You’d think that Aussie director Baz Luhrmann would’ve had his fill of “the King” after making his big-budget Oscar-nominated biopic of ELVIS nearly four years ago. And you would be so wrong. And Presley fans (and scores of fanatics), along with general movielovers are all the richer for it. Turns out that Baz wanted access to all the footage from the two Elvis concert films from the early 70s, and was probably gobsmacked by the 68 boxes of 35mm (and some 8mm) film delivered from deep within the vaults of Warner Brothers. We do get an overview of the man’s life and career, but the main focus is on the legendary performing tenure begun in 1969 at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. All the hi-tech cleaning and polishing only add to the legend, and truly earn the main title of EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT. Lace up those blue suede shoes…
The taut ninety-minute documentary/concert deftly combines both cinema elements. Baz assembles little “sidebars” that pop up almost like chapter bookends here. There’s a section devoted to his adored “Mama”, initial cultural impact (an explosion almost) with a TV preacher’s warning of the “beat” that summons Satan, his Army stint, the “Colonel”, his romances (yes, Priscella’s there), and many other milestones. Plus, there’s a montage of his often silly (“See Elvis karate chop a tiger!”) later movies that prompted the big 1968 “comeback” TV special. But the real “meat” is the preparations for the big Vegas concert with several unlikely tunes that were considered. It’s interesting to hear the King’s take on a couple of Beatles tunes, along with a Simon and Garfunkel classic. And yes, he’s in excellent “voice”, this being some of his most polished vocal stylings. The rehearsals and preparation scenes build to the big Vegas opening, in which Elvis almost “reinvented” himself and began his new era of live-performance spectacles.
For some viewers, this new reworking of long-thought lost footage will reinforce their perception of this icon, while for the unfamilar much of this may be a revelation or a discovery. We see long hours in minimal facilities to tweak the sound, in order to go beyond the “flash and glitter”. Oh, but there is plenty of that, though. His gaudy, often loud fashion ensembles are on full display, making us think of how it’s the male peacock who attempts to dazzle the ladies. Dazzle is a restrained turn for Elvis’ magnetic appeal to the hordes of enraptured women fans of every age. He is their idealized lover, even if there’s a hint of danger. One great bit has Elvis zeroing in on one of his most prominent female backup singers, which inspires both fear and quivering desire. That’s just one of the scenes of his “clownin””, as we witness him cracking up over his persona. There’s a darkness to one of the “jokes” as Elvis inserts some drug references to one of his tunes, strange since he’d get a “drug buster badge” from then President Nixon less that a decade before he was felled by his addiction. Ah, but that feels like the distant future as we see the celeb-packed audience at that first Vegas concert. Why, he’s visited in his dressing room after the show by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Cary Grant! Oh, to be a fly on the wall to hear what they discussed, or at least to have better microphones trained on them. This is also an incredible time capsule of that time when beehive hairdos (or don’ts) ruled the skies, probably blocking a lot of the audience, who “dressed to impress”, perhaps to garner a glance or a quick smooch from their idol (he does love to wander through the smothering crowds). Yes, these are fun, happy snippets of kitsch, but there’s still some tragedy as Elvis mentions his interest in touring the world, though he would never venture beyond North America. My only complaint about Baz’s passion project is that some songs are cut short in order to avoid a long running time for the IMAX venues. Yes, I wanted more, but what’s there is really great. Oh, and don’t leave when the end credits begin. There’s a brief shot of E flanked by his “Memphis Mafia” as he briskly strolls down the hotel staff corridor past their cafeteria. In his bright blue jumpsuit, he looks like he popped in from Mount Olympus, making us wonder how this rock and roll deity existed on this planet with us. Sure, the music is still wonderful, but the whole mystique is what makes this time-traveling trip so memorable in the truly EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT. And yes, sadly, Elvis has left the building…
3.5 Out of 4
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT is now playing exclusively on IMAX screens. It expands to theatres everywhere on Friday, February 27, 2026
One of the profound memories of my childhood is of my parents picking my sister and I up from summer sleepaway camp in August of 1977. My mother was crying. Not because she was happy to see us after 2 weeks, but because she had just heard on the car radio that Elvis Presley had died. Elvis meant so much to so many people – not only the baby-boom generation (my parents), but also their kids, the Gen-Xers. Even if you didn’t know all of Elvis’s catalog of songs, you knew who he was and why he was dubbed “The King.”
In EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT, director Baz Luhrmann takes us back, to remind us why Elvis was and is rock and roll royalty and the ultimate pop-culture touchstone.
From director Baz Luhrmann:
During the making of Elvis (2022), we went on a search for rumored unseen footage from the iconic1970s concert films Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour that had reportedly been lost.
Throughout this incredibly detailed process, one of the great finds has been unheard recordings of Elvis talking about his life and his music: from the 1970 Vegas show, on tour in 1972 and even precious moments of the 1957 “goldjacket” performance in Hawaii. I knew that we could not pass up this opportunity. It was these discoveries that gave the inspiration for the new film.
What if, instead of reduxing the previous works, we made a film that wasn’t a documentary and wasn’t a concert film? What if Elvis came to you in a dreamscape, almost like a cinematic poem, and sang to you and told you his story in a way in which you haven’t experienced before?
We asked the what ifs and answered them in what we are about to present at Toronto International Film Festivals’s 50th Edition- EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, Elvis sings and tells his story like never before. Elvis takes the audience through the journey of his life, through both classic and contemporary musical prisms, weaving unseen footage with iconic performances that have never been presented in this.
EPiC Elvis takes the audience through the journey of his life, through both classic and contemporary musical prisms, weaving unseen footage with iconic performances that have never been presented in this way. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a leap of the musical imagination and a tribute to one of the greatest performers of all time.
EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT plays one week IMAX EXCLUSIVE Starting February 20 and in cinemas worldwide February 27.
In a rhinestone-studded, cinematic extravaganza, director Baz Luhrmann gives Elvis Presley his signature dazzle treatment in an energetic epic tale about Elvis but told through the eyes of his scheming manager Colonel Tom Parker. Parker is played by a winking, sinister Tom Hanks in a riveting performance. By rights, the film really should be called “Elvis and the Colonel” or maybe the reverse, as Tom Hanks’ Parker is a dominate presence, serving as our master of ceremonies and narrating events from his point-of-view. Elvis is played winningly by Austin Butler, who not only looks like Elvis but sings some of his early hits while performing with hip-swiveling verve.
Luhrmann’s ELVIS is less a straight-forward admiring biopic than a magical fairy-tale built around the complicated relationship between the singer and his shady manager. The young Elvis makes a deal with the slick Parker that is a double-edged sword, bringing fame along with a Faustian bargain.
This drama may not be what Elvis fans expect but it is a colorful, entertaining film that casts the two central figures in Presley’s life as forces of light and dark. Such a good-versus-evil lens almost requires a less than completely truthful approach to the facts, and indeed ELVIS is no documentary. Instead it is a lightning-in-a-bottle kind of film, but one which does not require a viewer to be an Elvis fan, only be interested in the magic of stardom and star-making. For those of us who are more Baz Luhrmann fans than Elvis fans, as is the case for this author, ELVIS delivers on big entertainment. Luhrmann is noted for colorful, energetic, imaginative films like MOULIN ROUGE and THE GREAT GATSBY, and this one fits neatly in that category. His films are not to everyone’s taste but they do deliver color-drenched, visually-electrifying cinematic experiences.
Tom Hanks’ Parker claims to be the man who gave the world Elvis, in an opening scene. Luhrmann’s choice to focus on the complex relationship between the manager and the singer makes the film more interesting and compelling than a simple biopic. Tom Parker was no colonel, merely adopting a courtesy title common in Old Southern tradition, and his real name was not Parker either. What he was was a con man straight out of carny life, something the character admits in early on in voice-over. He was a man with a murky, secretive past who may have been born in Holland, but someone always on the hunt for talent to promote and from which to profit.
Elvis, played by Austin Butler (could there be a more perfect Southern moniker?), fit the bill when Col. Parker (Hanks) spots the young ambitious singer while touring with squeaky-clean country musician Hank Snow (David Wenham) and his musician wannabee son Jimmie Rodgers Snow (Kodi Smit-McPhee).When Parker sees Elvis perform and his audience go wild, Parker recognizes Elvis Presley is just what radio stations in the racially-segregated 1950s were salivating for: a white man who could sing Black music and perform it with that same wild energy. Parker knows he has found gold.
ELVIS is filled with Luhrmann razzle-dazzle and beautiful over-the-top delights, with Col. Parker coming across as a carnival barker luring us in. But it also is clear that Luhrmann is an Elvis fan, and his Elvis, played with smoldering charm by handsome Austin Butler. is like a force of nature, singing with irresistible force while wiggling and gyrating sexily across stage. “Elvis the Pelvis” was something that hit female audiences like a thunderbolt in the sexually-repressive ’50s, and the film captures that magic with bravura. Tom Hanks’ Col. Parker styles himself as the puppet master but the singer’s connection to his audience makes it clear he just hitched his wagon to that thunderbolt, a popular culture phenomenon that had mid-century America all shook up – uh-huh.
Most are familiar with Elvis’s complicated, exploitative relationship with Parker but Luhrmann and Tom Hanks squeeze every drop of drama from that, while still covering the outlines of Presley’s life. Luhrmann goes with that Faustian theme, giving Parker a carny sideshow, con man aspect that the film’s Parker himself embraces, which gives the drama a glittery surface with a dark undercurrent.
Elvis is played by Austin Butler with convincing sincerity and hip-swiveling skill. Butler plays young Elvis as a sort of innocent drawn into the Colonel’s seductive, slippery carnival world with promises of fame and riches. But his Elvis also has boundless ambition and a rebel streak that makes him chafe at the Colonel’s efforts to sanitize his image.
The film has a surprising honesty about Presley’s debt, musically and in performance style, to Black musicians, with bits featuring Little Richard (Alton Mason), B.B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and other greats. It is something the real Elvis himself acknowledged but is too often seems downplayed in adoring bios, in favor of focusing instead on his roots in gospel (again, shared by many Black musicians). Luhrmann is careful to correct some of that, although it does over-correct a bit with barely a nod to Black churches and only a little on Elvis’ love of gospel music. Presley grew up poor in the South, surrounded by Black musicians and their music, so it is natural that would be the music he played, gospel and blues along with country and early rock. He just happened to be white, and therefore acceptable to the music business of the racist, segregated 1950s. Elliott Wheeler and Anton Monsted’s musical score brings in more of Black voices, both Elvis’s contemporaries in enjoyable film segments and current Black artists in the sound track.
There is less honesty about Elvis’s other aspects of his career and life. His relationship with his wife Priscilla is depicted in glowing terms, with the film baldly failing to note her age – fourteen – when the 24-year-old Presley first met her. It works for Luhrmann’s purposes to sanitize Elvis a bit to increase the contrast with Parker, but a little more truth about Elvis’s well-known shortcomings might have been more convincing. The film also skips the singer’s strange meeting with Richard Nixon and glosses over how the pop music cultural earthquake caused by the Beatles and the British Invasion changed the direction of rock music and sent Elvis over to country music radio stations, something that sparked an Elvis-versus-Beatles pop music fan divide that persisted for years. Instead, ELVIS steers away from those negatives, personal and professional, to present Elvis in a more positive light, in better contrast with the sinister Col. Parker.
And sinister is the right word for the film’s exploitative Parker, something that Tom Hanks gleefully leans into. Tom Hanks gives a gripping, award-worthy performance as Col. Parker, a slick character who has a mysterious past. Tom Hanks’ Parker openly talks to the audience about being a con man but he is less forthcoming about his own past and even country of origin. That good-and evil contrast between Parker and Presley means the film also leans into the melodrama, although Luhrmann makes that work for the film’s entertainment value. And this film is highly entertaining, as long as one goes along with what it is and doesn’t expect it to be what it is not.
Austin Butler does his own singing as the young Presley and delivers a moving, smoldering performance as the ambitious young singer, struggling against restraints that Parker imposes. In the later Vegas years, Butler gives a very convincing stage performance, although it is mostly Presley’s voice we hear and Butler never does say “thank you, thank you very much.” This may be a star-making role for Butler, who has only been seen in a few supporting roles prior to this.
As you would expect from Luhrmann, the film is visually dazzling, full of color and movement, like a candy-colored carnival ride, which is very fitting for the subject. ELVIS was filmed, not in Memphis, but in Luhrmann’s native Australia, with the director carefully recreating important locations from Presley’s life. With its focus on the relationship between Elvis and the Colonel, it spends less time on Elvis’ childhood but does present his close relationship with his beloved mother Gladys (Helen Thomson) and less close relationship with his ineffective father Vernon (Richard Roxburgh), as well as Parker’s exploitation of Presley’s warm feelings about family. Yet everything is presented in a glowing, neon light, the good and the bad.
Once the film gets to the Elvis movies and the Vegas era, the film loses some steam, just as Presley’s career did, but the film is never ceases to keep us engaged and entertained. There is an emotionally complex moment when Austin Butler’s Presley finally realizes the truth of the deal he made with Parker, a low moment for the singer that is coupled with his growing health issues and personal issues. Late in the film, it gives Elvis fans a special treat, with moving archival footage of the real Elvis in a late-life Las Vegas performance, an overweight but still charismatic Elvis seated at a piano in his big-collared, sequined costume and crooning affectionately to his adoring fans. It is a sweet, event bittersweet, note to end the film, one that might touch even non-Elvis fans.
ELVIS offers an entertaining carnival ride version of Elvis Presley’s and Tom Parker’s story, suffused with Baz Luhrmann’s color-drenched signature style, and elevated with an award-worthy turn by Tom Hanks as the manipulative, mysterious Tom Parker and a breakout charismatic performance by Austin Butler as Elvis. If you are a fan of either Baz Luhrmann or Elvis Presley, this one hits the mark.
FROM WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES COMES VISIONARY DIRECTOR BAZ LUHRMANN’S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED BIG SCREEN SPECTACLE, ELVIS.
AUSTIN BUTLER LIGHTS UP THE SCREEN AS THE LARGER-THAN-LIFE ICON ELVIS PRESLEY, ALONGSIDE TOM HANKS AS HIS INFAMOUS MANAGER, COLONEL TOM PARKER. SPANNING THREE DECADES, LUHRMANN’S DRAMA TAKES AUDIENCES FROM MEMPHIS TO LAS VEGAS AND ALL STOPS IN BETWEEN.
THE FILM’S SOUNDTRACK FEATURES CLASSIC ELVIS HITS AS WELL AS REINVENTED VERSIONS FROM SOME OF TODAY’S HOTTEST ARTISTS, INCLUDING GRAMMY WINNER DOJA CAT.
SEE ELVIS ONLY IN THEATERS JUNE 24TH
RATED PG-13. MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER THIRTEEN.
Enter to win passes for you and a guest to attend the Advance Screening of ELVIS on June 16th 7PM at The AMC Esquire Theater.
ELVIS is an epic, big-screen spectacle from Warner Bros. Pictures and visionary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann that explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks.
A thoroughly cinematic drama, Elvis’s (Butler) story is seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two 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 significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
Starring alongside Butler and Hanks, 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.
Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things,” “The Broken Heart Gallery”) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (“Gallipoli,” “The Pacific”) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (“The Great Gatsby,” “Hunters”) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (“Peter Rabbit,” “Hunters”) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Camp”) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (“Fantasy Island”) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (“Home and Away”) as Bill Black.
To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, 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.
Oscar nominee Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Toby Emmerich, Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced.
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (“Mulan,” “Australia”), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), production designer Karen Murphy (“A Star Is Born”), editors Matt Villa (“The Great Gatsby,” “Australia”) and Jonathan Redmond (“The Great Gatsby”), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), music supervisor Anton Monsted (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!”) and composer Elliott Wheeler (“The Get Down”).
Principal photography on “Elvis” took place in Queensland, Australia with the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland, and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program.
A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Bazmark Production, A Jackal Group Production, A Baz Luhrmann Film, “Elvis” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to release in theaters in North America on June 24, 2022, and internationally beginning 22 June 2022.
Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS had it’s star-studded premiere on Wednesday night at the Cannes Film Festival. One of the big tentpole movies to show at the festival, the biopic on the King of Rock and Roll was enthusiastically received.
Variety reported “The film received an uproarious 12-minute standing ovation, the longest of this year’s festival so far. As the the cheers went on and on, a teary-eyed Butler hugged an equally-emotional Priscilla Presley, who flew to the South of France to give her blessing for the movie about her late husband.”
Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ standing ovation during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2022.Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ standing ovation during the 75th annual Cannes film festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2022.Jerry Schilling, Tom Hanks, Priscilla Presley, Olivia DeJonge, Austin Butler, Alton Mason, Catherine Martin, Toby Emmerich and Baz Luhrmann attending ‘Elvis’ Premiere at 75th Cannes Film Festival.
ELVIS is an epic, big-screen spectacle from Warner Bros. Pictures and visionary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann that explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks.
Here’ a sampling of the reviews:
Variety says, “The film’s richest irony is that Butler’s performance as the young Elvis (the one who’s far closer to his own age) is an efficient shadow of the real thing, but his performance as the aging, saddened Elvis, who rediscovered success but lost everything, is splendid. He’s alive onstage more than he was doing “Hound Dog,” and offstage, for the first time in the movie, Elvis becomes a wrenching human being. Luhrmann has made a woefully imperfect but at times arresting drama that builds to something moving and true. By the end, the film’s melody has been unchained.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “there are moving moments, especially in Butler’s performance as he transforms into the puffy, sweaty Elvis of his final years (thankfully, his prosthetics are less of an eyesore than Hanks’), his marriage to Priscilla dissolving and causing sorrow for both of them. One might wish for a biopic with more access to the subject’s bruised, bleeding heart, but in terms of capturing the essence of what made Presley such a super nova, Elvis gets many things right. As a tribute from one champion of outrageous showmanship to another, it dazzles.”
Deadline: “Technically this is every bit as brilliant as you might think a Baz Luhrmann production would be, and that includes Oscar winner Catherine Martin’s costumes and production design. The musical aspects are superb in every way. Also there is a poignant coda with actual footage of the real Elvis performing in the final month of his life onstage in Las Vegas, wearing that glittery white jumpsuit, his face puffed and hidden behind those dark glasses.”
In an interview with Butler, GQ says, “The young actor made a pilgrimage to Graceland and met Elvis’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, who embraced him and told him he had a lot of support. “She looked like an angel,” Butler says. “I walked down the hall with Baz afterwards with tears in my eyes.” Read the GQ article with Butler HERE
A thoroughly cinematic drama, Elvis’s (Butler) story is seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two 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 significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
Starring alongside Butler and Hanks, 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.
Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things,” “The Broken Heart Gallery”) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (“Gallipoli,” “The Pacific”) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (“The Great Gatsby,” “Hunters”) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (“Peter Rabbit,” “Hunters”) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Camp”) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (“Fantasy Island”) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (“Home and Away”) as Bill Black.
To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, 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.
Oscar nominee Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Toby Emmerich, Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced.
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (“Mulan,” “Australia”), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), production designer Karen Murphy (“A Star Is Born”), editors Matt Villa (“The Great Gatsby,” “Australia”) and Jonathan Redmond (“The Great Gatsby”), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), music supervisor Anton Monsted (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!”) and composer Elliott Wheeler (“The Get Down”).
Principal photography on “Elvis” took place in Queensland, Australia with the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland, and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program.
A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Bazmark Production, A Jackal Group Production, A Baz Luhrmann Film, “Elvis” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to release in theaters in North America on June 24, 2022, and internationally beginning 22 June 2022.
From Oscar-nominated visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “Elvis,” starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks.
The film 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). 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).
Starring alongside Hanks and Butler, 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.
Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things,” “The Broken Heart Gallery”) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (“Gallipoli,” “The Pacific”) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (“The Great Gatsby,” “Hunters”) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (“Peter Rabbit,” “Hunters”) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Camp”) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (“Fantasy Island”) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (“Home and Away”) as Bill Black.
To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, 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.
Oscar nominee Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (“Mulan,” “Australia”), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), production designer Karen Murphy (“A Star Is Born”), editors Matt Villa (“The Great Gatsby,” “Australia”) and Jonathan Redmond (“The Great Gatsby”), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), music supervisor Anton Monsted (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!”) and composer Elliott Wheeler (“The Get Down”).
Principal photography on “Elvis” took place in Queensland, Australia with the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program.
A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Bazmark Production, A Jackal Group Production, A Baz Luhrmann Film, “Elvis” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is set to release in theaters in North America on June 24, 2022, and internationally beginning 22 June 2022.
Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that, after an extensive search, Baz Luhrmann has cast Austin Butler as Elvis Aaron Presley in the director’s upcoming film about the seminal legend. The announcement was made today by Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
In the movie, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) will explore the life and music of Presley, through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, played in the film by two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia”). The story will delve into their complex dynamic 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.
Luhrmann stated, “I knew I couldn’t make this film if the casting wasn’t absolutely right, and we searched thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist. Throughout the casting process, it was an honor for me to encounter such a vast array of talent. I had heard about Austin Butler from his stand-out role opposite Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh on Broadway, and through a journey of extensive screen testing and music and performance workshops, I knew unequivocally that I had found someone who could embody the spirit of one of the world’s most iconic musical figures.”
Butler made his Broadway debut in 2018 opposite Washington in Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh,” under the direction of George C. Wolfe, and received rave reviews for his work in the role of “lost boy” Don Parritt. He will be seen later this month opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Butler, who also has extensive television credits, can currently be seen on the big screen alongside Bill Murray and Adam Driver in Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die.”
New York Premiere of Focus Features “The Dead Don’t Die” -Pictured: Vanessa Hudgens, Austin Butler -Photo by: Marion Curtis / StarPix for Focus Features -Location: The Museum of Modern Art
Luhrmann will direct from the current screenplay written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Luhrmann will also produce, alongside multiple-Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), who will once again serve as production designer and costume designer on the film, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Andrew Mittman will executive produce.
Principal photography will begin early next year, with filming taking place in Queensland, Australia with the support of the Queensland Government, Screen Queensland and the Australian Government’s Producer Offset program. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
On the heels of the announcement that director Baz Luhrmann’s THE GREAT GATSBY will open the Cannes Film Festival on May 15th, comes official word that Grammy Award-winning musical artist Shawn “JAY Z” Carter has collaborated on the film and is serving as Executive Producer to bring the modern “Jazz Age” energy of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original text to the big screen, procuring, performing, producing and arranging for a soundtrack featuring some of the world’s top musical artists.
JAY Z’s contributions, woven amongst a score by long-time Luhrmann collaborator, composer Craig Armstrong, drive Gatsby’s champagne-infused dance floors, rumble in New York’s illegal speakeasies, and foreshadow the tragedy behind Gatsby’s “extraordinary gift for hope.” To articulate the film’s “1920s-Meets-Now” sound, JAY Z also comes to “The Great Gatsby” soundtrack as a performer and contributor of original music.
Luhrmann and JAY Z were introduced by Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby), and this led to a two-year collaborative effort. During this time, JAY Z worked with Luhrmann and his team to capture, translate and contrast the feelings of Fitzgerald’s decadent era with that of our own, using hip-hop and jazz, music contemporary and period, to bring two distinct American moments to simultaneous life. They sculpted the film’s musical landscape alongside Armstrong, who worked with the director on “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet.” The film’s music supervisor is Anton Monsted.
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Luhrmann calls the collaboration with JAY Z “a credible and natural fit. Fitzgerald was a pioneer, famed and controversial for using the then-new and explosive sound called jazz in his novels and short stories—not just as decoration, but to actively tell story using the immediacy of pop culture. He coined the phrase ‘the Jazz Age.’ So, the question for me in approaching Gatsby was how to elicit from our audience the same level of excitement and pop-cultural immediacy toward the world that Fitzgerald did for his audience? And in our age, the energy of jazz is caught in the energy of hip-hop. Not only is JAY Z a great artist, full stop, but I had heard that he was a great collaborator. Leonardo and I were lucky enough to be present in a recording session over two years ago as JAY Z was recording ‘No Church in the Wild,’ and the collaboration grew from there.”
JAY Z said, “As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project. The Great Gatsby is that classic American story of one’s introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion. It’s ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist. The imagination Baz brought to ‘Moulin Rouge’ made it a masterpiece, and ‘Romeo + Juliet’s’ score wasn’t just in the background; the music became a character. This film’s vision and direction has all the makings of an epic experience.”
“The Great Gatsby” soundtrack will be released by Interscope Records.
From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann comes the new big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The filmmaker created his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before, in a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.
“The Great Gatsby” follows would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
Academy Award® nominee DiCaprio (“Django Unchained,” “Aviator”) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) and Joel Edgerton as Daisy and Tom Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.
Oscar® nominee Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s novel. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Academy Award® winner Douglas Wick (“Gladiator”), Lucy Fisher and Catherine Knapman. The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings – Return of the King”), JAY Z, and Bruce Berman.
Two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (“Moulin Rouge!”) designs as well as produces. The editors are Matt Villa, Jason Ballantine and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan. The music is by Craig Armstrong.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with A&E Television, a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment Production, a Film by Baz Luhrmann, “The Great Gatsby.” Opening May 10, 2013, the film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
CAREY MULLIGAN as Daisy Buchanan and LEONARDO DICAPRIO as Jay Gatsby. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
From the uniquely imaginative mind of writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann come the brand new trailers for THE GREAT GATSBY. The filmmaker created his own distinctive visual interpretation of the classic story, bringing the period to life in a way that has never been seen before, in a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. While I love the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow 1974 version, I’m eager to see what Luhrmann does with the latest big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.
THE GREAT GATSBY follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
TOBEY MAGUIRE as Nick Carraway and LEONARDO DICAPRIO as Jay Gatsby. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Academy Award® nominee DiCaprio (“J. Edgar,” “Aviator”) plays Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire starring as Nick Carraway; Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan (“An Education”) and Joel Edgerton as Daisy and Tom Buchanan; Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan will play the role of Meyer Wolfsheim.
Oscar® nominee Luhrmann (“Moulin Rouge!”) directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with frequent collaborator Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s book. Luhrmann produces, along with Catherine Martin, Academy Award® winner Doug Wick (“Gladiator”), Lucy Fisher and Catherine Knapman. The executive producers are Academy Award® winner Barrie M. Osborne (“Lord of the Rings – Return of the King”) and Bruce Berman.
Two-time Academy Award®-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin (“Moulin Rouge!”) designs as well as produces. The editors are Matt Villa, Jason Ballantine and Jonathan Redmond, and the director of photography is Simon Duggan. The music is by Craig Armstrong.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, in association with A&E Television, a Bazmark/Red Wagon Entertainment Production, a Film by Baz Luhrmann, THE GREAT GATSBY. Opening May 10 2013, the film will be distributed in 3D and 2D by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
From Warner Bros. Pictures, here’s your first official and divine look at Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire & Carey Mulligan in Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated film of 2012 – THE GREAT GATSBY. Only thing these “pretty” people – this generation’s Robert Redford, Sam Waterston and Mia Farrow – are in need of, is the soft focus lens so heavily used in the 1974version.
The latest adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Tobey Maguire, will be in theaters in 3D on December 25, 2012.
