Elton John’s Life, The Musical

This article was written by Sean Michaels, for guardian.co.uk on Tuesday 1st February 2011 11.50 UTC

Elton John may be the next musician to follow Ray Charles, John Lennon and, er, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart into silver-screen immortality. The singer is working with Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall on a musical biopic of his “surreal” life.

“I’d just like to make a really great film about my life story,” John told Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2. “We have a great script already by Lee Hall … It will be more of a fantasy – Moulin Rouge type of stuff. Obviously, it’s not going to be your normal, run-of-the-mill film. My life’s been so surreal, from buying a football club to God knows what.”

Over his four-decade career, John has gone from pub singer to glam rocker, from straight husband to gay icon, writing musicals, quitting drugs and selling 250m records. In December, he and partner David Furnish adopted a baby boy, and the singer’s latest project is the animated film Gnomeo and Juliet. In other words – “surreal” sounds about right.

“When I come offstage now I have a balance in my life,” John said. “Until I found that [balance] in 1990, I came offstage and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Now I fly home every night after a show and I get back in my own bed. I have a wonderful partner in David, I have wonderful friends. I can remember things.”

As for who will play the singer in a movie: Michael C Hall? Ricky Gervais? Ewan McGregor? Or isn’t Billy Elliot himself all grown up?

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