How a drink with Kylie Minogue got director on board

Michael Harte nearly talked himself out of directing a documentary about Kylie Minogue.

When producer John Battsek called to say the Australian pop icon would be in Los Angeles and suggested they meet, the filmmaker from Donegal had his doubts.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, I’m not experienced enough as a director,” Harte recalled thinking.

“But I thought, I’ll go anyway. I’m not going to turn down a drink in the Chateau Marmont with Kylie Minogue.”

The pair met at the famous hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood – a meeting Harte says changed his mind almost instantly.

Describing the restaurant as dark and atmospheric he recalled Minogue entering the room “like a beam of light”.

“It sounds cheesy to say, but she really was. There was an energy there that was intoxicating,” he told BBC NI’s Evening Extra radio programme.

“And then I thought, I do want to make this film. I am the right person to do it.

“I could tell there was an energy from her that I wanted to take and transfer onto film and if we can do that successfully, I think the film could be really special.”

The three-part Netflix documentary, KYLIE, charts Minogue’s journey from teenage soap star on Neighbours to one of pop music’s most enduring performers.

Battsek and Harte had worked together previously on the David Beckham documentary.

Harte had also edited the acclaimed Michael J. Fox documentary Still – before stepping into the director’s chair for KYLIE, having directed only once before during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Rather than relying on formal sit-down interviews Harte said the team quickly decided on a more personal approach.

“We decided pretty early on that we’d call them chats,” he said.

“Kylie had been interviewed for years, and we wanted this to feel different.”

Much of the documentary was built around personal archive material, with conversations unfolding around boxes of photographs, footage and memories at Minogue’s home.

Harte said one of the biggest challenges was the sheer volume of material.

“She’s not just an amazing pop artist, she’s an actor,” he said.

Harte said they had everything from Neighbours footage to fashion shoots, media coverage and home recordings captured over the years to look through.

‘Real fire in her’

He said making the documentary often felt like watching someone grow up in real time.

“I say to Kylie, it almost felt like the Truman Show. You watch somebody grow up on camera,” he said.

“Because of that we’re not just in invested in Kylie’s music or you know her as an artist you’re actually invested in her as a person.”

Harte said what struck him most was Minogue’s resilience – particularly against the criticism she faced while growing up in public.

“Kylie was 19 when that happened to her. I’m 43, if I got criticism like that, I’m retiring in the morning,” he said.

“There’s a strength in her. Jason donovan [Ex-boyfriend] said it and I don’t think it’s in the film but i always remember – it kind of informed a lot of the emotion in the film.

“There’s real fire in her.”