TIFF-Bound ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ Gets Disney+ Streaming Date; Documentary Called “Emotionally Charged, Intimate”
By Matthew Carey
August 27, 2024
Elton John: Never Too Late, the documentary about the British-born music legend’s incredible career, will debut on Disney+ on Friday, December 13, the streaming platform announced today.
The film directed by documentary great R.J. Cutler and David Furnish – Elton John’s husband – is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, September 6. The original documentary from Disney Branded Television is produced by Rocket Entertainment and This Machine Filmworks (a part of Sony Pictures Television).
“[T]he documentary follows Elton John as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, intimate and uplifting full-circle journey,” notes a release. “As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time to recount the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of his early years and how he overcame adversity, abuse and addiction to become the icon he is today.”
Disney+ says the film will feature a new original song from Elton John. The EGOT winner’s mind boggling list of credits includes the albums Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player, Madman Across the Water, the soundtracks to The Lion King, Rocketman, and Billy Elliot, to cite only a few.
After TIFF, Elton John: Never Too Late will hold its European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 10. Disney says the documentary will get a limited theatrical run on November 15 in the U.S. and the U.K.
“Icon, beyond a doubt. Trailblazer, always,” the TIFF program writes of the singer-songwriter-pianist. “But even though Sir Elton John has held the bright spotlight of fame for decades, there’s still much of his life behind those spectacular scenes that we haven’t yet glimpsed. Until now.
“Co-directed by R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry) and John’s husband, documentarian and Torontonian David Furnish, this is a portrait of the artist as he looks back on his life and forward to a climactic farewell show at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.”
The TIFF program continues, “Weaving together intimate interviews with never-before-seen archival footage and photographs, Cutler and Furnish slowly reveal the megastar, from his prodigious childhood talent, through all his self doubts and demons, to where he has landed today. ‘This is where you start to think about mortality,’ the 77-year-old says, and it proves to be a powerful motivator to take stock.”
Directors Cutler and Furnish also serve as producers on Elton John: Never Too Late, alongside Trevor Smith. Elise Pearlstein, Mark Blatty, Luke Lloyd Davies, Rachael Paley, Jane Cha Cutler and John Battsek serve as executive producers.
For those who can’t wait for the December 13 Disney+ debut, the streamer notes Elton John’s final North American concert, the Emmy-winning Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, is available to stream now on the platform.
