Capturing Sir Elton John’s 50-year profession is a herculean job. Good factor his husband, David Furnish, and filmmaker R.J. Cutler had been up for the problem.
“Elton John: Never Too Late,” certainly one of The Associated Press’ picks for one of the best music documentaries of 2024, was impressed by John’s closing U.S. tour in 2022 — however shortly turned a celebration of his life and work. It is full of perception into his music, relationships — together with a fiery friendship with John Lennon — troublesome childhood and struggles with dependancy. It is bookended by myth-making performances at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in 1975 and 2022.
For followers — and even John himself — it’s revelatory viewing.
“I was struck by how good the music was in those first five years, because I very rarely listened to my music. I was very proud of that,” John advised the AP. “And also, it brought back the incredible struggle that I had with success, having no foundation underneath it. I turned to alcohol, drugs and then had redemption by getting sober.”
Success and satisfaction usually are not one in the identical, a proven fact that’s shortly established within the movie. John had fame however hungered for connection. Having a household modified him.
“The greatest things in my life are my two kids and David. And the music comes secondary to them,” he says.
“The title ‘Never Too Late’ sums it up for everyone, not simply me. You can change issues. It’s by no means too late to vary something. Thank God I did. Because once I obtained sober, my entire life utterly modified.” He’s now been sober for 34 years.
“It’s been glorious compared to what it was for about 10 years, 15 years,” he says of his past struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. “You know, I was still playing and touring while I was doing drugs. I never stopped. Because music kept me alive. Music kept me alive. It nearly killed me, but it saved me, if you get what I mean. I am just so proud because now I have a family.”
He views “Never Too Late” as not solely a celebration of that journey, however an efficient “piece of advocacy,” as he describes it. “You can have children, and you can be gay, and you can have a happy family. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Never Too Late” can also be the title of an uplifting theme music written by Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, John and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, presently shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars. Carlile was the catalyst; she paid John and Furnish a go to to their residence in France, noticed a tough lower of the documentary and felt moved to put in writing a music.
“This song was about my life, and I found it very easy to write to,” he mentioned of the collaboration. And its message is straightforward: “I’ve been through hell,” John says. “And I still come out fighting the other side. So, you know, it’s very true to what I am.”
And whereas his days of touring are behind him, the music “Never Too Late” is a part of a “new era,” as John explains it. Fans can anticipate new music sooner or later. “There will be a new album sooner or later,” he mentioned. “I’m dying to record new stuff.”
A venture like “Never Too Late” permits for reflection. When requested what John hopes his legacy turns into 50, 100 years from now, he says merely: “I just want, on my tombstone to say, ‘He was a great dad.’ That’s what I want. The musical legacy will speak for itself. But from a human point of view, ‘He was a great dad and a great husband.’”
Last month, John revealed he had misplaced some imaginative and prescient after contracting an an infection. “The eyesight is a problem. But we’re looking into treatment for it. I’m a huge optimist. I basically lost the eyesight in my right eye for the time being. My left eye is not the greatest,” he says.
He’s been adjusting to the situation for six months. “I’ve had, since this happened, such an empathy for sight- impaired people and blind people… When you see so many other people who just can’t see at all — I’m very blessed.”
John’s positivity is felt all through “Never Too Late.” He’s bored with trying backwards; in the identical means his record-breaking accomplishments are celebrated on movie, so too are up to date moments that highlight his enthusiasm for his household and youthful expertise.
“For me, it’s all about what’s going to happen in the future, not what’s happened in the past,” he says. “With this documentary, we leave certain time behind. And now it’s all about starting again.”
“Elton John: Never Too Late” is obtainable to stream now on Disney+.
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