As the release date of Elton John's biopic, Rocketman, quickly approaches, the man whose story is being told has decided to tell his own story. On Sunday (May 26), the pop icon penned an in-depth essay for The Guardian that details how the film came to be.
After recalling his tough upbringing and past; his experience in film (or lack thereof), and what made him decide to greenlight a movie about his life, John discussed why he felt it important to give the project an R rating.
"Some studios wanted to tone down the sex and drugs so the film would get a PG-13 rating. But I just haven’t led a PG-13 rated life," he confessed. "I didn’t want a film packed with drugs and sex, but equally, everyone knows I had quite a lot of both during the 70s and 80s, so there didn’t seem to be much point in making a movie that implied that after every gig, I’d quietly gone back to my hotel room with only a glass of warm milk and the Gideon’s Bible for company."
Some studios also wanted to lose the film's fantasy, but he wouldn't let them. He explained how he grinded for four or five years before making it big, but when success did reach him it was monumental. "When it happened, it went off like a missile," he wrote. "There’s a moment in Rocketman when I’m playing onstage in the Troubadour club in LA and everything in the room starts levitating, me included, and honestly, that’s what it felt like."
He went on to discuss his relationship with his writing partner Bernie Taupin, and his husband David Furnish, and their two sons, Elijah and Zachary. Ultimately, he wanted Rocketman to reflect his life in all aspects, "chaotic, funny, mad, horrible, brilliant and dark," he said. "It’s obviously not all true, but it’s the truth."
Read Elton John's fully essay here and look for Rocketman in theaters nationwide on Friday (May 31).
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