Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann is back with another project – “Elvis,” a biopic depicting the life of pop culture icon Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll. Austin Butler will portray Elvis Presley for the biopic.
The film has been years in the making; the project had been on hold since 2014 until Luhrmann was tapped to direct it in 2018. Butler was confirmed for the role of Elvis Presley in 2019, and production finally began in 2019 but went through further delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a virtual press conference via Zoom on February 17 (LA Time), Luhrmann and Butler sat down with journalist and music critic Nelson George to discuss the making of “Elvis” and how the film will depict the life of the King of Rock and Roll, including one of the most significant people in the singer’s life, Priscilla Presley, who will be portrayed by Olivia DeJonge.
Elvis Presley as a “canvas” for exploring America from the 50s to the 70s
Photo by Hugh Stewart
Elvis lived up to the age of 42; the biopic will cover 20 years of his life, focusing on the years when young Elvis begins his journey to fame up to the time when he becomes renowned as the King of Rock and Roll.
However, aside from having the biopic show the story of how Elvis Presley rose to fame and was dubbed the King of Rock and Roll, Luhrmann also aims to show the audience a glimpse of America at the time when Elvis on his journey to fame. To Luhrmann, the King was the best “canvas” on which to show what America was like in the 50s, the 60s, and the 70s.
“That 42 years is three great lives put into a short period of time, and what’s extraordinary about it is that that life is that its culturally at the center of the 50s and socially the 60s and actually the 70s, and it’s a great canvas on which to explore America. So that’s what drew me in,” Luhrmann said.
According to Luhrmann, Elvis Presley is culturally at the center of America from the 50s to the 70s. The singer had grown up in a black community, so black culture and black music were important in his life.
“The number one thing about Elvis’ journey is that black music and culture isn’t a side note or a footnote or a bit – it’s absolutely the canvas on which the story is writ. Meaning, if you take that out of the Elvis Presley story, there’s no story! He grew up in the community,” Luhrmann said.
Interpreting the human behind the King
Photo by Hugh Stewart
For Butler, having the chance to portray the King of Rock and Roll is a great honor. At first, taking on the role felt daunting and impossible because they are big shoes to fill.
“When I first started, it really felt like when you’re a kid and you put on your father’s suit, and the sleeves are much too long and the shoes are boats on your feet,” he said.
Despite that initial fear, Butler was able to pull through, using the fear to fuel his determination to work towards prepping for the role. Thanks to all the materials available plus a great movement coach, the 30-year-old actor was able to prepare for the role.
Lurhmann also mentioned that from the moment Butler was cast for the role of Elvis, the actor’s task was to “humanize” Elvis Presley, to show the person on the journey and depict the human behind the King. Butler’s task was not to impersonate Elvis, but to depict an interpretation of his character.
“It can’t be an impersonation, it’s gotta be an interpretation because we don’t have the source material, and even if we did, it’s filtered through old, nostalgic technology. Austin’s number one job, from the moment I met him, was to humanize Elvis Presley, was to show the person and on the journey,” Luhrmann said.
With help from a movement coach, Butler had to study the King’s movements and mannerisms, but it wasn’t just all about practicing the movements – part of the process was to study the psychology behind the movements. “What is the psychology of the character? Impersonation is outside in, interpretation is inside out,” Luhrmann said.
Crafting a musical language
Aside from learning the movements and mannerisms of the King, Butler also had to make his voice sound identical to Elvis’ because he actually sings some of the songs featured in the biopic. The actor worked with a voice coach a year before production began, 6-7 days a week and with different experts.
According to Luhrmann, they couldn’t use recordings of Elvis’ music from before the 60s because they were recorded mono and “nostalgic-sounding,” so Butler had to sing as young Elvis. However, for the later recordings of the artist’s songs they blended in the real recordings.
On Colonel Tom Parker, destiny, and telling someone else’s story
Photo by Hugh Stewart
Oscar award-winning actor Tom Hanks was cast for the role of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager. Judging from the trailer, it seems that the biopic of Elvis Presley will be told from Parker’s perspective. The trailer opens with a line from Parker (Hanks): “There are some who’d make me out to be the villain of this here story.”
Luhrmann mentioned that this particular line from Parker was a “device,” something that Parker’s character uses as a way of defending himself, to dissuade the audience from thinking that he is the villain in the story of Elvis Presley. The director discussed this more in depth, about how the biopic, while depicting Elvis Presley’s life, is told not from his perspective but from that of his manager.
“In truth, when it comes to a historical character, there’s only ever somebody’s telling of that story. Even in life, if you lived with an Elvis or you lived with an Amadeus, it’s your memory, your version of their life, and people always tell the story of someone else from a perspective that is their telling,” Luhrmann remarked.
The director added that a big theme of the biopic is destiny. In the case of Colonel Parker, his “destiny” is to “find the greatest carnival act on the planet.” Luhrmann mentioned that Parker’s character had “no ear for music,” but he was able to see the effect that the young Elvis had on his audience, and so it seems his destiny was to discover Elvis Presley and turn him into a renowned icon.
Luhrmann directed the biopic, while Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss.
Starring alongside Hanks and Butler are award-winning theatre actress Helen Thomson (“Top of the Lake: China Girl,” “Rake”) plays Elvis’s mother, Gladys, Richard Roxburgh (“Moulin Rouge!” “Breath,” “Hacksaw Ridge”) portrays Elvis’s father, Vernon, and DeJonge (“The Visit,” “Stray Dolls”) plays Priscilla. Luke Bracey (“Hacksaw Ridge,” “Point Break”) plays Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett (“Hail, Caesar!”) plays Dixie Locke, David Wenham (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “Lion,” “300”) plays Hank Snow, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The High Note”) plays B.B. King, Xavier Samuel (“Adore,” “Love & Friendship,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”) plays Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) plays Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
To play additional iconic musical artists in “Elvis,” Luhrmann cast singer/songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, model Alton Mason as Little Richard, Austin, Texas native Gary Clark Jr. as Arthur Crudup, and artist Shonka Dukureh as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.
“Elvis” is a Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. The biopic is set for a theatrical release in the Philippines on June 22, 2022, while its U.S. release is on June 24, 2022.
Watch the trailer for “Elvis” here:
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