Regular listeners to the Empire Podcast (sorry about the whole Call Me By Your Name theme ear worm, incidentally) will recall that we had Taron Egerton as a guest on the 300th episode, recorded in front of an audience on Valentine's Day. He talked up his hope that Elton John biopic Rocketman would finally come together, and now Paramount is closing a deal to finance and distribute the film worldwide.
The film, which has been through at least one previous incarnation (Michael Gracey directing Tom Hardy in the lead) is reuniting the Eddie The Eagle team of Egerton, director Dexter Fletcher and producer Matthew Vaughn, who has been trying to get the movie made for a while, with Elton's blessing and the support of his company, Rocket Pictures.
Featuring a script by Lee Hall, Rocketman will follow the career of the artist formerly known as Reginald Dwight, from a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music to a global superstar, through his influential and enduring musical partnership with his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. According to Deadline, it'll peer through the glitter to tell the unvarnished truth. Egerton has been preparing to sing the songs himself and the film should be finally shooting in August. Fletcher has been a little busy stepping in to complete the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, so this will mark yet another music-themed movie for the director.
Meanwhile, you can listen to the entirety of the 300th Podcast episode right here. The chat about Rocketman starts around the 25:30 mark.
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