The new Never Too Late documentary finds Elton John looking back on his storied career as he prepared for his final North American concert in November 2022 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Directed by R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, The War Room, Nashville) and John’s husband David Furnish, the film will have a just-announced gala screening in October as part of the London Film Festival. It’s named after a song John co-wrote with Tim Rice that appeared during the closing credits of Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King.
Elton John: Never Too Late also begins at Dodger Stadium, as John performed at the peak of fame for more than 100,000 fans over two nights in 1975. In retrospect, however, John says “there was an emptiness within me. He would face down many doubts, and even more demons, before finding himself in a full circle moment in Los Angeles. “This is where you start to think about mortality,” John admits.
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John launched the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in September 2018 and became the first ever to earn $900 million as he continued through 2023 after a pandemic-related hiatus. (Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour quickly broke his record.) Previous top-sellers were Ed Sheeran with $776.4 million and U2 with $736.4 million. John set a number of other milestones along the way, including a No. 1 finish for 2020’s highest-earning tour and Top 5 spots in both 2019 and 2022.
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John has already announced commemorative book called Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour, to be released in September. Elton John: Never Too Late screens on Oct. 10 at Southbank Center’s Royal Festival Hall in London. The documentary originally premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Directors R.J. Cutler and David Furnish bring a great intimacy and exhilaration to the story of one of the world’s most accomplished and beloved musicians,” Kristy Matheson, BFI London Film Festival director, said in an official statement. “We’re delighted to present Elton John: Never Too Late and give audiences a front-row seat to one of the most electrifying creative careers of our age.”
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Gallery Credit: Matt Springer
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