David Furnish and RJ Cutler Talk Making 'Elton John: Never Too Late'

“The lines are always blurred,” admits David Furnish, Elton John's husband, when asked what it's like to make a film with your partner, about your partner.

Provide spoke with The Hollywood journalist with co-director RJ Cutler on the making of the Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never too latescreened at the BFI London Film Festival.

Premiering on the platform on December 13, the film boasts a wealth of archival footage from English's rise to stratospheric levels of fame in the 1970s and 1980s, highlighting pivotal moments in his career such as coming out interview with Rolling Stone and performing alongside John Lennon shortly before the star's death.

The film spans decades, documenting John's difficult relationships and drug addiction, as well as the tenderest moments of family life with his and Furnish's two sons, Zachary and Elijah. The documentary was made in the run-up to John's withdrawal from touring with the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour, culminating at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in July 2023.

Below, Furnish and Cutler talk about finding career change Rolling Stone interview “buried in the archives of the New York Public Library,” why it was the right time to make this film, and what side of her husband Furnish would she like to show if given more time: “I filmed so many things, and there it was tantrums. … He's just a great dad and he loves those kids so much.

Congratulations on a wonderful film. A really broad question to start with, which is: why did you want to make this film?

Supply: The whole process started with Elton and I having a conversation about the historical and emotional significance of his touring life coming to an end, something he's done his whole life. He did 90 to 100 shows a year and, by choice, was running out to spend more time with our family. This was the starting point. But I also knew, with all the other responsibilities that I have and the experience that I've had so far as a director, that I wanted to collaborate with someone who I could learn from and someone who could bring so much support and so much insight. and resources for the entire process. And RJ and I were introduced, we had lunch together in Los Angeles just before the lockdown, and RJ brought his vision.

Cutler: Well, we had the LA Dodgers tent pole. I'm often asked: if you could make a movie, what would it be? And for many years the answer was a film about Elton John focusing on the first five years of his career. Because it was an incredible time, not just in the history of pop music but in the life of Elton John: 13 albums in five years, seven of which went to number one. Music that really defined what pop music would be in the post-Beatles era. There are so many things and [it was] also a period of great challenge for Elton on a personal level, culminating in his coming out Rolling Stone at great risk to his career. I had long thought what a fascinating film this would be.

So when David and I met, he talked about the excitement of the idea of ​​filming during the final months of Elton's touring life, another period of time in which he made this monumental decision, and I talked of the idea of ​​doing something around those first five years. years, and in that meeting the idea for the film was born.

There are so many elements that are structurally and narratively vital to this film. THE Rolling Stone interview, the concert with John Lennon. Elton has had such a vast career, I wonder why you chose to highlight these particular moments?

Cutler: Both lead to important decisions on Elton's part.

Supply: And Lennon's too.

Cutler: Yes, and the Lennon [part] it's a wonderful way to resonate with all the themes of the film. There is mortality, there is family, there is friendship, there is drugs, there is humor, there is rock, there is connection to the past and a definition of future. It's all there. And it's an amazing yarn.

Supply: It is also important for us to open new horizons from a cinematographic point of view. Then the interview with Cliff Jahr Rolling Stone had never been heard before, other than Cliff Jahr. … RJ and his team found it buried in the archives of the New York Public Library. Along with the raw photographs, we had snippets of grainy film in our Dodgers archive [concert]of Madison Square Garden. We had the complete audio track [of the Lennon concert]and together with all the photographs we managed to obtain, and with a very talented editor, we managed to recreate one of the most important nights in music history that had never been seen before.

The fact that RJ was actually there [Lennon] concert when he was 13, which he revealed to me when we first had lunch… I thought, 'Okay, God, I'm going to take this signal that you're sending us.' Because Elton talks about it so apocryphally: how incredible it was, and how he had never heard applause like that, and how the whole room completely shook for 5-10 minutes. The opportunity to bring it into the culture and give it the credit and meaning it deserves was exciting for us as filmmakers.

Cutler: We're exploring a fundamental thing about Elton's character, which is that the life he has is the byproduct of the choices he's made, often at great risk, but all aimed at being his truest self.

Supply: What I love about the Lennon-Elton juxtaposition is a family ultimately healed. Lennon got sober and got back together with Yoko. Together they had Sean and, unfortunately, it ended tragically, but I think she found the truest happiness she ever had in her life in that period of time, and Elton found happiness by getting off the streets and being with his family. So there's a nice parallel there too.

I want to touch on that, obviously, because David, you're one of the directors here, but you're also Elton's husband. What's the dynamic there?

Supply: The lines are always blurred. I would like to say that we have rules where we don't talk about work, music or anything else [but] the thing is, we are so passionate about so many similar things in life – I don't get into sport as much as Elton. But in terms of music, culture, film, photography and our work with the AIDS Foundation, we cross-pollinate all the time. It works in the sense that Elton is not a micromanager. He trusts his collaborators. He wants to know the team he works with, he wants to understand the vision and then he lets you move on, which is great, so he doesn't micromanage. And that's very, very healthy, because I think if he had always looked over my shoulder and over the team's back, it would have been another level that I don't think would have helped us at all.

Also, to be completely honest with you, I found that, for me, it almost became too emotionally jarring at times, because the movie has a lot to do with mortality and the end and finality of things in life. . Listening to Elton talk about his mortality and the meaning of his retirement from the streets. … I always knew Elton was on the road, you know? I got some beautiful snippets of him over the holidays and in the time between shows. But the tour, as much as it did, enormously defines its essence. And so finishing it is exactly what we want. You can look at it objectively, but nothing prepares you for the emotional impact this will have on you. It means the end of something very special.

I'm sure. And I know Elton himself has said that the main thing he wants to be remembered for is being a great parent and a loving family man above all else. And that really shows in this, for example with FaceTimes with your two children. Is there any side of Elton that you weren't able to show in this film that you would have liked to have shown? if given time?

Supply: Because of the documentary I made in 1995 called Whims and Tiarassome people said, “There are no tantrums.” And I thought that I filmed so many things that there were no tantrums. Because at that time in Elton's life, when he was on the road, he was very happy and joyful. Each show was a confirmation of his life's work and he received so much love from the audience. It was also during the COVID lockdown. So he was in a bit of a bubble, living a bit of a monastic life, and didn't even see the band… So there's a lot of film clips of him walking around by himself, watching football, which didn't it served the purposes of this film's narrative but [shows] it is without whims.

It's nice to know. I hope Elton John fans love this movie.

Supply: Thank you. It's really nice to hear how it touched you emotionally. It's great to hear your perspective on his enjoyment of being a father. Because there was a line we had to get to: Our children are not in the public eye. They had to be in the story, it's why he found happiness and why he got off the streets, and that FaceTime call wasn't planned. We happened to be filming at the time, because he was in the studio. He's just an amazing dad, and he loves those kids so much, and that just comes through singing.