Could filmmakers capture the life story of one of the most flamboyant musicians on earth in anything but a biopic described as a "musical fantasy"? According to Deadline, Elton John is developing Rocketman, a biopic about his wild journey from 11-year-old piano prodigy to star to troubled star to troubled star in inane get-ups to rock & roll luminary. John will reportedly executive produce, Billy Elliot's Lee Hall will write, and Rocket Pictures' Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish (John's husband) will produce.
"Rocketman will be a radically different kind of biopic," Shaw told Deadline. "It will be as unique as Elton's life, told in a non-linear and hyper-visual manner that will transport people through the many intense experiences, some wonderful, some not, that helped define Elton as an artist, musician and man." In February, John said, "It will be more of a fantasy -- Moulin Rouge type of stuff. Obviously, it's not going to be your normal, run-of-the-mill film. My life's been so surreal, from buying a football club to God knows what."
That likely means casting several men as John in different stages of his career and including "choreographed sequences using John's biggest hit songs." The Internet has evidently decided the cast of Eltons must include Robert Downey Jr. (because he appeared in John's video for "I Want Love") and Philip Seymour Hoffman (because he sort of looks like Elton, though nobody wants to come out and say it).
[Photo: Frank Hoensch/Getty Images]