(You're Gonna) Love it Again - Rocketman!
Friday, October 18, 2019 at 7:29PM by Nathaniel R
Kudos to Paramount to beating the Rocketman drums again with a screening and performance in Los Angeles yesterday. Early releases require this sort of care and attention from their home studios, come awards season. Rocketman emerged in the giant shadow of Bohemian Rhapsody this past May, and though it is vastly superior to the Queen picture in every way, shadows are shadows and sometimes they obscure the light...
We've been curious to see if Paramount would make a concerted effort and if the Academy would embrace it. The first point is settled -- Paramount is behind it, bringing it back to Los Angeles life with a live performance by Taron Egerton and Elton John -- but the latter remains to be seen. Can Taron Egerton croon his way into one of the most overstuffed Best Actor categories that we've seen in years ? There are at least 10 viable contenders and a few more loveable longshots to boot.
The Globes, at least, will be there for him. Apart from maybe Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes, Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, and Eddie Murphy for Dolemite is My Name (if they're classified as comedy), competition is scarce in the Comedy/Musical category. In fact, who else is there? With most of the funny dramas or music-related biopics aside from Rocketman (which actually is a musical) aiming for the drama category where will they fill out the category? Will they look to... Good Boys? Yesterday? The Dead Don't Die? Beach Bum?
Rocketman could also contend in Best Original Song "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" but it's Oscar hopes are mostly pinned to a strong campaign and a Picture/Actor/Song triple-threat at the Golden Globes to revive interest in time for Oscar nominations.
How do you think it will fare?
Reader Comments (34)
Imagine a world where Bohemian Rhapsody wins multiple Oscars and Rocketman is not even nominated for any :( Gross
The Globes will give us hope and the the Academy will fuck us
Tried to watch Rocketman, got too emotional. In a perfect world its get at least 3 or 4 Oscar noms from what I've seen so far but...wouldn't be surprised if it got none. Also Glenn Close; I'm not crying YOURE crying :(
I think it’ll get those three GG nods and only song nomination at Oscar.
The film was excellent and Taron Egerton truly deserves a best actor nomination.
Taron was excellent in the film (as was Jamie Bell), but I feel like he’s gonna come up short this year... And it’ll be a situation where on the next remotely Oscar-y role, the campaign will play to him being due for a nod in part for being snubbed for Rocketman.
I see the potential for a Song nod (though not helped by being an end credits song) and there’s potential for a costume nod.
Still: good on Paramount for campaigning, especially since the film has been on home video since August so this is strictly awards play here. Elton seems super game to promote the film for awards.
I think its best shots at Oscar are in the sound and music categories, but it should really contend in costume design, too.
I still don't know why you like this movie. It makes Judy look like Sophie's Choice.
Egerton tried very hard in the movie, I’ll give him that. I sort of pity him because you can tell he wants the nomination so badly.
He also looks like he’s struggling so hard to fight advanced aging.
Three Globe nods I think.
Would like to see Blinded By The Light there too.
What Glenn Close said.
Nice touch, Paramount, but he's so not getting nominated.
No idea why critics love this movie so much. It didn't help it at the box office, and I'm not convinced it's enough to get it to the Oscars. Also not sure how Egerton's obvious desperation is going to play with voters, but I know it's going to get on my nerves.
The movie was awful, Egerton doesn't sound anything like Elton John and his performance is nowhere near good enough for a nomination. Thank God he hasn't got much of a chance.
After viewing footage of Elton in the 70's and 80's in concert,interviews etc I'll have to say this film got a lot of things wrong esp the look of both eras,everything was tinged with that brown/green palette,Taron is nothing like Elton physically or vocally.
I just don't see this movie getting into the conversation the way Bohemian Rhapsody did. Whatever critics thought, that movie was hugely popular with the general public and made almost $1 billion at the worldwide box office, which is absolutely insane. Rocketman made, what, 15% of that? It just doesn't have the momentum behind it after coming out so long ago, and Paramount really screwed up by releasing it in May. My guess is they expected much bigger box office but boy did that backfire. A couple of Globes nods and a few technical noms at the Oscars is my guess.
Will the Globes and BAFTA be enough to get Egerton into the Oscars? I have my doubts. BAFTA doesn't go for Brits at the expense of other potential nominees as often as people seem to think, and nominees in the Comedy/Musical category have historically poor chances at the Oscars. If Egerton can win his category he's in with more of a shot, but with Murphy and Pryce (and possibly Leo) in that category it looks dicey. I sure hope he hasn't got his heart set on a nomination.
Can someone at Paramount PLEASE give Taron Egerton some lessons on looking a little less desperate for a nomination?
Tom Ford
So true.
There's a lot of talk about how this movie will break into the Oscars conversation given the success of Bohemian Rhapsody last year, but what I haven't seen is a mention of how Judy will affect it's chances (particularly Taron Egerton's). Renee is the biggest frontrunner of the season, what with Scarlett being completely overshadowed by Driver and getting barely a mention in reviews of the film. Maybe Charlize can pose a threat, but at the moment it's Renee's to lose.
Egerton is way behind in his own race, and what are the chances of the Academy choosing to give three of the four lead actor/actress races in 2019-2020 to music biopic performances? Not to mention two in one year.
Of course, that doesn't mean he won't get nominated, but compared to Renee's performance he just didn't inhabit Elton John at all. I can't see the obvious comparisons working in his favor. Renee has done what Malek did last year, won wave reviews in what's considered by critics to be a mediocre movie. If anything, that seems to be more of an advantage that winning good reviews in a well-received movie.
wow -- so many Taron haters in this thread. Can't see what he's done to inspire this. This reminds me of when Anne Hathaway was campaigning and everyone resented her for it. It's endlessly fascinating to me that when some people are desperate for Oscars (streep in 2011, oldman 2017, etcetera) everyone supports them but others (winslet in 2008, hathaway in 2012) are ridiculed or complained about for the exact same impulse.
I think it's all good. wouldn't you want an Oscar nomination if you had a big juicy role? The only time I really resent the earnest campaigning is when someone already has an Oscar and then tries really hard and seems desperate to win a second time (Swank 2004)
To clarify, I quite liked the movie. I certainly didn't hate the performance, it was good enough for the movie around it, and whilst Egerton certainly wouldn't make my top 5 for the year I don't have anything against him. I just can't imagine both Renee and Egerton being major factors in this year's race. The Academy loves actors who inhabit roles, and Egerton just didn't do that. The comparison with Renee makes it all the more obvious.
Campaigning seems to be part and parcel of getting a nomination, especially when you're a relative unknown in a May release. It's a fine line to tread between regular campaigning and looking desperate, and it seems Egerton's already straying over that for some. He does seem the type to get overly emotional, based on his tears at the Cannes screening. That often doesn't go down well (Paltrow, Field, Hathaway, etc.). Let's just hope for his sake that he's had media training since he was asked for his comments on the Me Too movement!
Good point about Zellweger and Judy and how that might affect Rocketman and Edgerton, I hadn't considered that. I'm just getting stuck into this year's race and there seems to be so much at play, particularly in the Best Actor race. I did have Edgerton breaking in based on the Globes and BAFTA, but now I'm not so sure.
Well, I can only speak for myself, but as a survivor of sexual assault Egerton pretty much lost any respect I had for him when he decided to talk about how wonderful Kevin Spacey was and declare that if Spacey had decided to sexual assault him he would have been able to deal with it. Haven’t been able to stand him since and I really hope I don't have to watch Hollywood fawn all over him on Oscars night. I'd previously liked the Kingsman movies, but when I watched Rocketman it was a real struggle to get through it and separate the character from the performer.
"Rocketman" deserves multiple Oscar nominations
I watched this again on the plane and the mediocrity jumped out. Even the things that played out great for me the first time - Bryce, some the songs - played just OK. I never understood the praise for Egerton. He sings, unlike Malek, but the performance is just OK and doesn't stick.
Yeah I agree with a few of the comments the GG will be the ceiling. If that.
"Rocketman emerged in the giant shadow of Bohemian Rhapsody this past May, and though it is vastly superior to the Queen picture in every way." Is this a joke? Bohemian was vastly superior and a huge hit, and used Freddie Mercury's distinctive voice, and was a compelling drama with music. Rocketman was a musical with song interludes compromising dramatic scenes and Elton John's vocals were sorely missed. The public didn't take to it, a misfire.
Last year, the show opened with Queen. This year, the show could open with Elton John. The Academy wants the ratings. That could help Taran get that (well deserved anyway) nomination.
Also, in costume and song, too.
Murtada -- i personally have NEVER seen a film benefit from a plane viewing so this seems harsh as a determining factor ;)
Clarence -- I'm not kidding. Bad dialogue, inept editing (the single worst Oscar win ever in that category), straight washing, lipsyncing. I just can't with that movie. That said, your description of Rocketman suggests that you don't actually like the genre of musicals so you were bound to dislike Rocketman.
I saw it twice and Egerton is just wrong for Elton,everything screams miscast about Egerton,he's not a star.
Hey, I'mo not a hater! I wish he would but he won't
Taron Egerton was charming and utterly believable. I left the theater in a daze, feeling emotionally wrung out. When I wasn't crying, I was smiling from ear to ear. And his singing was a joy as well, I loved his versions of the ballads and the more rocking songs too. The film flowed so smoothly that the 2 hours passed like no time at all. I hope that Taron, Dexter Fletcher and Giles Martin all receive major awards.
Elton himself said that nobody but Taron could have played him or sang his songs as well. I couldn't agree more.
If Paramount launches a strong campaign, with John and Egerton fully committed, it could certainly contend. The performances after screenings are a good way to drum up interest and publicity, so it looks like they know what they're doing.
It's always going to be in Bohemian Rhapsody's shadow however. A nomination for Egerton is certainly possible, but it's hard to see it gaining momentum to repeat Rhapsody's success. The public just didn't embrace the film in the same way, and the wave of publicity for strong contenders like Driver and De Niro hasn't even begun.
I personally preferred Bohemian Rhapsody, and the fact that this article - like pretty much every other one about Rocketman - starts off by mentioning it is a good indication that it hasn't manage to escape that film's shadow. If it hadn't he wouldn't be talked about Rhapsody at all.