First Look: Aaron Johnson As John Lennon In 'Nowhere Boy'

Matthew Vaughn recently discussed his screening of “Nowhere Boy,” the Sam Taylor-Wood film chronicling the adolescent days of John Lennon, and to a lesser extent, The Beatles, starring “Kick-Ass” lead Aaron Johnson.

“I just saw ‘Nowhere Boy,’ where [Johnson] plays John Lennon, and it is a ten-out-of-ten performance. The whole film is fantastic, but he is phenomenal in it. I actually feel like a juvenile moron for what I did to that kid compared to what he does in that film…” [ed. hey, at least the director is self-aware].

“He has that charisma where you believe every word he says. He can also stand in front of the camera and say nothing, but you still want to watch him. He’s fun. The actor I think he’ll become is Robert Downey Jr.. He’s very similar to him.”

Word has it the film, which also stars Kristen Scott Thomas and Thomas Sangster, is likely to see a late-’09/early-2010 release. Here’s to hoping. The film was shot in March of this year and the tentative plan was December 2010 which seems doable. But then again, it’s a Weinstein Company film and they’re in economic trouble so it’ll depend of if they have the cash and whether they smell Oscar potential or not. [HollywoodElsewhere/AICN]