Rocketman is a 2019 biographical jukebox musical drama film based on the life, music, and career of British musician Elton John. The film focuses on the story of John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin, telling his story through his music. The film is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, the film stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell as Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen, John's mother. A British-American venture, the film was produced by New Republic Pictures, Marv Films and Rocket Pictures, and was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The film had been in development since the 2000s before it was announced in 2013 that Focus Features acquired the rights to the film and director Michael Gracey (who eventually served as executive producer) was attached to direct the film with actor Tom Hardy set to star. After both Hardy and Gracey left the project following creative differences between Focus and John that halted an initial production start in autumn 2014, the project languished for several years until Paramount Pictures and New Republic Pictures took over as distributor in April 2018, where Egerton and Fletcher signed on. Principal photography began in August 2018 and was completed later that year. John served as executive producer, while his husband David Furnish produced the film through their Rocket Pictures, alongside Matthew Vaughn's Marv Films.
Rocketman premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2019, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2019 and in the United States on 31 May 2019. It grossed $195 million worldwide against its $40 million budget and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for Egerton's performance. The film was the first by a major studio to include a gay male sex scene. For his performance, Egerton received numerous nominations, including the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. John and Taupin also won Best Original Song at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, Best Song at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards, and Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again", and earned four nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, including Outstanding British Film.
Plot
Dressed in a flamboyant devil's outfit, Elton John enters an addiction rehabilitation session, recounting his life in a series of flashbacks ("The Bitch Is Back").
Shy boy Reginald Dwight grows up in the suburbs of 1950s Britain, raised by his unaffectionate mother, Sheila, and his more loving grandmother, Ivy. He is interested in music and hopes to perform for his father, Stanley, who takes no interest in him ("I Want Love"). Reginald begins piano lessons, making his way into the Royal Academy of Music. Stanley abandons his family after Sheila has an affair. Soon after, her lover, Fred, moves in with the family, and he introduces young Reginald to rock music. He grows up idolizing rock musicians and begins performing in local pubs ("Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"). As an adult, Reginald joins the band Bluesology, which is hired to play backup for touring American bands the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. Ronald Isley recommends that he write songs and put his old life behind him to become a famous artist. Reginald changes his name to Elton John, taking his first name from Elton Dean, the saxophonist of Bluesology, and "John" from John Lennon.
Elton writes music and tries to find success with Dick James' record label DJM Records under the management of Ray Williams. Williams introduces Elton to lyricist Bernie Taupin; they become friends and move into a flat to compose their songs. When Elton admits he is homosexual, he ends his romantic relationship with their landlady, so they are evicted. Elton and Bernie move in with Elton's grandmother, his mother, and Fred, where they continue writing and create "Your Song". James sets up a performance for them at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Elton is nervous before his debut, but the audience embraces his performance ("Crocodile Rock").
Elton's success overjoys him, but he feels abandoned when Bernie leaves him at a party to spend time with a woman ("Tiny Dancer"). He is approached by music manager John Reid and, after hitting it off, they have sex. Reid's influence launches Elton into a downward spiral of a life of debauchery, while his career rises to new heights ("Honky Cat"). He develops a flamboyant stage persona and becomes one of the most successful and iconic figures in rock and roll of the 1970s. Reid becomes Elton's manager and insists Elton tell his parents he is gay, so he reconnects with his father, who displays no interest in him. Distraught, Elton calls his mother to tell her he is gay. She already knew, but says he will be forever unloved. Devastated by his parents' rejection, as well as Reid's increasing physical and emotional abuse, Elton becomes addicted to alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, shopping, and sex. His addictions, mood swings, and short temper alienate his friends ("Pinball Wizard"). Elton catches Reid cheating on him and ends their relationship, but Reid continues as his manager. During a party, he overdoses on pills and attempts suicide by jumping into his pool. He is rushed to the hospital, then thrust on stage at Dodger Stadium to perform ("Rocket Man").
Elton descends further into a life of drugs, alcohol, and loneliness ("Bennie and the Jets"). He has a short-lived marriage with close female friend Renate Blauel, but his homosexuality dooms their relationship ("Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"). He falls out with his mother and Bernie ("Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"). Elton's dependence on prescription pills and alcohol results in a heart attack. Realizing his life is out of control, Elton leaves a concert without warning and checks into a rehab center ("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road").
Elton realizes he no longer needs approval from his parents or Reid. He also rekindles his friendship with Bernie, who brings him new lyrics. Elton is worried that he cannot perform or compose without alcohol or drugs, but writes "I'm Still Standing" and returns to a successful career.
Title cards state that Elton has been sober for over 28 years. He remains good friends and song-writing partners with Bernie and is happily married to David Furnish, with whom he has two children.
Cast
Taron Egerton as Elton John (Reginald Dwight) Matthew Illesley as young Reginald Dwight Kit Connor as teenage Reginald Dwight Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin Richard Madden as John Reid Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Dwight Gemma Jones as Ivy, Elton's grandmother Stephen Graham as Dick James Steven Mackintosh as Stanley Dwight Tate Donovan as Doug Weston Charlie Rowe as Ray Williams Tom Bennett as Fred, Sheila's boyfriend Keith Lemon as a retail worker Rachel Muldoon as singer Kiki Dee Ophelia Lovibond as Arabella (Elton's girlfriend) Celinde Schoenmaker as Renate Blauel (Elton's wife) Max Croes as Parkland Patient
Production Development Elton John and husband David Furnish tried to produce a film based on his life for almost two decades. The earliest efforts dated back to the 2000s, when development started at Walt Disney Pictures. Photographer David LaChapelle was set to direct the film after his work on the video for John's 2001 single, "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore", which featured Justin Timberlake as a young John. However, the project languished for nearly two decades. In an article written for The Guardian, John said that he struggled to get the film off the ground due to studios wanting it to be toned down to a PG-13 rating instead of an R.
In January 2012, John announced that he had named Justin Timberlake as his top choice to play him in the film. Lee Hall was set to pen the screenplay. In March 2013, Michael Gracey was hired to direct, with Tom Hardy cast in October to play John and FilmDistrict (and later Focus Features) acquiring the U.S. distribution rights. Filming was initially planned to start in autumn 2014. However, creative differences between John and Focus, along with budget issues, led him and Furnish to take the project elsewhere.
In July 2017, it was announced that Hardy was no longer involved, and Taron Egerton entered negotiations to replace him. While editing Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Matthew Vaughn learned about the project and took interest in producing the film on the condition that Egerton played John. Vaughn then picked Dexter Fletcher, who had replaced Bryan Singer during the production of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, to direct the film since Gracey was busy with The Greatest Showman and was later credited as one of the executive producers on the film. The producers then filmed a sequence of Egerton as John performing two of John's songs, and presented it to Jim Gianopulos, who had worked with Vaughn on the Kingsman franchise at 20th Century Fox and was now the CEO of Paramount Pictures. Paramount and New Republic Pictures agreed to finance the film in exchange for worldwide distribution rights. It was reported that Egerton would sing the songs in the film himself, produced by Giles Martin, who was brought on as music producer for the project. In an interview at CinemaCon, Egerton stated the film would be a lot more of a visually stylised epic musical-fantasy rather than just a traditional straightforward biopic.
In December 2019, Corriere della Sera reported that the film was partly financed by Centurion Global Fund, a Malta-based firm supported by the Holy See. The paper claimed that a Vatican inquiry into Peter's Pence allocations uncovered a €1 million donation from Centurion to assist with the film's production.
Casting In April 2018, Taron Egerton was officially cast to play the musician in the film. Egerton had previously appeared with John in the 2017 film Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Egerton, as Johnny the Gorilla, sang John's song "I'm Still Standing" in the 2016 animated film Sing. In June, the role of Bernie Taupin was given to Jamie Bell. In July, Richard Madden entered negotiations to play John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard was cast to play John's mother. Gemma Jones was announced as being cast in the film in October.
Filming Production began on 2 August 2018. In October 2018, it was announced the film was shooting in London. Filming commenced at Bray Film Studios near Maidenhead, Berkshire. Additional filming occurred at Pinewood Studios and Shepperton Studios.
Choreographer Adam Murray choreographed the film's musical sequences. Production designer Marcus Rowland said Murray's choreography had an influence on the film's sets.
Music
The soundtrack for the film was released by Virgin EMI (UK) and Interscope Records (US) on CD and digital formats on 24 May 2019 and was also released by Interscope Records on vinyl on August 23, 2019. The album contains 22 tracks of several hits performed by the cast of the film and a newly written award-winning track "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" featuring vocals by Taron Egerton and Elton John together.
A commercial success in terms of sales, the soundtrack reached the Top 40 chart level in multiple countries such as Australia, Switzerland, and the United States, including the production's own United Kingdom.
Release Rocketman had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2019, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2019. The film was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on 17 May 2019, but was pushed back to 31 May 2019.