JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
EXCLUSIVE: Pink: All I Know So Far director Michael Gracey on singer's bond with kids & Robbie Williams biopic
In an EXCLUSIVE chat with Pinkvilla, Pink: All I Know So Far director Michael Gracey reveals a surprisingly pleasant aspect he learned about Pink after spending months with her and her loving family shooting for the documentary. Read Michael's full interview below.
Grammy-winning musician Pink's 'rockstar mum' life gets the central spotlight in her uplifting documentary Pink: All I Know So Far. What feels like a personal love letter to her adorably wonderful children - Willow Sage Hart, 9, and Jameson Moon Hart, 4 - Pink gets candid not just about her juggling life as a punk rock queen and a mum but also sheds light on the future she envisions for the two loves of her life.
In an EXCLUSIVE tête-à-tête with Pinkvilla, Pink: All I Know So Far director Michael Gracey shares his vibrant thoughts on what surprised him the most about the 41-year-old musician, her unbreakable bond with her kids as well as working on a Robbie Williams musical biopic. Read Michael's full interview below:
There's something poetic about the title - Pink: All I Know So Far - especially with the fact that, unlike previous music documentaries, Pink rather stresses on her present and future rather than dwelling on her past. Was that a conscious effort when it came to storytelling?
If you watch a film about a rockstar or a pop star, it's not really something you can really relate to. They live pretty extreme lives but the thing that I felt when I... I've done a couple of other projects with Pink and every time, I was fascinated at how she juggled her family life and being a rockstar and there just didn't seem to be this barrier between those two things. They were both this part of her life. And so, that was the sort of lens that we focused on because to me, watching a mum trying to juggle her work life, the demands of having kids and being able to pursue your passion even while being a mum or a parent, that's really relatable. That's something everyone can relate to, particularly, parents. So, I kind of think that's why it became more about a real-time story, about what was happening in her life now and because she's got kids. She can talk about the future because she came to have these things.
A memorable quote, of many, from Pink: All I Know So Far is when Pink states that she "doesn't walk out of any door" and instead takes her home with her (with husband Carey Hart and their kids Willow and Jameson joining her on tour). Were there any aspects of Pink that you were pleasantly surprised to learn through this journey of spending months with her and her family?
I already knew who she was, very funny and fun to be around. But I didn't realise that her stamina is what blew me away. The fact that she would be out on some adventure, showing the kids on a bike ride around Amsterdam during the day, then she would race across to rehearsal, then she would get up on stage and perform for two hours, non-stop, flat out dancing, spinning, singing her heart out. And by the way, at that point, you would expect the person to just collapse. But then, she's like scooping up the kids, taking them home, bathing them. Jameson wants her to play with him, Willow wants to read with her and only then, at the end of the day when the kids are down and there's just that moment of 'Ah!' You're like, 'We've got to get up and do all this over again in a few hours.' It was exhausting, I'll be honest. But it was really impressive. It was incredibly impressive how determined she is to make it all work.
Goosebumps would be an understatement when it comes to Pink's epic So What performance at Wembley Stadium. Since you were in attendance, what was the wild atmosphere like, especially with the fans' reaction?
Wembley is such an enormous stadium and it was just electric being out there. But usually, the people at the back are watching the star at a distance and in that moment when she flies around the stadium, she's connecting with all the people, all the way up the back and she's now right there in front of them. The crowd just goes wild. It just is unlike anything I've ever seen.
An emotional sequence in Pink: I Know All So Far is when Pink tearfully reads out a fan letter to her husband Carey Hart about how said fan was influenced by the singer to come out. Were there any other moments that didn't make it to the final cut which you wished would have?
[smiles] There's definitely more emotional moments that didn't make it into the cut for one reason or another. Sometimes, it's about a balance, isn't it? You're always trying to find that right balance between entertainment, emotion, laughter. You want people to go on a ride and feel like at the end, that that was an enjoyable and satisfying journey. So there's funny moments, there's emotional moments, there is a whole lot that didn't make it to the final cut but I think what we refined it down to certainly gives you all the things that I was hoping to convey.
Willow and Jameson were the scene stealers in Pink: All I Know So Far with their cute shenanigans. What did you derive from Pink's loving relationship with her children?
Aside from being their mum, she just loves hanging out with them. Jameson is such a charming little lunatic and Willow is such a loving special kid who just has this amazing connection with her mum. And they're two little peas in a pod. You can see how much she adores being around her mum. Even those little quiet moments when she's under the stage watching her mum go up in the hydraulic lift, you're like, 'These are really special things,' for now, I never knew about. I never knew that Willow is running around on the stage 'cause she knows exactly where her mum is [doing cartwheels]. Yeah, all of that. It's really getting to peek behind the curtain.
After being able to artfully concise Pink's larger than life personality in Pink: All I Know So Far, is there another musician you've been enamoured by and would love to make a documentary on?
That's a good question! Actually, the next project I'm working on is a musical biopic on the life of Robbie Williams. He's had a fascinating life and on another project, I met him and he was just talking about his life and the stories he told me, I was just like [shows a shocked expression], my mind was blown away. [chuckles] I really couldn't wait to tell this story but I wanted to find a unique approach to it. So I wanted to make sure that rather than tell the story from the point of view of how we see that star, I wanted to do it in a way that showed us the way that the star sees himself. And that was the approach we've taken.
In conclusion, what can Pink fans anticipate from Pink: All I Know So Far?
Well, I think Pink fans are going to love it because they're going to get to see a side that is very personal and very privileged, meaning it was a privilege for me that Pink was so open with her family and her family life for us to capture but the real success of this documentary for me is people who aren't a fan of Pink, watching it and being able to relate to a person, who is just a person, who's trying to do what's best for her kids and while maintaining this very public career. That to me is really important that people who aren't necessarily Pink fans watch this and get something out of it.
Are you excited to watch Pink: All I Know So Far? Share your excitement with Pinkvilla in the comments section below.
Meanwhile, Pink: All I Know So Far will be premiering on Amazon Prime Video on May 21.
You May Like This
Latest Articles
