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FILM REVIEW: Rocketman

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The music of Elton John, and lyrics by his writing partner Bernie Taupin, have set music industry records, including the #1 single of all time, “Candle in the Wind.” They’ve sold 250 million records in a streak that has lasted from 1970 to now. This R-rated, bio/musical/fantasy covers John’s innocent youth, personal life, career, drug addiction, sexual dalliances, love life, relationships and rehabilitation—from 1960 to 1990.

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By Dwight Brown, NNPA Newswire Film Critic

Young pianist/songwriter Reginald Dwight (Targon Egerton) gets some good advice from a very wise soul singer (Jason Pennycooke, Mister Lonely): “Kill the person you were born to be, to become the person you want to be.” If that couldn’t goad the very staid Dwight into creating his new flamboyant Elton John persona, nothing could.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

The music of Elton John, and lyrics by his writing partner Bernie Taupin, have set music industry records, including the #1 single of all time, “Candle in the Wind.” They’ve sold 250 million records in a streak that has lasted from 1970 to now. This R-rated, bio/musical/fantasy covers John’s innocent youth, personal life, career, drug addiction, sexual dalliances, love life, relationships and rehabilitation—from 1960 to 1990.

Director Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle and co-director of Bohemian Rhapsody) along with screenwriter Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) took a risk when they decided to not only show John singing in studios, clubs or concert halls. Their strategy involved the pop icon and other characters breaking into song at home, in the middle of conversations and in odd places. This gimmick, off-putting at first, takes a while to get used to. But, after you do, it’s fun.

Watch the screen for more than 10 minutes and you get the feeling that you are viewing a midnight-movie cult classic. There are quirky, indelible scenes that will stick in your mind: Elton jumps into a pool, plastered out of his head and at the bottom he sees a younger version of himself playing a piano and looking up at him innocently. The colors are well saturated, the lighting luminescent and the cinematography impeccable (George Richmond, Snow White and the Huntsman).

Whether John is in his family’s modest home, lounging in his palatial L.A. mansion or dancing in a club, his surroundings look larger than life: Credit the set decorators Kimberly Fahey and Judy Farr for the ornateness. Kudos to production designers Peter Francis and Marcus Rowland for the majesty. The colors, textures and attention to detail by art directors Sophie Bridgman, Steve Carter, Emily Norris, Astrid Sieben and Alice Walker are impressive.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

Scenes are pulled together tightly (editor Chris Dickens) and erratically, like you’re flipping through someone’s jumbled scrap book or viewing objects in a kaleidoscope. Yet, the plotline moves forward with a clarity that is astonishing, considering a format in which songs and singing represent thoughts and feelings that would normally be rendered in dialogue. The pacing never lags as you watch John’s life unfurl. You realize his music is a soundtrack to our lives, especially if you’re a baby boomer or an adult.

Early scenes depict Reginald Dwight in the Pinner area of London, with his parents: His very stern and aloof father Stanley (Steve Mackintosh) and partially nurturing/partially dismissive mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World) instilling an ambivalence in their kid that gave him lifelong complexes. His transition from child piano prodigy to fledgling songwriter with lyricist Taupin (Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot), to anxious performer and then outrageous pop/rocker seems fated.

If clothes make the man (costume designer Julian Day, Bohemian Rhapsody), sequins, feathers, metallic costumes with matching shoes and gigantic glasses gave John a signature brand. Yet, it also confined him. Depending on his mood swing, he considered his eccentric and very recognizable facade both a blessing and a curse. That, coupled with his fluid sexuality, added to his inner turmoil. It tested him.

As Elton John fleshes out tunes, based on Taupin’s poetic lyrics, it’s an illuminating experience. When he croons the words to “Your Song,” it’s heartwarming: “It’s a little bit funny this feeling inside, I’m not one of those who can easily hide…” So many of his songs are moving, beautiful, enduring and will peak your emotions.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

Taron Egerton as Elton John in Rocketman from Paramount Pictures.

Unlike Remy Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, Targon Egerton sings all the songs in Rocketman. There are times when he sounds like himself. Times when he sounds like a hybrid of John and him. And then there are those golden moments when you’re looking at Egerton and hearing the purest echoes of Elton’s voice:  e.g. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”  Though his vocals are just close to perfect, his interpretation of John is perfect. Targon looks like him so much, it’s as if he’s stolen John’s aura. His fits of anger, fear, depression, humiliation, self-love and self-hate are as authentic as they can be.

Jamie Bell as John’s rain-or-shine friend Bernie plays the enabler, savior and brother-from-another-mother quite well. The lyricist and the musician had a famous bromance that has to be one of the first straight/gay friendships ever put before the media.

Howard, as John’s mom, strikes the right balance of mentor and homophobe. Sheila says to Elton: “You’re choosing a life of being alone. You’ll never be loved.” The second most interesting performance, next to Egerton’s, is by Richard Madden (TV’s Bodyguard) as John Reid, Elton’s smarmy manager and opportunistic lover. Every drama needs a villain, and Madden is that man.

The potpourri styling in this film will leave you with a barrage of unforgettable images that cover several eras. Keep an eye out for the aforementioned pool scene; also look out for the rockets bursting into space and the “Benny and the Jets” disco scene that looks like it’s straight out of a Pier Paolo Pasolini film.

Rocketman is a fun, trippy hallucinogen. It’s like dropping a tab of LSD and having 1970s flashbacks.

Visit NNPA Newswire Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com and BlackPressUSA.com.

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

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By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025

The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160th anniversary, I went there to join them.

You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.

After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”

“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.

Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.

The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.

As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.

And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.

Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.

I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.

I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.

In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.

For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.

So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.

Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.

I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”

Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.

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Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.

In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.

Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.

In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.

Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.

West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.

Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.

“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”

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Juneteenth and President Trump

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

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By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

President Trump is set to proclaim the federal observance of Juneteenth as the White House is open for business on this holiday. The White House says the president will sign a “historic proclamation designating Juneteenth as a National Day of Observance, marking the 160th anniversary of General Order Number 3 in Galveston, Texas.” The declaration was that “all slaves are free.” This Trump proclamation, according to the White House, “will celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation, the Republican Party’s role in passing the 13th Amendment, and reaffirm the administration’s dedication to equal justice and prosperity for all.”

This proclamation comes as President Trump has denounced Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and anything Woke. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom from the tyranny of 250 years of slavery after the Civil War.

The Juneteenth celebration started when Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves that they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was created.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which is on display in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House, was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

The Juneteenth federal holiday was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden on June 19, 2021. This Trump White House is in full swing today, with a press briefing by Karoline Leavitt, not taking the federal holiday off. Also, President Trump will receive an intelligence briefing in the morning and participate in a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.

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