Robbie Williams has spent three decades atop the charts, as a member of Take That and with his extraordinary solo career…
Now, the Stoke-born star’s story is set to unfold on the big screen, with a brand new biopic based on his life and music in the works.
Set to be directed by ‘The Greatest Showman’ filmmaker Michael Gracey, the film will tell the story of the Angels hitmaker’s rise to fame, along with his darker days and battles with substance abuse.
According to Gracey, he’s spent several hours speaking to Williams to get a feel for the project, which is tentatively titled ‘Better Man’.
He tells 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.’
Gracey adds: “All I can say is 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.
“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.”
Explaining why he was drawn to the project, which is also set to feature an array of the star’s biggest hits, Gracey revealed he’s interested by Robbie being an “every man” who “dreamed big and followed those dreams and they took him to an incredible place”.
“He’s not the best singer, or dancer, and yet, he managed to sell 80 million records worldwide,” muses the filmmaker.
“You can relate to the guy who doesn’t see himself as having any extraordinary talent, even though of course, he does.
“What he did have is the will, vision and confidence to say, I’m going to pursue my dream.”
A release date for the project has yet to be confirmed.
Robbie released his last non-festive studio album, ‘The Heavy Entertainment Show’, back in 2016, and he previously revealed he’s working on a “dance album”.
Although the singer’s unsure of a release date for the project, he’s also teased a new duet with Kylie Minogue.
Robbie and Kylie teamed up on 2000’s Kids – taken from her seventh LP, ‘Light Years’ – with the Take That star also co-writing fan favourite, Your Disco Needs You.
Hinting he has “big plans” for the collaboration, Robbie said: “I have a song with Miss Kylie Minogue, I have big plans for it if she is up for it. I have big plans.”
“Kylie and Robbie have recorded a new song together,” an insider confirmed.
“It’s their first collab since Kids in 2000 and Robbie is keen to make it a single.
“Due to Covid there are no concrete plans for the release.
“It won’t be a mini drop like Kylie recently did with her Studio 2054 remix of Real Groove with Dua Lipa.”
