DONEGAL filmmaker Michael Harte is the creative genius behind Netflix’s new documentary series Kylie.
But the award-winning director, who is originally from Letterkenny, almost turned down the golden Hollywood opportunity.
Michael (43), who is the son of former senator Jimmy Harte, revealed that he thought the job offer might turn out to be just a tale for his pals “back in Donegal”.
He was also the filmmaker of the critically acclaimed Netflix series Beckham and it was because of its success that he was asked to oversee the new hit show for Kylie.
Donegal filmmaker Michael Harte at IFTAs.
Michael revealed that a famous producer approached him: “He said, ‘I think you should come meet Kylie Minogue in the Chateau Marmont.’ No context. I was like, ‘Okay.’ Who’s saying no?”
But he admitted: “I was like, ‘I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for me to make this. I’m not experienced enough. Kylie’s too iconic for this. You cannot drop the ball on this one.’
“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go anyway, and it’ll be a good story to tell my friends back in Donegal’.”
Michael revealed the moment when he met Aussie pop star Kylie in the famous Los Angeles hotel and said: “She walked in and it was like Nick Cave describes her, she was like ‘a beam of light’.
“There was an energy about her that I was totally blown away by. I remember thinking that if I could put that into a documentary, it’s going to be really special.
“I told her I’m obsessive about looking through archive and watching every frame, and she thought that was funny, because she was, like, ‘You ain’t ready for my archive’.”
He added: “I knew there was no way we were going to get it into an hour and a half. It would do her a disservice. It would do the story a disservice.”
Donegal filmmaker Michael Harte with Kylie Minogue to promote new Netflix series.
The first episode of the three-part docu closes as Kylie begins her relationship with late INXS singer Michael Hutchence, who was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in tragic circumstances in 1997.
Michael revealed: “I was driving through America, finishing off another project, and I was in the middle of nowhere with no phone reception, at the behest of my radio.
“INXS’s Need You Tonight came on and it was like a light bulb [moment]. I knew that would be the end of episode one.
“I thought of Kylie and Michael Hutchence walking out for the first time publicly, where she’s wearing the famous Xs and Os dress and her blond wig and it’s December 1989.
“That felt like a good hook, as it’s the end of the decade.”
He even remembers watching Kylie’s daytime TV soap Neighbours as a boy growing up.
Michael, who now lives in London, said in his interview with the Irish Times: “I remember watching Neighbours in Donegal, in Lifford, with my parents.
“It was like the Super Bowl in Ireland when the wedding happened.
“The whole country was watching. I remember Kylie and Jason [Donovan]– well, [their on-screen characters] Scott and Charlene – having a fight in the show and being rattled for a week after.”
Michael’s success has been celebrated at home with Letterkenny’s Regional Cultural Centre posting online: “Huge congratulations to Letterkenny’s own Michael Harte on the premiere of his new three-part documentary series with Kylie on Netflix.
“Michael is an Emmy and BAFTA award-winning director whose work continues to reach audiences around the world.
“We’re always proud to see someone from Donegal achieving at such a high level.
“We’re also lucky to have a connection a little closer to home, with Michael’s cousin working here at the RCC. Great talent clearly runs in the family.”