A biopic of John Lennon will be developed based on a controversial book by his half-sister.

The film Nowhere Boy, which will tell the story of Lennon's upbringing, came to light Thursday when it was awarded funding by the UK Film Council.

It will be written by Matt Greenhalgh, who earned critical acclaim for Control, his script about another British rock pioneer, Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.

The Lennon biopic will be based on Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon, by Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird.

Greenhalgh said he is excited about telling a story about the roots of rock 'n' roll and one of its greatest geniuses.

"He is beyond music; above it even," he told BBC News.

"And his early life as told in Julia's book took me into a world that illuminated so much about this legendary genius. I could see the drama and film immediately. The women in his life, the men who weren't, the birth of rock 'n' roll; all imposing on a brilliantly complicated adolescent mind."

Baird's book is controversial because of its portrayal of the aunt who raised Lennon from the age of four, Aunt Mary (Mimi) Smith.

Baird portrays Mimi as jealous of their mother, who left John's father for another man while he was away during the Second World War. John and Julia have different fathers.

Greenhalgh says the book provides psychological insight into Lennon's character.

"The nagging questions, the icy secrets, the need for love. John's angst and anger pouring out into his music, his thankful salvation. Without this story we would never have heard The Beatles. Can you imagine that?"