Yesterday there was speculation about what movies are going to the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” were mentioned.
Forget it. They’re not ready. Plus Scorsese’s movie is from Netflix, which still has a conflict with Cannes. Plus, neither filmmaker will show their hands until later this year. Tarantino, I’m told, is far from ready.
But the one movie to get excited about on the Croisette is Elton John’s biopic, “Rocketman.” Paramount is releasing it on May 31st. So Cannes, which runs for 12 days from May 13th, is the perfect place to launch an international campaign.
Not only that, Sir Elton is touring in Europe at that time and has wisely left two days in a row open during the Festival’s first week. He could easily jet in and jet out.
More will become clear on March 20th, when Paramount shows clips from “Rocketman” to the press. They must be excited that they have a winner.
Certainly, star Taron Edgerton’s performance at Sir Elton’s recent Oscar dinner for his EJAF Aids Foundation got everyone excited. Edgerton may be the Rami Malek of 2019.
Indeed, “Rocketman” is directed by the replacement director of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Dexter Fletcher. He knows what he’s doing. I’m looking forward to seeing Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s mum.
But can you imagine Sir Elton and crew on the red carpet at Cannes, maybe even as opening night? The DJ at the Palais will go crazy. Maybe we’ll see Kiki Dee! Don’t go breaking our hearts!
