (2015, Emmy winner), and others like Keith Richards: Under the Influence, Miss Americana (producer), and TV series such as Ugly Delicious, Abstract: The Art of Design, and Song Exploder. He’s been nominated for multiple additional Grammys for music documentaries.
Paul McCartney: Man on the Run is a must-watch for fans and newcomers alike, celebrating Paul’s resilience, creativity, and the madcap adventures with Linda and Wings. Stream it on Prime Video starting February 27, 2026—don’t miss this heartfelt tribute to a true musical journey.
Thank you to Morgan Neville for the insightful chat, and as always, we’re honored to bring exclusive conversations like this to our readers!
