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Throwback to When Elton John Reflected on His Not-So ‘PG-13’ Past Through His Rocketman Biopic as Singer Loses His Eyesight
The biopic Rocketman based on Elton John’s life was a tough decision for the singer as someone who doesn’t like to reflect on his life. He revealed why he didn’t let the movie be PG-13 rated!
Elton John was not someone who liked reflecting on his career, but as he got older, that mindset changed for the better. In an article published by The Guardian, the legendary musician penned a lengthy note about his extraordinary life and what made him give the green light to the 2019 Rocketman biopic.
“I’m more interested in what I’m doing next rather than what I did 40 years ago. But that began to change a little the older I got,” he wrote. John also shared that having his first son, Zachary, at 63 and his second son, Elijah, at 65 made him want to look at his life in retrospect. “I did start thinking about them in 40 years’ time, being able to see or read my version of my life,” he added.
Gradually, he became less “conscious” about keeping the details of his life to himself, which led him to approve the 2019 biopic Rocketman, where actor Taron Egerton portrayed the younger version of him. When he and his team commissioned the script from Lee Hall — who the singer had worked with on the stage musical Billy Elliot — they were pleasantly surprised.
“It was brilliant. It had moments that were pure fantasy and moments that were really hard-hitting, no punches pulled,” the I’m Still Standing singer wrote. He recalled that there were some “disgusting and awful” moments, but they were truthful to his life.
John revealed that some studios had asked them to tone down the s*x and dr*g use in the film so that it would earn a PG-13 rating. “But I just haven’t led a PG-13-rated life. I didn’t want a film packed with dr*gs and s*x, but equally, everyone knows I had quite a lot of both during the ’70s and ’80s,” he explained.
To him, it didn’t make sense for the Elton John portrayed on screen to quietly go back to his hotel room after a gig, drink warm milk, and read Gideon’s Bible before sleeping. However, at the same time, he didn’t want the biopic to be completely straightforward and lose the fantasy element, because he spent a lot of time in his “own head” growing up.
Recently, the Grammy winner revealed that he has lost vision in his right eye due to an infection. “It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see. And my left eye’s not the greatest,” he said during his appearance on Good Morning America.
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