No, this isn’t the mythic Rocketman–Bohemian Rhapsody crossover dreamed up by some starry-eyed music lovers. But it does have stars from both films headlining the voice cast.
A new VR film from Benjamin Cleary, the Oscar-winning writer-director of the short film “Stutterer,” Glimpse stars Taron Egerton as the voice of Herbie, a heartbroken panda who’s also a very talented artist. He’s going through a painful breakup from his former girlfriend, a musician deer named Rice who’s voiced by Lucy Boynton.
Egerton headlined the Elton John musical fantasy Rocketman, while Boynton played Mary Austin in the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
“I was rather intimidated walking in, as this was my first time doing animated voiceover work (or singing for a project) and I know Taron is a seasoned pro, but everyone was so enthusiastic and encouraging,” Boynton, who also has a musical number as Rice, said in a statement. “It’s inspiring to work with such passionate people.”
Cleary co-wrote and co-directed Glimpse with VR guru Michael O’Connor through their Mr Kite production company, and the project previews at the 76th Venice Film Festival. The interactive animated VR film, told through the perspective of Herbie as he remembers his relationship, entered in the festival’s Venice Virtual Reality Interactive showcase.
“Glimpse was born out of this fascination with how we remember and relive the many threads of a romantic relationship from its beautiful birth to its mournful end,” Cleary and O’Connor said in a joint statement. “Over the course of the piece we want someone to experience the full force of falling in love, dancing with another soul for a while and then losing that love as it all becomes a cosmos of memories.”
Animated by studio Blue Zoo, Glimpse will arrive in 2020.
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