Movies

Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher explains why he cut Elton John’s first suicide attempt as he promises more Taron Egerton films


Elton John once said, ‘if you write great songs with meaning and emotion, they will last forever because songs are the key to everything.’

And it seems director Dexter Fletcher proved this statement to be true as he transformed the singer’s back catalogue into the fantastical musical Rocketman – giving the classic hits a whole new lease of life.

Not that they needed it.

Scoping from the living legend’s childhood to his rise to fame and him seeking help in rehab, the two-hour biopic captures the highest highs and lowest lows of Elton’s career.

And while the film, which stars Taron Egerton as the musical genius, was more than enough, fans have since been treated to a number of deleted scenes, which showcase the actor’s talents and even more turmoil that Elton faced in his life.

One of which was his first suicide attempt, when he was set to tie the knot with his landlady.

*Warning – contains discussions and depiction of suicide*

The Honky Cat hitmaker addressed the moment in his memoir Me: Elton John, and in the deleted scene, Elton is found in his kitchen by his fiancée, while his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin (played by Jamie Bell) reads out the will Elton had left on the side.

But while this may have been a major moment in the icon’s life, Dexter decided to cut the clip from the movie.

In a candid interview with Metro.co.uk, the 53-year-old addressed the scene and explained his decision behind removing it from the final take.

‘I felt that tonally I hadn’t struck the right note with it, which is the honest answer,’ the filmmaker confessed: ‘It was always approached in a sort of flip way, and coming away from it, I just felt that even if it was a cry for help, there is nothing flip about it.’

He added: ‘I knew there was some heavier stuff coming up that the audience and the character had to navigate through, and I felt that I had a greater responsibility to that moment than to make light of it. It’s about a balance and keeping it moving forward.

Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher explains why he cut Elton John’s suicide attempt (Picture: Rex)

‘I didn’t want to dilute the other attempts of suicide later on in the film, like, “Oh here he goes again.” It’s not that, it’s a very real thing.’

But as Dexter carefully decided what went into the movie, he revealed Elton vetoed absolutely nothing from his life and allowed the team to take full reign when writing the script.

And the singer was more impressed with the film, as he has since told Dexter that he ‘wouldn’t change a single frame.’

‘The film was a celebration of his music and his life, that’s why it’s a musical,’ the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels actor explained before mentioning the star’s recent autobiography: ‘The book had more time to dive into the psychological truth, the film by its very nature is going to have to plow through things much quicker, but he never went, “Oh no, you can’t say that.”’

He continued: ‘He is used to defending himself, you know? If anyone had issues about how he lived his life or what he’s done, he just says, “Yeah I did that, and I’ve reconciled myself.” He has never been hidden, I think that’s part of his strength and why people love him so much, he is unapologetic.’

The singer told Dexter that he ‘wouldn’t change a single frame’ (Picture: Rex)
Taron Egerton starred as the music icon (Picture: Rex)

Clearly giving his seal of approval to Rocketman, the father-of-two recently revealed he wasn’t afraid to provide critique, as he called The Lion King remake a ‘huge disappointment’ in an interview with GQ.

Dexter added: ‘I can’t speak for The Lion King, I can only imagine they didn’t communicate to him what it was that they were doing, and that can cause people to be like, “well, you never told me you were going to paint the house red, and I don’t like red.” You see what I mean?

‘So, we always had very open lines of communication, but I can only imagine that that’s the case. But he was never unaware of what we were doing, and if I had any doubts, I would go to him and he would be like, “no, follow your instincts, I’ll see it when it’s done, and I believe in you.”’

And it seems he believed in Taron too, as the pair have since formed an adorable friendship seeing them reunite on numerous occasions, and even sing with each other at Cannes Film Festival – who knows, maybe we’ll get to see them perform again at the Oscars.

Talking about their bond, Dexter insisted it was very real and appeared to blossom from the outset.

He revealed David Furnish kept a close eye on the project (Picture: Getty Images)
Dexter has promised to do another film with Taron (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Taron has much enamour for the film and he obviously holds a special place for Elton in his heart,’ he said as he got excited about the duo.

Dexter went  on: ‘Taron has told this story before, but when he first met Elton and started to talk about the film, Elton gave him his first-ever diamond earring, and that’s the first thing Elton ever bought himself of value, and he gave it to Taron as a sort of “go do your best, go and have part of me with you,” and I think that speaks so much.

‘The emotional value of that is way beyond any financial value, the pure act of him giving that is what he is like. For him that’s a simple gesture, he’s like, “this will really help you feel part of what you’re doing,” but for Taron it was huge, and he wore it in the film.

‘That’s what he’s like, he’s very understanding and supported it all.’

On their closeness, he added: ‘They admired each other’s talent and they’re friends, there is a friendship there, it’s very real, and it’s very lovely to be around and see.’

He gushed over Taron and Elton’s friendship (Picture: WireImage)

Rocketman wasn’t the first time Taron and Elton had met, as they previously starred together in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, while the Welsh actor had also worked alongside Dexter in the 2016 film, Eddie The Eagle.

The director insisted it was important for him to create a biopic about someone who was alive so they could see the outpour of love following its release.

He told us: ‘When Elton saw it he said it was a masterpiece, and you can’t ask for more than that, because he knows it better than anyone. For him, it’s a celebration of his life and his music, and I think Bernie felt the same, they’re both very proud of it and that is more than I could ask for.

‘It was the same with Eddie The Eagle, we want them to be proud, there are people around them that love them and there’s a responsibility for that. There’s no reason to make something that people feel sad about.

Dexter added: ‘It is tricky to tackle writing things about people who are still around. But fortunately, we have pulled it off.’

As for whether or not he will work with Taron again on a new project, Dexter confirmed: ‘We said we’ve got to do the minimum of three films, we don’t know what the next one is yet, we have done two and we still have the next one to go.

‘So, watch this space, watch this space.’



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