Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Debuts First Clip, Earns Seal of Approval From Daughter Lisa-Marie, Granddaughter Riley Keough
Earlier this year, the first trailer for the upcoming Elvis biopic was released by Warner Bros. and featured Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's Austin Butler as Elvis Presley. Elvis was helmed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby) and also stars Tom Hanks as Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Earlier this week, the iconic star's ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, took to Facebook to reveal she's seen the movie and gave it her seal of approval. Yesterday, a new clip from the movie was released, and Presley shared it to Instagram, adding more praise for Butler's performance.
"I've seen Elvis the film, I watched the trailer over a dozen times. But the words I heard from my daughter on how much she loved the film and that Riley will love it too when she sees it brought tears. I relived every moment in this film. It took me a few days to overcome the emotions as it did with Lisa. Beautifully done Baz, Tom, Austin and Olivia," Presley wrote. You can view her post, which includes the new clip, below:
"I love biopics, but this is not really a biopic, right? It's really about, for me, America in the 50s and the 60s and the 70s," Luhrmann previously explained. "And if you want to talk about America in the 50s and 60s and the 70s at the center of culture, for the good, the bad, and the ugly, is a figure [like] Elvis Presley. Like how Shakespeare would take a historical figure like a king and explore a big theme, or Amadeus isn't really about Mozart when you learn so much about Mozart, it's about jealousy. What this movie is about is America in those three epochs — Elvis the rebel, Elvis the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, and Elvis the living legend, the icon trapped in that hotel not 10 minutes from here, by a man called Colonel Tom Parker."
Elvis "explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks)," reads the synopsis from Warner Bros. "The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis's life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge)."
Baz Luhrmann's Elvis opens in theaters on June 24.