Elton John Says Some Movie Studios Wanted Rocketman to Present a 'PG-13' View of His Life

In a reflection piece for The Guardian , John opened up about how it felt to see his life portrayed onscreen, and how the movie got made in the first place. He also noted that some movie studios wanted to "tone down" aspects of the film:

Some studios wanted to tone down the sex and drugs so the film would get a PG-13 rating. But I just havent led a PG-13 rated life. I didnt want a film packed with drugs and sex, but equally, everyone knows I had quite a lot of both during the 70s and 80s, so there didnt seem to be much point in making a movie that implied that after every gig, Id quietly gone back to my hotel room with only a glass of warm milk and the Gideons Bible for company.

And some studios wanted us to lose the fantasy element and make a more straightforward biopic, but that was missing the point. Like I said, I lived in my own head a lot as a kid. And when my career took off, it took off in such a way that it almost didnt seem real to me. I wasnt an overnight success by any means...But when it happened, it went off like a missile: theres a moment in Rocketman when Im playing onstage in the Troubadour club in LA and everything in the room starts levitating, me included, and honestly, thats what it felt like.

John has been very open about his previous battle with drugs and alcohol, and he said he wanted the film to be "truthful." Rocketman was eventually financed by Paramount Pictures, with Dexter Fletcher directing. Fletcher had previously directed the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer was fired.

Interestingly, Bohemian Rhapsody has also been accused of trying to whitewash history. Sacha Baron Cohen was originally slated to play Freddie Mercury in the film, but he walked away after a dispute with the band. Cohen told Howard Stern that he wanted the film to include a "warts 'n' all" view of the singer's lifestyle, but Mercury's former bandmates were more concerned about protecting their legacy.