Elton Wants to Cast Justin Timberlake?... Huh
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Elton John talked about the status of a number of projects he plans to work on...
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Elton John talked about the status of a number of projects he plans to work on in 2012, including a new album.
But perhaps the most exciting deal on the horizon is his forthcoming biopic, which John describes as “a surreal look at my life, and not just a factual look at my life, more in the manner of a Moulin Rouge.” There’s a script (penned by Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall), and a director and star will both be chosen in the next few months.
So who is John’s number top choice to play him in the film? “I’ve got a wish list of people. No. 1 on my wish list is Justin Timberlake,” he told the paper.
There is one key reason why that casting choice wouldn’t work: Timberlake and John don’t look anything like one another, even considering what Elton looked like when he was 30 (the age Timberlake is now).
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However, there are so many reasons why this would be an awesome casting choice that we hope that Elton didn’t jinx it by saying Timberlake’s name out loud. (In this way, JT is like Candyman or Beetlejuice.)
If we ignore In Time (and based on box office receipts, most of you did), Timberlake has the acting chops to inhabit John’s whirlwind persona the same way he gave life to Sean Parker in The Social Network. We know he can sing, and he can certainly tickle the ivories.
We don’t even have to worry about Timberlake carrying a full-length movie, if indeed it’s not a straightforward biography (in our minds, it looks a lot like Across the Universe) — all JT would have to do is strap a series of music videos on his back.
Most importantly, Timberlake has already played the role, pretty exquisitely:In 2001, Elton released Songs From the West Coast, a fantastically underrated throwback album that contained some of his strongest songwriting in years. One of those singles was a tune called “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” which got a video treatment in 2002 that starred Timberlake as John in “Rocket Man” mode.
In four minutes, he managed to capture John’s incredible combination of glam gloss and internal melancholy, which should be all he needs to carry the film.
Check out the video below, and watch out for Paul Reubens playing John’s manager John Reid. Heck, he should get a role in the movie too:
ReadeRs, what do you think? Any other casting ideas? Let us know in the comments below
