It's a true fantasy, because it is true
but it's just full of fantasy.
It's a memory, it's not a biopic. A biopic is more of a
third person point of view, whereas we
are in the story with Elton
and memories, you know it's a fallible
emotional connection to a series of events.
It's not just the cold chronological
retelling of it means that I can really enjoy
the, you know, the high camp of it or the
the darkness of it, or the, you know, the spectacle
which is kind of all in keeping with Elton,
who Elton is anyway.
Dexter Fletcher, lovely to talk to you.
Marc, lovely to talk to you too. - So...
the way you depict excess in the film I thought
was really interesting, 'cause there's
- it's never without consequence. Was that
a reaction to how other biopics handle those sorts
of moments? - Uh,
It was only important to me because of my own
personal experience, you know I know that
there was times when I strayed in the hinterlands
of addiction, and staggered around there and
and that that cost me. And I think that that
is something that's important to me to try and
communicate and at least say - I can't pass judgement
on it, and I, but I can just give my own vague warning
about drug taking, you know the thing about it
is it can come over as glamorous when it's your
heroes, or you know sort of
- and it's the rock star thing - being rock and roll yeah excess and
all that kind of stuff and of course it's
all part and parcel but there is a consequence
there is someone you can end up as a result of this
lonely and self-destructive and
my personal thing is I, that there's a cost and actually
it's really unpleasant. Where I ended up was
- when I look back on it, I feel distinctly uncomfortable
and glad that I'm not there anymore.
Excess ended up being really destructive
Really the story takes place here. - Right.
And the retelling of it happens as you retell it
to all this group that you're in, so there's lots
of circular kind of things.
[ Music ]
Some of your work was played ad nauseum
when we were kids right, so Press Gang,
and Bugsy Malone, stuff like that, and I'm curious
then, when you're at home at night and you flick on
the TV and there's you as a child or as a teenager
how do you relate to that guy? Do you mentally
transport yourself, are you like 'I have no memory
of shooting that whatsoever - Yeah, uh
How do you think about that person?
There's some of that, no I mean I do remember the
stuff when you're a kid because I think you know I do
remember Bugsy Malone, or I think I do.
"Well, maybe I still love him - I mean he is my dad!"
I swear I haven't watched Press Gang for a long time
so I don't know, - It's still very good, trust me.
It's still very, very good. - Ok well Steven Moffat is a
is a bit of a genius. Other stuff that's more
in the area when I was an adult, or young adult
I think I still watch them now and go 'Oh I personally
was at this place then.
'Cause I've heard you talk about watching Lockstock
and seeing that guy as like, you know - 'cause you'd
had a fairly rough time before that and that was
your first time going 'that guy is getting back
on his game'.
Yeah, yeah but even similarly I was
I'm really sort of locked down and I'm sort of like
trying to be all serious and actor-y.
So it just reminds me where I was at. It's like a
photo album of my life but it moves.
It lives out in public and everybody can rent it
on Netflix. - Yeah exactly. Exactly, it's true.
But it just means different things to different people.
You've grown up on film sets, right.
Tell me about the moment when you
were considering moving into directing.
I've read in interviews that you were quite wary
of making that move - is that true?
Yeah, I think - I knew I wanted to sort of get more
involved in film-making from the other side,
rather than just being in front of the camera
and I was writing a lot, and I had a script that
I gave it to a producer and she just automatically
assumed that I was going to direct it.
So I said 'yeah yeah, I'm going to direct it'.
I hadn't really thought of that before.
'Cause I imagine there's this moment on the first
day of shooting where you're sitting behind the
monitors and going 'uh! okay! we're here now!
This is happening!' Is that how it is?
Yeah, yes exactly. And it's kind of where I
I feel most familiar with who I am in a way.
How do you mean? That's an interesting way
of thinking about it.
Well, growing up there, it's kind of what I feel most
excited and at my most playful and my most
energetic, and it's a great environment for me
to be in. I love being there. I know who I am
best of all there, do you know what I mean?
No, that makes sense. Yeah - And social events and parties
or whatever, I just know who I am on a film set.
It makes sense to me there,
[Music]
Because Elton's involved in the making of this, right
is it making a film like this, seeing it play out
on a set, do you reckon that's part of his emotional
journey, to kind of see it 'externalised' almost?
Uh, yeah. Because the screenplay is built up
of his recollections and his emotional connections
to those recollections, and it's not that third person
point of view. And I could have gone away
and researched everything in that film that is
- that happens. But then I would have just been
sort of, it would have been my third person
well-researched, point of view but because
the recollections are emotional ones, that's why
the chronology doesn't matter, what matter is
how he felt. As long as we know that as the audience,
as long as we're with him on that journey,
I get to play around with it, and that's why it's
not a biopic, that's why it's a true fantasy.
Because it is true, but it's just full of fantasy.
It's just gotta be. It's gotta be elevated, it's what he's like.
You are an absolute pleasure to talk to, could
literally talk to you for ages. But I feel like
there's other people that might want to do that
with you. - Well, possibly.