It goes without saying that Dexter Fletcher is experiencing an abundance of riches. After helming the crowd-pleasing “Eddie the Eagle” in 2015, the mostly former actor was chosen to help get “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the finish line after its “official director” was unceremoniously and justifiably let go by 20th Century Fox. Much to the surprise of many, “Rhapsody” ended up earning a Best Picture nomination and star Rami Malek won the Best Actor Oscar. Oh, right, and it earned $903 million worldwide. And that wasn’t even Fletcher’s passion project.
READ MORE: Taron Egerton is just ‘chilling’ basking in the ‘Rocketman’ glow
That turned out to be “Rocketman,” a musical inspired by the life of Elton John which debuted at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May. The film earned not only critical acclaim but took in a very profitable $192.5 million in global receipts. And the latter was pretty damn good considering that unlike “Rhapsody,” John’s life story could only truly be told with an R-rating.
Five months later and both Fletcher and star Taron Egerton began a publicity tour to keep “Rocketman’s” awards prospects alive. Not only does Egerton deserve a Best Actor nomination, but the production design, costumes, hair and makeup, sound and editing, among other departments, earn some Oscar love too. It might have been easier to pull off if “Rocketman” was released in the fall and “Bohemian” wasn’t a sensation just a year ago (a movie where Malek lip-synced mind you), but Paramount, Fletcher, and Egerton are giving it the old college try.
In the meantime, Fletcher is working on the third installment of the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise which will reunite Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law in the roles of literature’s greatest detective and his able-bodied partner. Fletcher is taking the franchise over from Guy Ritchie and return it to the big screen after what will turn out to be a 10-year absence since the first sequel, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”
A few weeks ago, Fletcher sat down to discuss “Rocketman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Sherlock Holmes 3,” and more on the Four Quadrant podcast.
You can listen to this episode in the Soundcloud embed below or on iTunes. If you do listen on iTunes please rate, subscribe and share it with your friends!
For more movie and awards insight follow me on Twitter @TheGregoryE.
Follow my Instagram stories at @gregel17 on Instagram.
