Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About Rocketman
#10: It Is NOT a Biopic
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This is a message, albeit a bizarre one, that the cast and crew have continuously mentioned in interviews. “Rocketman” is NOT a biopic; it is a “musical fantasy”. Then, what does John’s life have to do with it? According to Taron Egerton, who plays the famed musician, the songs and musical numbers are being used to represent important moments in John’s life. Given how most conventional biopics dance in and out of historical accuracy, keep this in mind when you’re walking into the theater. It may help you see how the songs correlate with John’s past experiences.
#9: The Film Uses ‘Artistic License’
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As we said before, many biopic - or biopic-styled - films bend the truth to make themselves more interesting. They call this “artistic license”, and “Rocketman” certainly uses it. Fans initially raised concerns when a trailer seemingly showed John at a concert that never actually happened. The concert in question seems to be John’s American debut at the Troubadour. While his first U.S. show DID happen at this venue, the musician did NOT perform “Crocodile Rock,” contrary to what’s shown in the trailer and the film. But since Elton John gave Dexter Fletcher permission to use artistic license, the director was able to do what he thought was necessary to capture the “magical fantasy that tells the story of his [John’s] life.”
#8: The Sexuality Controversy
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In April 2019, Taron Egerton’s casting came under fire. Because the actor is heterosexual, some fans and critics began to state that they weren’t comfortable with a straight man playing a gay musician, despite John being fully supportive throughout production. Shortly after the backlash arose, Egerton responded that his sexuality shouldn’t dictate what roles he can and can’t play: “I did not get into acting to just play people like me.” He also elaborated: “You have to draw the line somewhere, and I don’t want to live in a world where straight people play straight people and gay people play gay people.” Elton John himself also put in his own two cents, calling the criticism “bulls**t”.
#7: Director Dexter Fletcher Was Also Behind “Bohemian Rhapsody”
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Dexter Fletcher has been making quite a name for himself in the late 2010s. While he only began directing “Bohemian Rhapsody” late into its production following Bryan Singer’s removal, you can’t deny he had a huge hand in making it a blockbuster success. This is part of the reason that “Rocketman”’s release is so exciting; the man knows how to translate a musician’s work onto the big screen! When it comes to other notable names involved with the movie, it’s worth mentioning that Jamie Bell and Richard Madden have supporting roles as Bernie Taupin and John Reid respectively. Bryce Dallas Howard also plays Elton’s mother! Needless to say, it’s a top-notch cast!
#6: Taron Egerton Has Several Connections to Elton John
Call it a pure coincidence, but Egerton has had several ties to Elton John throughout his filmography. In 2017, Egerton starred in “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”, in which John made a cameo. For the 2016 animated film “Sing”, Egerton voiced a gorilla named Johnny, who sings a cover of John’s “I’m Still Standing”. Oh, and we can’t forget about Egerton’s audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he performed a tune called “Your Song” by - you guessed it - Mr. John himself. Considering his musical experience and his previous movie appearance with the legend, Egerton had a huge advantage in nabbing this role. We suppose you could even say Egerton was destined to play Elton John.
#5: Elton’s Advice to Taron
Despite “Rocketman” being kickstarted by Elton John, the famed singer had very little involvement with the project once it took off. Fletcher and the crew did consult John for a few things, but they did so out of courteousness. John was fully supportive throughout “Rocketman”'s production, especially around a nervous Taron Egerton. The actor felt a heavy amount of pressure when he took on the role, but fortunately received some words of advice. John encouraged Egerton to portray himself the way Egerton saw him, reportedly saying, “Don't think you have to sing it exactly the way that I sang it… I think it's a challenge for the actor to embody the spirit and not get into thinking they have to do an impersonation.” Wise words, John, wise words.
#4: How They Got Taron to Look Like Elton
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To say “a lot of work went into Taron looking like Elton” would be an understatement. Countless hours went into not just makeup and costumes, but also recordings at the famous Abbey Road Studios as well as complex dance routines for choreography. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Egerton estimated he spent “somewhere between 50 and 100 hours of fittings”! For every day of shooting, Egerton had to have half of his hair kept shaved in addition to painting his teeth to replicate John’s tooth gap. From the looks of it, all that effort paid off; in the same article, John said he thought he was looking at himself!
#3: Elton Won’t Be Singing
It’d be easy for Fletcher and the crew to just insert John’s vocals or previous recordings into the movie and call it a day. However, they went above and beyond with “Rocketman”! Rather than taking the easy way out, it was decided that Egerton would provide his own vocals for the soundtrack. Singing the songs of a musical legend gave Egerton some intense stage fright, especially when John was on set - fortunately, that didn’t happen too often. But we’re sure that getting his singing prowess commended by Elton John himself must have been quite the confidence boost, as was recording a duet with him called “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.”
#2: It Bounced Between Studios
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Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to make a movie about Elton John? Well… several studios wouldn’t, actually. “Rocketman” was originally going to be distributed by Universal, but was the studio stalled the project for many years. Producer Matthew Vaughn said Universal chairman Donna Langley said to him, “You definitely want to make it an R-rated film, and you’re going to make it for over $35 million?” When Vaughn said yes, she replied, “Good luck.” “Rocketman” ultimately found a home with Paramount Pictures, but reports claim the studio pressured Fletcher to make it less sexual, most likely due to the fact that gay scenes are banned in China.
#1: Tom Hardy Was Cast Originally
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Surprised? Yeah, so were we! Back in 2013, Tom Hardy had signed on to play as Elton John, but it wasn’t long before Hardy was dropped from the project for various reasons. For starters, Hardy was much older than John was in his early years. This could have been slightly overlooked had it not been for Hardy’s singing lyrics - or rather, lack thereof. The original plan for “Rocketman”’s music was to have John’s vocals dubbed over Hardy while the actor lip-synced, which would make things more complicated and likely more expensive. Even before Hardy was signed on, John expressed interest in casting singer and actor Justin Timberlake. However, we’d say they got the best man for the job - the multi-talented Taron Egerton, of course!
