Rocketman (2019)

Yeah they do. I do not like Elton John or his music.

Concert films and documentaries are nothing new, so I don't know why anyone would question this one.

He creeps me out.

I hate David Furnesh. I seriously physically hate his privileged, entitled rich boy spoiled guts.

I'd say a 50 year career with hundreds of charted singles warrants a biopic or two. Not to mention being one of the most successful gay artists of all time.

I feel like someone saw that a movie was being made about Queen and Freddy Mercury and decided to jump on the bandwagon by doing one about Elton John..

^^^This. R6 hit it.

I have the impression that Elton just wants to control his own legacy all by himself. He is not a spring chicken so he needs to make some preparations for the time he isn't among us anymore. He knows exactely how healthy or not so healthy he is and how much his time is limited. And I assume other very cose people too, like Lady Gaga and of course David Furnish. Having a movie about yourself WHILE you are still alive is a good way to create and controlyour image in the last remainig time...

[quote]I have the impression that Elton just wants to control his own legacy all by himself

After Rocketman screened at Cannes, John said that it was exactly the film he wanted to make and I get it. It's a film that largely blames his addictions and behavior on absent and unattentive parents. It doesn't portray him like the egotistical nasty piece of work his reputation suggests.

Should've been made after he died. He's not Freddie Mercury and this is going to BOMB.

Like with the Queen biopic this is about introducing the Elton John music catalogue to a whole new generations of consumers.

I grew up in the 80s with Elton John's music and he was always very uncool. It is surprising that there is a market for this movie.

It's like a gayer, fatter, hairer and older version of Billy Elliot. But too much of gayness will ruin the movie.

Funny. Not enough gayness supposedly ruined the Queens biopic (but made it a big commercial success). Now this one is apparently too gay?

How is it too gay? Do we get to see Elton's tiny penis?

Elton got her little pussy hurt because all the focus is on Queen. I can see that twat throwing tantrums demanding there be a movie made about her fat ass.

Yes, people would want to see it. Spotify's largest demographic is those under 30 and Elton John has almost 4 songs at 200 million streams or over. Compare this to Madonna who only has one song close to 100 million. His older music is still popular among younger generations. Not as popular as Queen, Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses or Nirvana, but popular nonetheless. I'd rather watch a movie about him than 99% of stars out there, even if it is whitewashed by Elton himself.

Datalounge isn’t the target demographic for this movie. The target demo for this movie is people who don’t hate successful gay men.

The Madonna obsession here is several decades too late

Patton Oswalt is closer in resemblance than Taron.

You can tell Elton and his ego cast the film.

The theatre was sold out last night when I went to see it. There was a brief period where the story lagged (may 15 minutes towards the end), but otherwise, I kept me entertained, and I'm not a natural Elton John fan (didn't realise a lot of the songs that were in the film were actually his songs, had never heard some of the others) and loathe musicals. The performances by Madden and Bell were strong enough to overcome the weakness of Howard and lapses of Egerton.

The budget of Rocketman is only $41M so I doubt it will bomb. I assume P&A will be around $50M, and if so the film will possibly break even around $200M. It won't obviously get even close to Bohemian Rhapsody but I suspect $200M is reachable. Queen is really a special case since it's got die hard fans in almost all age groups. I mean when I was a teen in the 80s Queen was a huge thing, and the fans, of which many were homophobes, knew Freddie was gay but still loved him. Elton was apparently quite huge in the 70s but, yes, he was a bit of a joke in the 80s making practically AOR with songs like Sacrifice, which is actually a beautiful piece. Still, if the film is good people will find it interesting because Elton John is an outrageous character with some very good pop songs.

Releasing after Bohemian Rhapsody probably helps a bit because BR made a music bio film a fun experience, which it really hasn't always been.

Does anyone know if my favorite Elton John song “Sacrifice” is in the movie? Wasted opportunity if not. It’s easily one of his top 10 most popular songs and Chris Isaak was hot as hell in the1990 music video!

The full tracklist is:

1. The Bitch Is Back (Introduction)

2. I Want Love

3. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

4. Thank You For All Your Loving

5. Border Song

6. Rock & Roll Madonna - Interlude

7. Your Song

8. Amoreena

9. Crocodile Rock

10. Tiny Dancer

11. Take Me To The Pilot

12. Hercules

13. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

14. Honky Cat

15. Pinball Wizard – Interlude

16. Rocket Man

17. Bennie and the Jets

18. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down - Interlude

19. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

20. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

21. I’m Still Standing

22. (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again

[quote] The budget of Rocketman is only $41M so I doubt it will bomb. I assume P&A will be around $50M

Not even close. Try $80m. For starters. They want to replicate BR's success so they are throwing money at this thing like it's going out of style. It's getting superhero movie style marketing in every way except toys in the Happy Meals.

How old is OP? 14?

[quote] I do not like Elton John or his music.

I've never been a fan of his music because half the time, I couldn't understand the lyrics. Mumble mumble mumble. (something about 'Hold me closer, Tony Danza'?)

I'm old school gay, give me Judy, Ella, and Ethel; Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart, witty clever lyrics sung by a singer whom you could understand.

And then Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh's wedding and I lost what little interest in him I did have

The fuck is Chris Isaak doing in that video?

By 1990 he had his own music career going.

I also feel like he decided to do a biopic because Mercury got one

To those that have seen it, are you taken out of the film or distracted by Taron not sounding like Elton when he sings.

I'd be more distracted by Taron's buff body trying to pass for flabby assed Elton

Saw it last night, and the only thing that truly pulled me out of it was the trite moment towards the end, and someone in the audience yelling at another person in the audience about being on the phone. The songs were re-tooled a bit for Taron to perform, so you shouldn't expect to hear it exactly as they are on the albums, and entire songs aren't used anyways. If you go into it expecting it to be essentially a younger version of Elton on screen, you're going to be disappointed. The music is used to propel the narrative forward, and it does a good enough job of that.

[quote]To those that have seen it, are you taken out of the film or distracted by Taron not sounding like Elton when he sings.

No. If anything the distraction was how the arrangements on some of the songs were altered. Why mess with perfection?

[quote]I'd be more distracted by Taron's buff body trying to pass for flabby assed Elton

Elton used to be quite fit.

Umm, that's not quite fit.

Plus he's wearing whatever passed as Spanx back then.

Yeah people love his music, he's one of the most successful pop singers ever. I've always thought of Elton as someone just too stubborn and narcissistic to ever walk away from the spotlight and become a nostalgia act. He'll forever scratch and claw to stay as relevant as possible. But the public has enabled that by continuing to support him, so he remains a megastar.

I'm going to see it opening day. Can't wait. I loved his first five or six albums, and then he faded away. But what a great five or six albums those first ones were. Especially s/t and Friends.

R37 Nah, I think his 80's and 90's work is just as good. The Lion King soundtrack alone is one of the greatest of all time. I Want Love is a good recent track as well.

We'll have to wait a bit for All About Elton.

[quote] I Want Love is a good recent track as well.

It's 18 years old.

Played this CD to death years ago. His 80's output is very strong in my opinion. Empty Garden is one of my favorites. Also love Sacrifice, I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, Believe, Circle of Life, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, I Want Love, Someday Out of the Blue, and many more.

[quote] It's 18 years old.

Damn, time flies. That was the last time I really paid attention to Elton. But it's still an impressively lengthy career. Billy Joel hasn't released any new pop music since 93.

A lot of unloyal bitches here. Elton John is one of the few popstars who came out as gay actually he’s the first.

I am an Elton John fan since the late 1970s. Of course the movie is going to be a hit but narrow-minded snooty bitches underestimate his fanbase.

[quote] A lot of unloyal bitches here. Elton John is one of the few popstars who came out as gay actually he’s the first.

Bitch, no he's not.

Marc Almond, Andy Bell, Holly Johnson, Sylvester, half of the Village People, Johnny Mathis, the men of the B52s, Jimmy Somerville, The Pet Shop Boys, and the very first- Jobriath.

[quote] Billy Joel hasn't released any new pop music since 93.

THANK GOD

The audience is fraus in their 50s and 60s. Girls night!

R43, He came out in 1975 before some of those people were even famous. Not to mention he was actually a major star, most of those people were not.

One hitch though, he came out as "bi." Boy George did that too at first, but 5 yrs later Culture Club broke up, and while announcing that, George said he'd be having an affair with the drummer the whole time

“We’re always looking for a ‘Betty Hutton.’ Do you see it as a ‘Betty Hutton’?”

It was the 70s, r46; we were bi as well.

[quote] [R43], He came out in 1975 before some of those people were even famous. Not to mention he was actually a major star, most of those people were not.

Bi doesn't count, hon. Sorry. He came out in 1993 in the pages of OUT Magazine. I remember the article well. It was too little, too late.

Sorry but his catalogue doesn’t hold weight to Queens. He had huge hits for his time but most don’t translate well to today’s radio. Even Lite stations hardly play him while Queen songs always get airplay.

This isn’t gonna be a big hit.

I watched it Friday night in Hollywood and it’s first 20 minutes or so are pretty bad. Some people even walked out during that time. It gets better once Taron shows up and is entertaining for the most part but then gets dumb again near the end. I hated any scene where he was interacting with his child self.

Taron is good in parts and bad in others, and full out cartoonish at moments. He overacted in a way that wasn’t fun but cringe at moments.

Madden was fantastic!

I also hated how the arrangements to his songs were changed to fit Tarons voice.

r50, he also still talks about being sexually attracted to women and how great sex with his wife was.

Madden ran circles around Taron in their scenes together. Wow.

Love his old stuff. But he's a bitchy ass queen. That loves to throw it everyone face he is rich.

[quote] Bi doesn't count, hon. Sorry. He came out in 1993 in the pages of OUT Magazine. I remember the article well. It was too little, too late.

Coming out as bi has been just as difficult as coming out as gay. It might've been cool for the girls like Madonna, Kesha and Gaga but it's always been totally different for men. Bi men were just as faggy for the masses as gay men, and on top of that many gays hate bi men because some seem to think bisexuality isn't even real and some think men come out as bi because it softens the blow. The latter one is obviously true in some cames and possibly was with Elton as well but can you really blame him? He owned a football team at some point and after the Rolling Stone interview where he came out when he was watching a game with his team thousands of spectators would chant out "faggot, faggot, faggot", if I remember correctly.

So is this just Bohemian Rhapsody but with Dodger Stadium substituting for Wembley Stadium?

Remember in Orwell's 1984 when he writes of the Proles and the tinny music they love? I've always thought that could apply to Elton John.

What's the point of a biopic if it's not Elton singing? The Queen movie could probably never have been made with lipsynching.

Without

r56, no one gives a shit if a man comes out as bi as long as he has a girlfriend/wife. It only becomes an issue if he gets involved with another man and is thus perceived as gay.

Did the film include his performance at the Limbaugh wedding ?

Elton was elevated by Billboard magazine recently as the #1 male artist for the top 100 of all time surpassing Elvis.

That kinda matters...

Elton's problem lies in the fact that along with a lot of other UK 'Glam Rock' 70's stars (Bowie etc) he implicitly said that he was Bisexual in the mid 70's and then suddenly married a woman at the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980's. A lot of other 70's band members also hinted/planted stories about their Bisexuality and also did the same thing.

In the eyes of anyone who lived through the AIDS crisis it was a betrayal that he can't ever make up for, It was fucking hard being openly gay in the 80's and he 'bearded up' to save his career. He will never win my generation over, no matter how many times he marries David.

I remember Elton being an answer to a final Jeopardy question once. What artist had the longest unbroken streak of Top 40 hits on Billboard. I think it was 24 years straight.

I think what made Elton last so long was his musical diversity. He can go from quiet ballads like Your Song and Daniel to fun pop like Honky Cat and Island Girl to big production numbers like Someone Saved My Life Tonight to blistering rock like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, etc.

I also saw that he had surpassed Elvis as the No. 1 male artist of all time, also having the No. 1 single of all time, surpassing White Christmas.

Queen had what, like 5 hit records?

Why released so early? Why not use the "Bohemian Rhapsody" model and go for the Oscar? I fear it will be swallowed up in Comic Book nation but we'll see....

[quote][R56], no one gives a shit if a man comes out as bi as long as he has a girlfriend/wife. It only becomes an issue if he gets involved with another man and is thus perceived as gay.

We are talking about the 70s, not 2019. And yes, it still matters today if a huge male star comes out as bi. Why do you think so few closeted male Hollywood stars come out?

Say what you will about Elton but he's still been one of the biggest figures in making homosexuality more acceptable. I've no idea if he was really having sex with his wife or was it just an arranged bearding agreement. I'm Kinsey 5 myself and used to date girls in my youth. I liked it emotionally and I enjoyed being close to women physically and mentally, but the lust for them has always been quite weak. From that point of view I can certainly understand why some bi men do end up marrying women. Obviously it's very well possible Elton was never really bi and the marriage was just a bearding arrangement. Times were different, we all know that, and quick googling tells that his coming out as bi did have consequences. Apparently all American radio stations stopped playing him. Can you really blame him for trying to save his career?

It's so easy to blame people for what they've done in a totally different era. Elton did in the end still come out as bi and anyone saying it didn't matter at all in the 70s are not being completely truthful. Still, I totally get why people feel he betrayed the gay community by marrying a beard. I was a kid in the 80s and I was terrified by AIDS. I can only imagine how people who saw AIDS kill their friends and loved ones reacted at the time when Elton suddenly married a woman. After that he's obviously done a lot for the community and he has his own AIDS Foundation. I'd rather hate figures who actively work against us than people like Elton John who might've not done the right at the time but have since mended their ways.

R66 cause they knew BoRhap had Oscar potential, that’s why they released it in Nov.

This has zero Oscar chances. Some of the acting is straight out BAD

Thanks, R68. I was hoping it was another nice surprise, especially with the same director of sorts, but it's starting to sound more like the James Brown biopic instead. Nice try, no cigar.

R69 Taron is good in parts but over the top in others and full blown cartoonish at times.

The first 15-20 minutes aren’t engaging and some walked out of the theater in that time. It gets better once the focus is off of his child/teen self and on his adult self and it is entertaining overall, but I loathed any scene with Elton interacting with his child self.

Madden gives a TERRIFIC performance.

Do we get to see Taran naked at any point? Even if it's just his bare ass.

TIA.

R71 we see a quick side view of his ass during his sex scene with Madden.

[quote] In the eyes of anyone who lived through the AIDS crisis it was a betrayal that he can't ever make up for,

Boy, you're certainly speaking for quite a lot of people who have not given you permission to speak for them.

To name one: I'm a gay man who lived through the AIDS crisis, and I've forgiven him.

So, you're wrong.

I think it's going to do very well, because it's certainly got people talking, both in the US and the UK. I doubt it will win any Oscars though: even if Egerton gave a first-rate performance (which most reviews are saying is not the case), they wouldn't give back-to-back Oscars for men playing confused gay British over-the-top rock stars.

I expect it will save Egerton's career. He was really about to go down since he has had so many flops recently; but he's quite sexy. They just should not have him try to open any action pictures--that's where he pretty much flops.

I don't hear his songs on the radio at all. Last I remember was the princess Diana song. He seems insufferable and bitchy.

R75 he doesn’t get radio play. His music is music of a certain time. Most would flop hard now if released, unlike Queen.

I hear his oldies on the radio constantly. All the oldie stations play "Daniel" seemingly every hour.

Its going to be huge in the UK I imagine so will probbaly make back its production budget here alone. I actually think the 200 prediction above is correct, possibly a bit more if its lucky.

It's ironic that the only song from his heyday to not make the top 40 is one of his most-loved songs today, Tiny Dancer.

88% at Rotten Tomatoes and 73% at Metacritic. Not bad at all. IGN, which tends to go for the younger crowd, gave it 9.0 out of 10. They gave Bohemian Rhapsody 7.3 although with a different reviewer.

They certainly are reaching for huge audiences in the UK: "This was the widest ever for any Paramount release [in the UK], as well as the widest release ever for a film with a 15-and-over certificate. The marketing presented Rocketman as a cultural moment celebrating a true British icon." (Deadline)

Remember when he had a mid-career trough and wasn't played for years? I was at a live performance theatre then and one of his albums of that period came over the PA as pre-show music. It was weird: there were hoards of people asking the ushers who the singer was and what was the name of the album!

I wonder since the BoRap box office figures came in how many Hollywood agents have placed a call to Boy George about "an exciting biopic opportunity we've been working on packaging for YEARS."

Do you think Madge is quietly scribbling up a script of her own? Perhaps even planning to star as her juvenile self?

[quote]Do you think Madge is quietly scribbling up a script of her own? Perhaps even planning to star as her juvenile self?

In 2017 she talked about wanting her own biopic and wants to direct it.

How awkward is it going to be when Rami Malek has to present next year's Best Actor Oscar, and if someone other than Taron mounts the stage. One has to feel sorry for Taron: he's been placed in an impossible second-race position. There's going to be a lot of tight smiles.

Let's not forget Taron also had Robin Hood released in the past year, he can't possibly be expecting an Oscar after that.

Usually it's last year's Best Actress winner that presents Best Actor. They just fucked it up this year, like most of the show. We'll see if Olivia Colman flies back or not.

Taron doesn’t have to worry. Rami won the Oscar because for some inexplicable reason his film grossed $900M worldwide. Taron’s not going to have those problems.

It's too bad; Taron was so much better than Rami. And Rocketman is so much better than Bohemian Rhapsody. I think Rocketman will play much better as a musical on Broadway / West End, though.