It was over 12 years ago that Elton John began developing “Rocketman,” a film about his life, and he had strict requirements: It needed to be R-rated, so as to not soften the music superstar’s battle with drug addiction or gloss over his sexuality, and required “a bit of strangeness to it,” John said during a post-screening Q&a for guild members at Paramount lot Tuesday.
There were plenty of false starts. “Tom Hardy was going to play me,” John said. “Then by the time things move on, he got too old — and he can’t sing!” Finally, the right team was assembled, including Taron Egerton in the leading role, director Dexter Fletcher at the helm, and a willing distributor in Paramount.
John couldn’t be happier with the result.
“When I saw Taron, I was not looking at him — I was looking at me. And when I was hearing the voice,...
There were plenty of false starts. “Tom Hardy was going to play me,” John said. “Then by the time things move on, he got too old — and he can’t sing!” Finally, the right team was assembled, including Taron Egerton in the leading role, director Dexter Fletcher at the helm, and a willing distributor in Paramount.
John couldn’t be happier with the result.
“When I saw Taron, I was not looking at him — I was looking at me. And when I was hearing the voice,...
- 10/16/2019
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
This biopic of the legend Elton John is very different. It is unconventionally and expertly mounted, giving an insight into the life of the performer.
Like Elton's life, the narrative begins on a dramatic note. An outrageously dressed Elton barges into a psychotherapy session where he admits to his addiction and is prodded to tell his story, so that he may get relief from his maladies after the cathartic experience.
The narrative, in a typical trajectory of rise-fall-rise is told via dreamlike, fantasy flashbacks where Elton's songs are used to comment on the action of the moment. It is thus a sort of a jukebox musical, told entirely in an ultra-flamboyant style, from John's perspective. It aims to be seen as what amounts to a brave self-portrait.
His memories take him back to his childhood, when as a child, born Reginald Dwight (played by Matthew Illesley), he felt like an awkward,...
Like Elton's life, the narrative begins on a dramatic note. An outrageously dressed Elton barges into a psychotherapy session where he admits to his addiction and is prodded to tell his story, so that he may get relief from his maladies after the cathartic experience.
The narrative, in a typical trajectory of rise-fall-rise is told via dreamlike, fantasy flashbacks where Elton's songs are used to comment on the action of the moment. It is thus a sort of a jukebox musical, told entirely in an ultra-flamboyant style, from John's perspective. It aims to be seen as what amounts to a brave self-portrait.
His memories take him back to his childhood, when as a child, born Reginald Dwight (played by Matthew Illesley), he felt like an awkward,...
- 5/31/2019
- GlamSham
Elton John is a legend. No one will argue that. Nor will anyone take issue with his colorful life being given the biopic treatment. The way Rocketman opts to tell this tale, however, that’s a whole other story. Opening this week, the John biopic does not soar like its title would suggest. Worse yet, it misuses and/or wastes much of the musician’s most famous songs. This is easily the most disappointing movie of the year so far. Oscar voters may ultimately be fooled later on in 2019 by a strong central turn and a fondness for the figure being portrayed, but I’m not. This is quite the misfire. The film is, as mentioned above, a biopic of Elton John (Taron Egerton as an adult), the chart topping musician, known as one of the biggest artists ever to grace the medium. Born Reginald Dwight, he was an awkward child,...
- 5/30/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Despite having some of the same formulaic setbacks of many a biopic, Rocketman rocks whenever Elton John sings.
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; a new film tracks the meteoric rise of a rock icon from humble origins to celestial godhood, and along the way he’ll learn lessons about self-worth, self-destruction, and just how to get over his damn self. Sure enough this weekend’s Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, checks all those boxes and more in its depiction of the rise and initial drug-fueled fall of ‘70s pop’s reigning bespectacled prince, but then it also goes a bit further too, sprinkling just enough fairy dust to actually sparkle. While having literal, shared creative tissue with Bohemian Rhapsody via director Dexter Fletcher, Rocketman is also a shimmering love letter to the Pinball Wizard that mixes its pop jukebox with pop psychology. It’s no deeper than either,...
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; a new film tracks the meteoric rise of a rock icon from humble origins to celestial godhood, and along the way he’ll learn lessons about self-worth, self-destruction, and just how to get over his damn self. Sure enough this weekend’s Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, checks all those boxes and more in its depiction of the rise and initial drug-fueled fall of ‘70s pop’s reigning bespectacled prince, but then it also goes a bit further too, sprinkling just enough fairy dust to actually sparkle. While having literal, shared creative tissue with Bohemian Rhapsody via director Dexter Fletcher, Rocketman is also a shimmering love letter to the Pinball Wizard that mixes its pop jukebox with pop psychology. It’s no deeper than either,...
- 5/28/2019
- Den of Geek
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