ELVIS Film Facts
Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” will have its world premiere at Cannes this year, marking Luhrmann’s fourth film to go to the prestigious festival, following his lush interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” in 2013, his musical “Moulin Rouge!” in 2001, and his first feature, “Strictly Ballroom,” in 1992.
Prior to being cast in the title role, “Elvis” star Austin Butler spent five months developing the character to make himself the strongest contender for the part, and even periodically workshopping it with director Baz Luhrmann.
“Elvis” star Austin Butler reached out to filmmaker Baz Luhrmann to audition for the role by submitting a video of himself playing the piano and singing the popular song “Unchained Melody,” which Presley had covered in 1977, and which appears on the “Elvis” soundtrack.
“Elvis” star Austin Butler worked with movement coach Polly Bennett to help him embody the physicality of the icon he was portraying; Bennett has also worked on such hit films as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “No Time to Die,” as well as the hugely popular Netflix series “The Crown.”
Oscar winner Tom Hanks stars in “Elvis” as the music icon’s only manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who started Elvis off in a touring company of performers that included country musician Hank Snow. Interestingly, Hanks made his directorial debut with the feature “That Thing You Do,” and also portrayed a savvy record label promoter who oversaw bands playing the carnival circuit.
Native Australian Olivia DeJonge stars in “Elvis” as his wife, Priscilla. DeJonge can also currently be seen as another real-life individual, playing Caitlin Atwater in the HBO Max true crime series “The Staircase,” alongside fellow Aussie Toni Collette.
In “Elvis,” Austin Butler dons over 90 costumes to portray the icon throughout the 1950s, `60s and `70s.
In “Elvis,” costume designer Catherine Martin worked closely with the iconic fashion designers Prada and Miu Miu to create the looks worn by Olivia DeJonge as real-life style icon Priscilla Presley.
To transform Tom Hanks into Colonel Tom Parker, the “Elvis” hair and makeup and prosthetics teams spent between three and five hours a day, depending on how old the character needed to be for the day’s shoot.
“Elvis” takes place primarily in Tupelo, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Las Vegas, Nevada; Hollywood, California; and the various U.S.-based locales where Elvis performed throughout his career. However, the film was shot entirely on Australia’s Gold Coast, on the massive Village Roadshow sound stages, and surrounding locations.
Part of the action in “Elvis” takes place along Memphis, Tennessee’s legendary Beale Street; the set took the production crew 12 weeks to build and, for authenticity, was constructed on a slope, like the real locale was at the time.
To serve the story in the movie “Elvis,” the filmmakers created Graceland as it appeared in the periods covered in the film, specifically the late 1950s, `60s and `70s.
Production designers Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy and their teams pulled architectural details from blueprints provided by the Graceland Estate in order to recreate the elements of the home for the movie “Elvis.”
The “Elvis” filmmakers viewed Graceland as a symbol and expression of Elvis’s success and built the interior sets on the massive Village Roadshow sound stages in Australia’s Gold Coast to reflect this. The exterior façade of Graceland was constructed on a rural property in the Gold Coast that possessed remarkably similar topography to the actual site in Memphis, including the pitch of the grassy slope leading up to the house.
The “Elvis” filmmakers built the interior sets to show Graceland the way it appeared when Elvis first purchased the house, and also changed elements to show updates the family made over time—for example, the floorboards seen when Elvis and his parents moved in are later carpeted in red shag for scenes that take place after the real Elvis had this bold design element installed..
Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann felt it was important to include scenes in the film “Elvis” that show Graceland as it is most remembered today, so the design team continued to make changes for scenes that take place in the 1960s and `70s, when many interior decoration changes were made.
It is well-documented that Elvis was a big collector of both cars and motorcycles, so for the film “Elvis,” the production’s picture vehicles department acquired over 300 cars and motorbikes.
In “Elvis,” soul singer Shonka Dukureh portrays famed blues artist Big Mama Thornton and performs her version of the original “Hound Dog”; director Baz Luhrmann also turned to modern rapper Doja Cat to help reinterpret it, incorporating the familiar refrain into her original song “Vegas” for the soundtrack.
Elvis Presley recorded his first song, “My Happiness,” at Sun Records when he was only 18; like Elvis, Grammy Award-winning artist Doja Cat, who’s song “Vegas” appears in the film, began her career in music as a teenager, making her first upload to Soundcloud in 2013, at just 16-years-old.
Singer/songwriter Yola (née Yolanda Claire Quartey) appears in “Elvis” as gospel and blues legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Later dubbed the godmother of rock ‘n’ roll, Tharpe influenced numerous artists and her biggest hit, “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” was recorded in 1944 with Sammy Price, and is considered by some to be the first rock ‘n’ roll song.
In “Elvis,” Grammy-winning genre-bending musician Gary Clark Jr. portrays Delta blues singer/guitarist Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, alongside award-winning actor/musician Kelvin Harrison Jr. as groundbreaking blues singer/songwriter/musician/producer B.B. King. In 2007, Clark Jr. performed at the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival with the real B.B. King.
Model Alton Mason, who can be seen as a young Little Richard in “Elvis,” is the great, great, great nephew of influential 20th century gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.
The Italian glam rock band Måneskin, winners of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, recorded their own version of Elvis’s “If I Can Dream” for the “Elvis” soundtrack, laying down the tracks in just one take.
Italian glam rock band Måneskin’s front man, Damiano David, shares a birthday with Elvis Presley: January 8th.