Roberto Ricciuti/RedfernsNow that his old pal Elton John has been the subject of a hit biopic, of course Rod Stewart wants one too.
Elton’s memoir, Me, goes into great detail about the friendly competition the two stars have had over the decades. When asked if he’d like to have his own movie, Stewart tells The Daily Mail, “No one’s asked me yet. But would I be interested? You betcha.”
He even has an idea for the casting.
“My youngest, Aiden, who’s the spitting image of me at that age, could play the young me,” Rod suggests. “I don’t know who they’d get for the adult version, but that’s not my problem.”
While Stewart says he thought the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was “just brilliant,” he admits that he had some misgivings about Elton’s film, Rocketman.
“The chronology wasn’t always right,” he complains. “When they showed Elton singing at [Los Angeles club] the Troubadour [in 1970], he was performing songs that were released 20 years later. And it was a bit too Mamma Mia! for me.”
Meanwhile, Stewart’s new album, You’re in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, takes his original vocal tracks for classics like “Maggie May” and adds new arrangements by the titular orchestra. “I didn’t have to lift a finger,” he admits.
Rod will perform his songs live with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time later this month, when he does three nights at London’s O2 Arena. After that, he and his family will head to Palm Beach, Florida, for Christmas, where the only soundtrack, Rod says, will be “me.”
“[My wife] Penny insists on it. But it must be my Christmas album,” he admits. “Nothing else all day, although she might occasionally allow something of mine from The Great American Songbook.”
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