Machine Gun Kelly Talks New Film ‘Taurus’: ‘There’s Nothing More Annoying Than Watching a Thespian Fake Being a Rock Star’

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman “Taurus” is the semi-autobiographical tale of a rap-slash-rock star on the tail-end of a self-destructive kick.

Set to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival Feb. 13, the film stars Colson Baker (better known to fans as real-life rap-slash-rock star Machine Gun Kelly) as Cole, a Kurt Cobain-esque musician struggling with fatherhood, the music industry, substance abuse and his ex-wife (played by Megan Fox).Tim Sutton, who wrote and directed the film, conceived of the idea after directing “The Last Son,” in which Baker plays a 19th century bank robber. “I went over to [Sutton’s on-set] living quarters and we were smoking a joint,” Baker recalled. “And he was like, ‘If you ever do a documentary on yourself, or make a movie, you have to let me make it.’” Baker agreed and a few weeks later Sutton sent over a script.

That first draft, Sutton says, drew more heavily from stories of rappers who had died young, such as Lil Peep and Mac Miller, but as the script went through re-drafts, Baker’s own experiences were increasingly infused into it. “What I wanted was the sense of authenticity and the sense of comfort, and also giving [Baker] the space to be this character, this character that’s both him and a fictional character all at once,” Sutton said.“I was always asking God why I kept missing the bullet that is death,” Baker said of the similarities between himself and his on-screen counterpart. “With all of the drugs that I would do, with all of the strangers who have nothing but their own selfish interests in mind when, you know, giving me things or encouraging a downfall mixed in with my own self-inflicted will to sabotage myself.