Baz Luhrmann has said the Presley family is ‘over the moon’ with the upcoming Elvis biopic which has just premiered at Cannes Film Festival.
According to Deadline the family of the late singer not only loved the movie, but it received the longest standing ovation of the fest at ten minutes.
All About Elvis
The biographical film, Elvis, follows the story of the King of Rock n Roll’s rise to fame and the relationship between Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who ruled over the performer tirelessly and milked every penny from him.
Elvis will is played on screen by Austin Butler, who’s known for his roles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the fantasy drama The Shannara Chronicles. It also stars none other than Hollywood legend Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker.
The film’s synopsis states: ‘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.’
Priscilla is the one person who would truly know how accurate the movie is to real life, as it was also her life after she met him when she was 14-years-old in 1959 and married him eight years later.
Family ‘over the moon’ with Elvis
This is the person the Australian director, Luhrmann, definitely wanted a positive review from, and it turns out he got it.
Speaking at Cannes Luhrmann said: ‘No review would ever mean the most to us than the woman who was married to Elvis Presley.’
He went on to explain after Priscilla was shown the film the director – who had to re-write the film during the COVID lockdown – he was handed a note from her which read: ‘I just wasn’t ready for that. Every breath about Austin, every move, the spirit of the person, the humanity. If my husband were here today he’d look him in the eye and say “How dare you? You are me”.’
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She wasn’t the only person to love the movie, according to Deadline, the rest of the family, Elvis’ daughter, Lisa Marie (who was once married to Michael Jackson), and his granddaughter, Riley Keough, were ‘over the moon’ with the outcome of the movie.
Elvis is set to hit UK theatres on 22 June.