The only way to tell his story is to live his fantasy.
Rocketman tells the story of Elton John’s life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music, through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin,[3] as well as his struggles with depression, substance abuse, and acceptance of his sexual orientation.
Rocketman is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of British musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, it stars Taron Egerton as Elton John, with Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen. The film follows John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Taupin. The film is titled after John’s 1972 song “Rocket Man”.
The film had been in development since the 2000s before it was initially announced in 2013 where Focus Features acquired the rights to the film and director Michael Gracey and actor Tom Hardy were set to direct and star in the project respectively. After Hardy and Gracey left the project following creative differences between Focus and John that halted an initial production start in fall 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 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 largely positive reviews from critics, with general praise for Egerton’s performance, the costume design and musical numbers.
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. The film 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.
Rocketman (2019)
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell, Stephen Graham, Tate Donovan, Harriet Walter, Gemma Jones, Viktorija Faith, Kamil Lemieszewski, Jimmy Vee
Screenplay by: Lee Hall
Production Design by: Marcus Rowland
Cinematography by: George Richmond
Costume Design by: Julian Day
Set Decoration by: Kimberley Fahey, Judy Farr
Art Direction by: Sophie Bridgman, Steve Carter, Emily Norris, Alice Walker
Music by: Matthew Margeson
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, some drug use and sexual content.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: May 31, 2019
