Earlier this year, movie fans got a glimpse at the first trailer for Elvis, the upcoming Warner Bros. biopic about the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Elvis was helmed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby) who previously compared the upcoming movie to a superhero film. Of course, when it comes to biopics, there are plenty of factors to consider, and certain people whose approval matters most. In the case of Elvis, the iconic star’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley and daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, are still prominent figures. Recently, Priscilla took to Facebook to reveal she’s seen Elvis and praised Butler’s performance.
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“For those curious about the new film ELVIS, Baz Luhrmann, the director,provided a private screening for me and Jerry Schilling at Warner studios recently,” Presley shared. “This story is about Elvis and Colonel Parker’s relationship. It is a true story told brilliantly and creatively that only Baz, in his unique artistic way, could have delivered. Austin Butler, who played Elvis is outstanding. Halfway through the film Jerry and I looked at each other and said WOW!!! Bravo to him…he knew he had big shoes to fill. He was extremely nervous playing this part. I can only imagine. Tom Hanks was Col Parker in this film. What a character he was. There was two sides to Colonel, Jerry and I witnessed both. The story, as we all know, does not have a happy ending. But I think you will understand a little bit more of Elvis’ journey, penned by a directer who put his heart and soul and many hours into this film.” You can view the post below:
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).”
“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.”
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis opens in theaters on June 24.
