‘The Greatest Showman’ director Michael Gracey is set to helm ‘Better Man’, a coming of age about Robbie Williams’ unlikely rise to stardom.
The flick will tell the story of Williams’ ascent to fame, exploring the experiences that made him who he is and the demons he battled on and off stage as he became a huge star on the back of hits with Take That and solo success.
Michael has penned the script for the project with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson. He is also producing with Jules Daly and Craig McMahon with production slated to begin this summer. Robbie’s hit songs are part of the film’s package.
Gracey revealed that the movie came about after hours of conversations with Robbie although he remained tight-lipped on how the singer would be represented on the big screen.
The filmmaker told Deadline: “As for how we represent Robbie in the film, that bit is top secret.
“I want to do this in a really original way. I remember going to the cinema as a kid and there were films that blew me away and made me say as I sat there in the cinema,’ I’ve never seen this before.’ I just want the audience to have that feeling.
“All I can say is that the approach is top secret, but the goal is to generate that feeling I just described. It’s this fantastical story, and I want to represent it in its harsh reality all the way to these moments of pure fantasy.”
Robbie first became famous as a teenager in Take That but after quitting the boy band in 1995 his career really soared as a solo artist with hits such as ‘Angels’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’ and Michael is keen to chronicle the story of an “everyman”.
He explained: “Unlike some people who were born prodigies or musical geniuses and you follow the narrative of the world catching up to their brilliance, this isn’t that story.
“Robbie is that everyman, who just dreamed big and followed those dreams and they took him to an incredible place. Because of that, his is an incredibly relatable story. He’s not the best singer, or dancer, and yet, he managed to sell 80 million records worldwide.”
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