July 28, 2019 – Last year brought us Bohemian Rhapsody, a success at the box office thanks to its music and convincing actor portrayals, and on its heels, the movie about Elton John, although off -hand I’m not sure how that one did. And now, Elvis.

Baz Luhrmann, the director and film-maker who brought you The Great Gatsby — the 2013 version, Moulin Rouge,  and that old Romeo and Juliet film with Leo, is set to make a story about the relationship between Elvis and his manager Col. Tom Parker, seemingly emphasizing Parker’s strong role in Elvis’ life, one that allowed Parker to retain half of Elvis earnings. I keep wondering how Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of that is going to look. Is it going to be 3-D? Will it have the same flash that the other films I mention had? Will this be a story, or a visual experience?

Then there’s the casting of Elvis. Baz Luhrmann reportedly screen-tested four young men for the part:  Harry Styles of One Direction, who was also in Dunkirk, Ansel Elgort, who was in The Fault in Our Stars and Baby Driver, Miles Kelly who is in the new about-to-be-released Top Gun, and Austin Butler, who is in the newly-showing Quentin Tarantino movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and was on those Disney shows I know but don’t know, like Miley Cyrus’ one. Each of them have the ability to sing, although it’s a One Direction-Disney kind of vibe, and they all look like they look. Out of those choices, Lurhmann picked Austin Butler to play Elvis. Colonel Tom will be Tom Hanks; I say it in reverse like that because Tom Hanks is so big, he’s always Tom Hanks to me. As for Austin Butler, whoever he is, playing Elvis, I keep trying to tell myself that Hollywood can make anyone look right, thinking of the actual way the actors who played the Queen band members look compared to their actor’s current looks; that was convincing. So I think he’ll look right, but there’s so much more to Elvis. Can he do that? Can a Disney-guy do that?

I checked the trailer for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to see if I could see Austin Butler, but the ensemble cast of that movie doesn’t lend itself to allowing him in the trailer. That movie features Leo, Brad, Margo Robbie, Kurt Russell, Al Pacino Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, the late Luke Perry, Margaret Qualley, and a really killer ‘60s soundtrack, I will need to go see that movie, but, given those names, I didn’t see Austin Butler in the trailer. So … Elvis; I guess we’ll see.

Oh and the casting for the Elvis movie is not done. We need a Priscilla.

Reportedly, Lana Del Rey is begging Baz Luhrmann to play Priscilla. Lana has a lot of imagery in her videos of her done-up like 1960s Priscilla, and she knows Luhrmann. The song that was my introduction to her way-back-when was Young and Beautiful, and it featured heavily in Gatsby trailer. I played that trailer a thousand times because I loved that song; I love that book too. I suppose if she wants it, then I will root for her, indeed, even Priscilla herself said she likes Lana, but there is a part of me that thinks, and again this is from memory, that Priscilla of the time that made Elvis, well wasn’t she like 14 or something? I’m not going to worry about looking this stuff up, and I’m not going to think too much about this modern youngster playing arguably the most iconic front man ever, the one who made them all, but that guy Austin Butler had better do a good job.

And with that, I think a little Elvis is in order.

You thought it was going to be Lana didn’t you? No, not this time.