Rocketman, the much-anticipated Elton John biopic starring Taron Egerton as the iconic musician, premiered Thursday night at Cannes to raucous applause and a minutes-long standing ovation. The overwhelming response moved Egerton to tears in front of the Palais cameras. “We’re absolutely blown away by your fantastic reception,” director Dexter Fletcher said.
A few hours later, at the film’s after-party, Egerton and John surprised an audience with an encore performance of John’s song “Rocketman.” Midway through the night’s festivities — in which cast members were separated from partygoers by a table of sushi, and one partygoer who shall remain nameless attempted to sneak behind a giant plant in an attempt to break into the VIP area before a French security guard asked, “What are you doing?” — John hit the stage for a brief solo performance, then passed the mic to a visibly emotional Egerton. Here’s a snippet of the show:
“This has been a very emotional night for me,” John said. “Even if the movie doesn’t make one penny at the box office, which will kill Jim Gianopulos, it is the movie I wanted to make.”
You can listen to more of John and Egerton dueting here, and bask in their red carpet glory below:
