It’s been nearly 45 years since the passing of rock ‘n’ roll icon, Elvis Presley. The man with swiveling hips and snarling lips revolutionized music after taking the stage by storm with his gyrating moves and rhythm and blues.
While Presley may be gone, his legacy lives on. Not only did Presley transform the entertainment industry, but he also inspired Director Baz Luhrmann to create “Elvis,” a biopic coming to theaters June 24.
Luhrmann’s “Elvis” stars Austin Butler as the king of rock ‘n’ roll. The film follows Presley’s life from his humble beginnings to his unprecedented stardom, set against the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America.
Warner Brothers held a virtual press conference with Luhrmann and Butler to announce the launch of “Elvis,” which I was lucky enough to attend. After an exclusive first look at the trailer, followed by a conversation moderated by Author and Filmmaker, Nelson George, I now have a good idea of what viewers should expect from the film.
Making “Elvis”
In contrast to traditional biopics, it sounds like the title character may not be the focus of “Elvis.”
“The great storytellers, like Shakespeare, didn’t really do biographies,” Luhrmann said. “What they did was they took a life and they used that life as a canvas to explore a larger idea.”
While “Elvis” will explore the life and music of Presley, Luhrmann said that it will be from another perspective— that of Presley’s enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
The trailer for “Elvis” begins with Parker ominously saying, “There are some who make me out to be the villain of this here story…” Luhrmann noted that Parker never continued to say “and they’re right.” He alluded that while Parker will be portrayed as a villain, a role new for Hanks, Parker will defend his side of the story.
The storytelling of “Elvis” will be similar to Luhrmann’s 2013 film, “The Great Gatsby.” Although it was called “The Great Gatsby,” it was actually Nick Carroway’s story, Luhrmann said.
Aside from delving into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, the film will examine how Presley’s life was culturally and socially at the center of the ’50s through the ’70s.
“In this modern era, the life of Elvis Presley could not be a better canvas from which to explore America in the ’50s, the ’60s, and the ’70s,” Luhrmann said.
Presley’s sound was heavily influenced by gospel music, as shown in the trailer with him dancing in a Black church. Luhrmann said that “Elvis” will center on the singer’s relationship to Black culture and Black America.
“The number one thing about Elvis Presley’s journey is that Black music and culture isn’t a side note or a footnote or a bit,” he said. “It’s absolutely the canvas on which the story is written. Meaning if you take that out of the Elvis Presley story then there is no story.”
The trailer also hinted at analyzing the connection between Presley and the civil rights movement as the announcement of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination can be heard. Parker claims that it has nothing to do with the artist. Presley responds, “it has everything to do with us.”
“Elvis” will also observe how rock ‘n’ roll played a role in unleashing the sexual revolution in America.
In the trailer, Presley’s leg shaking and pelvis thrusting causes crowds of screaming girls to swarm the stage, desperately reaching for the singer’s hand. To them, Presley was an explosion of sexual liberation. His controversial moves and music made many fear that he was corrupting the youth of America.
“That liberation for that younger generation was so terrifying,” Luhrmann said. “But it was also terrifying because of its complex relationship to race in America. That’s what causes the drama.”
Becoming Elvis
How does one possibly become THE Elvis Presley?
Butler described feeling a responsibility to Presley, his family, and his fans from around the world to do the role justice, yet the task seemed initially impossible.
“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 like boats on your feet,” Butler said. “In the beginning, I thought ‘this is impossible.’ How could I possibly do anything but feel like I’m less than this superhuman individual? And then, as time passed, I started to feel like I grew into it and suddenly I felt his humanity more.”
Finding Presley’s humanity was key to Butler’s success in the role and he said that “getting to explore the humanity of somebody who has become the wallpaper of society” is what drew him to the part in the first place.
“He’s such an icon and he’s held up to a superhuman status,” Butler said. “So, to get to explore that for years now and learn why he was the way that he was and find the human within that icon, that was really such a joy.”
A now 30-year-old Butler described how when he was cast at age 27, he knew he had huge shoes to fill, so he studied Presley for as long as he could.
“I didn’t look at or read or hear anything that didn’t have to do with Elvis,” he said.
In the trailer, viewers can hear Presley singing classics including “Jailhouse Rock,” “That’s All Right,” and “Unchained Melody.” Except, it isn’t just audio recordings of Presley— it’s Butler singing too!
Originally, Butler tried to match Presley’s voice exactly, working six to seven days a week with a voice coach a year before shooting even started.
“When I began the process of this, I set out to get my voice to sound identical to his,” Butler said. “That was my goal. If you heard a recording of me and you heard a recording of him, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. And I held that for a long time. What that does is instill fear. This fear that I’m not going to achieve that. So, that got the fire burning inside me to work and work.”
Presley’s early recordings couldn’t be used in the film because they were nostalgic sounding, Luhrmann said.
“We came up with an unusual musical language for the film and that is that Austin would sing all the young Elvis but from about the ’60s on, we would blend it with the real Elvis,” Luhrmann added.
Butler worked tirelessly with different experts to perfect his register and dialect, he said. However, he really had to let go of some of that control to let visceral life shine through.
“Ultimately, the life is what is important,” Butler said. “You can impersonate somebody, but to find the humanity and the life within and the passion and the heart… Ultimately, I had to release myself from the constraints of that and try to live the life as truthfully as possible.”
Another factor Butler had to work on to embody Presley was his movement.
Presley had a unique wiggle that changed over the span of his life, so Butler worked with Movement Director and Choreographer Polly Bennett to perfect Presley’s variations.
Polly Bennett formerly worked with Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” She helped Butler mimic Presley’s actions, from how he touched his face to how he moved his legs. Yet, she focused more on why Presley moved that way instead of how.
“She comes at it from not how the body moves,” Luhrmann said. “She comes at it from the psychology of the character. She’s coming from the inside out, not the outside in.”
This is what separates interpretation from impersonation, Luhrmann added.
“Once you do that enough, then it stops feeling external,” Butler said. “Then it suddenly feels like it’s a part of you.”
So far, it seems like “Elvis” will be the movie of the summer. Not only do the songs and costumes indicate that this will be a visually and auditorily striking film, but the concepts and dedication to character suggest that “Elvis” will go far beyond his sideburns and sunglasses.