Rocketman star Taron Egerton visits Seoul

"Elton John spent a lot of time on me. I thought I was going to have a conversation like "What did you do today", "What time did you play tennis?" And made friends, and I wanted to express my favorite person. "

Movie star Taron Egerton of the Elton John biopic Rocketman, who is visiting Seoul, said at a press conference on Thursday at Lotte World Tower, that he had been well into his character during the shoot and enjoyed the process as well.

The Rocketman, which will be released on June 5 in South Korea, takes on a musical format, depicting the passion and the checkered life of the British musician. The 15-minute teaser presented at the press conference showed that Egerton sang some of the singer’s best hits himself while pulling off his loud fashion statement as well.

“He was actively involved in the filming process and offered a lot of help in the shooting,” said Egerton. “He expanded our wiggle room so that we can unleash our creativity and enjoy the movie-making process.”

While it was far from easy to depict a living legend, Egerton focused on expressing Elton John’s life with passionately.

“He was a man who lived an excellent and a colorful life,” said the 29-year-old British actor and singer. “While depicting the more real aspects of his life, I tried to capture the moments from the highlights of his life.”

The loud and eccentric fashion items such as his clothes and sunglasses offer as much spectacle as the music of this film. When asked about the fashion, Egerton replied with a smile, saying, “It was really good! I got so much inspiration for my acting.”

Dexter Fletcher, who visited Korea on the same day, said, "I focused on delivering a fantasy-like but realistic story." In addition to the movie title Rocket Man, 20 songs from Elton John including 'Your Song' and 'Tiny Dancer' were included in the film. It is notable that Ezerton has been digitally recorded or recorded directly in the field.

Why was the Rocketman chosen as the title of the movie among so many of his hits? Director Dexter Fletcher gave an answer to that question.

“I wanted to show that a rocketman is someone who gives a present to all of us, a lonely man who climbs to the skies alone yet works magic at the same time,” the director said. “I hope that the audience will find the answer themselves while enjoying my movie.”


Seo-Hyun Lee baltika7@donga.com