Michael Gracey’s feature directorial debut--The Greatest Showman, released in 2017--garnered assorted honors, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, followed shortly thereafter by an Oscar nod for Best Original Song (“This is Me”). During the making of that film, Gracey got a chance to connect with a real-life showman, British pop superstar Robbie Williams, who lent some musical support and morale boosting to its star, Hugh Jackman.

Gracey and Williams developed a rapport with one another on The Greatest Showman and kept in touch. They swapped life experiences and Gracey, who clearly knows a worthwhile story when he hears it, became intrigued by Williams--and how entertaining his tales were. Gracey found it remarkable that despite drug and alcohol abuse, Williams vividly remembered so many details of his life.

Given that Williams had a recording studio at his home, Gracey implored him to commit those memories to audio. With that, a routine was born. Whenever Gracey visited Los Angeles, he’d come to Williams’ home where they’d kibitz in the studio and Williams would talk into the microphone, recollecting different aspects and stages of his life. While the original intent was just to get Williams to share and preserve his story, Gracey began chronologically rearranging these audio clips collected over a year and a half, patching together an a spoken mosaic of William’s life. It was during that process that Gracey realized he had the framework for an engaging narrative film.

That narrative took a seemingly bizarre turn as Gracey sought a departure from the traditional musical biopic. What struck Gracey was Williams referring to himself repeatedly as “a performing... Read More