Filmmaker Adam Ripp has made a 20-minute documentary using AI to recreate a 22-year-old Billy Joel during a newly recovered 1971 radio interview, despite Joel not being involved in the project. The film matters because it illustrates the growing ability to reconstruct living artists from archival material and raises questions over who controls a celebrity’s image and legacy.

The audio comes from an hour-long interview recorded at Long Island’s C.W. Post college radio station, supplied with permission from former Joel manager Irwin Mazur and interviewer Ed Mann. Ripp says the AI company trained only on photographs whose owners had granted use, while a disclaimer says the documentary is independent and not endorsed by Joel; however, the legal position on unauthorised AI recreations of a living celebrity’s likeness remains unsettled. Titled *1971: Billy Joel’s Lost Interview*, it is due to premiere on 25 September at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame’s documentary festival.