The Rising Trend of Music Biopics

By Michael Wood Head of Performance

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Late 2018 saw the release of Bohemian Rhapsody, and although critics were divided, the Freddie Mercury biopic went on to win four Oscar’s and grossed over $900million in Worldwide ticket sales.

This was followed in 2019 by Rocketman which currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus Score of 89% and has received acclaim for fearlessly capturing Elton John’s ups and downs. With planned music biopics about Journey, David Bowie, and Celine Dion also on the way, this trend appears to just picking up steam.

The Performance Team were asked which artists lives they’d like to see given the Hollywood treatment, see our answers below!

Dan Cramer, Team Leader

“I would choose The Beatles – I think it would need to be some unknown up and coming actor, as having a well know actor will take away from the belief that they are The Beatles.”

Gareth Graham, New Business Account Executive

“Ed Sheeran – as he is a fantastic musician and artist, and seems a very humble man and his story is one that would be great in a film, he would probably have to play himself.”

Macaulay Monahan, New Business Account Handler

“Oasis! The stories they have as a band along with the rise of them in the 90’s in Manchester is an incredible story, this is captured well in the documentary “supersonic” but I think could be adapted well into a film, hard to choose the actors so would have to be someone up and coming so you can really believe in the story and no associate it with anyone else apart from the band themselves.”

Rebecca Gates, Account Handler

“My pick would be Lady Gaga – I feel like she came out of nowhere and then the world went mad for her, and she’s dipped into a lot of different things alongside her singing career along the way so I think that would be interesting.

I think Sarah Paulson would be great at playing her, especially since they worked together in American Horror Story.”

Kelly Oates, Account Handler

“My choice (which my teammates probably predicted!) would be Taylor Swift. Her rise to fame, moving from Pennsylvania to Nashville at the age of 14 to pursue a career in music could tell a classic rise-to-fame tale, however, similarly to Elton John acting as an Executive Producer on Rocketman, Taylor could give an insight into her relationship with her fans and the media, and the impact of social media and the press on her public and personal life. In Elle Magazine’s feature “30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30 – by Taylor Swift” published earlier this year, Taylor addressed how her “trials and failures are blown out of proportion and turned into a spectator sport by tabloid takedown culture”.

My casting choice would be Elle Fanning, as she proved with 2018’s Teen Spirit that she has the perfect combination of dramatic acting experience and brilliant vocals required for the role.”

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