Rocketman, the “musical fantasy” biopic depicting the life and career of Elton John, may be facing off against executives at Paramount over its nudity and homosexual content.
The story goes that there’s a 40 second scene where Taron Egerton, who’s playing the “Tiny Dancer” singer in the film, and Richard Madden share what’s being referred to as a “nude cuddle.” Reportedly, the scene is offensive enough that the studio wants it cut, but the filmmakers are defending their decision through “heated discussions.”
It seems that Paramount is backtracking on the more adult, no holds barred approach Rocketman promised audiences. It’s been looking, up until this point, that the Elton John biopic would be doing with homosexuality exactly what the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, didn’t: showcasing it boldly and proudly.
Though Bohemian Rhapsody was trashed by fans, critics, and even its star Rami Malek for its noticeably tame approach at depicting Mercury’s night life, it’d be ridiculous to call it anything other than a success. Surely, that success is what Paramount is paying attention to.
With an incredible $879 million in international grosses, and four wins out of five total nominations at the Academy Awards, Bohemian Rhapsody will more than likely be the benchmark on which studios will look upon when it comes to making musical biopics. One important characteristic of the Queen film was its controversial PG-13 rating, which certainly lent a hand in bringing in younger audiences and achieving that fantastic box office performance.
Set to hit theaters at the end of next month, we’ll see whether Rocketman follows Bohemian Rhapsody and gets a PG-13 rating or if it’ll stand on its own on R-rated island. Let us know what you think in the comments below, though. Do you feel that the upcoming Elton John movie should be given the soft PG-13, or the hard R-rating?