Very early in "Tantrums & Tiaras," the subject of the documentary - Elton John - expresses some very strong opinions about what he wants it to be.
He doesn't want it to be about just his music. He doesn't want it to be a purely positive portrayal of himself.Not a problem.
"Tantrums & Tiaras" (9 p.m., Cinemax), the 70-minute film put together by John's partner, David Furnish, is an unflinching view of the pop idol. He's revealed to be charming, caring, giving, talented, obnoxious, difficult and childish.
Unhappy about having to do a music video, Elton throws a fit worthy of a petulant 3-year-old - albeit with language worthy of Eddie Murphy.
In a snit over something that happens while he's playing tennis, Elton throws a temper tantrum worthy of John McEnroe - complete with more R-rated language and a tennis-racket toss.
"I really wanted to make a documentary that didn't portray me as being holier than thou," John recently told TV critics. "A lot of documentaries that you watch are very reverential. And I certainly don't come off in this one all covered in roses. There are moments where my behavior is quite appalling. And even though I can laugh at it, it probably wasn't funny at the time."
Although John offered the opinion that anyone seeing the documentary might come away with the idea that he's "stark raving mad, probably," he said he has no regrets about "Tantrums & Tiaras."
"I'm fed up with seeing documentaries on people and all you find out about is how wonderful they were. . . . I want people to see the nitty gritty of what goes on."
And that's exactly what Furnish has captured on film - which is all the more amazing because of the personal relationship he and John have.
"He let me shoot whatever I wanted," Furnish said. "There were only two times . . . that he asked me to switch the camera off, and I followed him around for 14 months. I think that's pretty incredible.
"And it was very important to me that what was portrayed, ultimately, was true and what he is like in person."
Furnish was his own photographer, using a small camera to record John as he embarked on a world tour and in his more private moments. The result is not unlike other documentaries of the genre, but rings truer than most.
John said that Madonna's "Truth or Dare" was "fairly on the mark. But it was very staged. And with a 35mm crew and all those cameras, you just can't help kind of switching on. And I kind of felt it wasn't particularly honest or accurate.
"With a little hand-held camera, you just ignore it after a while and you just get on with how you are. And it's the only thing that I've ever been able to watch of myself without actually wincing. And people think that's rather strange because there's some pretty bad behavior in it or pretty funny behavior. But at least it's me being honest."
There are indeed a number of painfully honest moments. Furnish catches John and his mother talking about how distant and antagonistic his father is. It's amazing that John doesn't wince when his mother says she doesn't think his father really liked him.
John also talks honestly about his own 16-year battle with drug addiction and the difficulties he's had accepting himself.
"I've been sober and clean for seven years," he said. "And I've done a lot of work on myself. I think for the first time in my life, I have peace of mind and a balance in my life. And the balance has occurred since this documentary was made. It was happening as the documentary was being made.
"As a artist, I never really knew how to be offstage. And I think that's the same with many artists. To have a private life as well as a public life - it's difficult to balance them out. And I think I've got that more or less in the hole now. And it's been difficult, I have to tell you. It's been hard work."
Furnish doesn't shy away from including tough sequences in "Tan-trums & Tiaras." There's a sequence in the south of France during which Elton is downright rude to him.
"It highlighted a lot of my deficiencies as a partner," John said of the documentary.
Furnish asks some tough questions. During a tour of Elton's incredibly extravagant closet - made all the more incredible because the vast array of suits and shirts and shoes and hats and glasses and, yes, even a couple of tiaras is what John takes on tour with him - Furnish asks the star if this isn't a Imelda Marcos-like display of gross excess.
There were tough moments for the filmmaker, like when Elton was unable to catch his breath during a concert at a high-altitude venue in Colombia.
"I was filming him at the time and I was very, very worried because I thought he was having a heart attack," Furnish said. "And I had to keep the camera rolling."
"Tantrums & Tiaras" is not a documentary about John's music, but it does contain quite a bit of it. There are bits and pieces of Elton in performance in various venues, and one entire song - "The One." Recorded versions of a number of his hits are used judiciously and wisely as background throughout the documentary.
And there's some fascinating background into how Elton works when he's writing songs.
Furnish had the final say in the editing process. Not that he didn't find it "nerve wracking" to show John the finished product.
"But when I sat down and showed him the rough edit for the very first time, he laughed and cried and just enjoyed it so much," Furnish said. "And (John) said to me, `Well, isn't there any more? Can't we make it racier?'
`I think we made the point and painted a very accurate portrait of what he's like as an artist, both on and off the stage. So I was grateful he gave me that privilege and that trust."
CHANGED HIS MIND: In "Tantrums & Tiaras," we see John throwing a tantrum while vacationing in the south of France. He insists that he hates it and will never return there again.
So, when he appeared via satellite before TV critics, it was uplinked from where he was vacationing in . . . the south of France.
"Oh, you know me," he said by way of explanation. "I'm all mouth and no trousers."
He said the on-camera snit was "just one of those egotistical things one goes through when one's on tour. And, of course, I love it here. And, consequently, I've bought a house."
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Elton John is about to embark on yet another tour, this time a double-bill with Billy Joel.
"It's called `Two Old Guys With Two Big Pianos,' " Elton joked. "We did a tour about two years ago in America, and we decided that it would be nice to take it around the world while we're still alive.
"And the length of the tour is such that by the end of it we might not be alive."