Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi / CC by 2.0
A documentary about the life of late actress and singer Olivia Newton-John is officially in the works.
Director R.J. Cutler will explore the life of the singer and her work as an entertainer and animal rights activist. Cutler also worked on the 2021 documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. Cutler secured full authorized access to Newton-John’s music and personal archives in partnership with the music publisher Primary Wave.
Olivia Newton-John’s music career started in the country genre before moving into pop by the late 1970s. Her career spans more than 20 albums, with several Christmas albums in the mix. She’s best known for starring as Sandy Olsson alongside John Travolta in the 1978 film Grease. She sang “You’re The One That I Want,” “Summer Nights,” and “Hopelessly Devoted To You” in that film.
Cutler is working alongside This Machine producers Elise Pearlstein and Trevor Smith, executive producers John Easterling, Larry Mestel, Natalia Nastaskin, John Mason, and Mark Hartley to help bring the documentary to life. Aside from this new project, Cutler is also busy directing an Elton John Disney+ docuseries called Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and the Years That Made His Legend.
Olivia Newton-John passed away on August 8 at her ranch in Southern California. Her songs “Physical,” “I Honestly Love You,” and “Let Me Be There,” were defining hits for the singer. Two of her albums (If You Love Me Let Me Know, Have You Never Been Mellow) reached the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart in 1974 and 1974, respectively. Over the course of her broad music career, she also took home four Grammy Awards.
“I love to sing; it’s all I know how to do,” Newton-John told CNN in 2017. “That’s all I’ve ever done since I was 15, so it’s my life.”