George Michael’s unreleased music to feature in Last Christmas film
MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 11: Singer George Michael performs at Mediolanum Forum on November 11, 2011 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
Previously unreleased music by George Michael will be played in Universal Pictures’ upcoming movie Last Christmas.
The comedy film directed by Paul Feig is set to be released on November 15 2019 and will feature unheard material by the late musical legend, reports Variety.
Last Christmas is billed as a holiday romance set in London. It will star Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) as the main characters.
The screenplay is being written by actor Emma Thompson and comedian Bryony Kimmings.
Emma Thomspon is penning the screenplay with Bryony Kimmings. (Mark Milan/Getty Images)
It will follow Kate (Clarke) as she gets a job working as an elf in an all-year Christmas shop.
While working there, she meets Tom (Golding), who becomes her romantic interest. However, the pair are thwarted by bad luck.
The movie will also feature Wham!’s 1984 hit “Last Christmas.”
Michael was signed on to participate in the film’s creation before his death on Christmas Day in 2016.
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Kimmings confirmed that Michael had been part of the idea’s conception.
Kimmings, who created the film’s first draft, said: “When I came on board, George was up for it, he’d already signed something to say yes, but he’d passed away, and Greg and Emma were still very keen to write it.”
The first draft of the movie script also reportedly included a trans lead, but Kimmings said she did not expect the character to make it to the final script.
“[When] I wrote my draft, I tried to slip in some trans people and make sure there was queer politics in there,” she said.
“I don’t know how much of that remains!”
BERLIN – FEBRUARY 16: Singer George Michael poses at the “George Michael: A Different Story” Photocall during the 55th annual Berlinale International Film Festival on February 16, 2005 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Kimmings admitted: “I doubt there’ll be a trans lead.
“But I hope that there’s quite an element of queer in there, because you know it’s the story – it’s based on the song, ‘Last Christmas.’
“George was such a massive advocate for gay rights – and a massive gay himself! – so I hope there’s a gay narrative in there,” she added.
Over the Christmas period in 2017, Michael’s former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley backed a campaign to get the song to number one on the anniversary of the singer’s death.
Despite the classic holiday track being a firm holiday staple, it never topped the charts while Michael was alive.
The track missed out on the number one spot in the end, but reached number two the next week, matching its highest ever chart ranking 33 years after it was first released.
Michael’s music has previously been used in a number of other films, including Deadpool, The Rules of Attraction, and Zoolander.
