Movies

Elvis Trivia | 68 facts about the new musical biopic

“Elvis” is a biographical musical film based on the life and career of one of the most iconic singers, Elvis Presley.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the new film.

Elvis is a 2022 biographical musical drama film
The film is directed by Baz Luhrmann
Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner
From a story by Luhrmann and Doner
It stars Austin Butler as Elvis Presley
With Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey, Natasha Bassett, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Samuel, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in supporting roles
The film is dedicated to the memory of the Ladd Company’s founder, Alan Ladd Jr., who died in March 2022
It was announced in 2014 that Luhrmann would be directing an Elvis Presley biopic
Though the project was not officially announced until March 2019
Butler was cast in the title role that July
Beating out several other actors, including Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller and Harry Styles for the part
Filming began in Luhrmann’s native Australia in January 2020
Filming paused from March through September following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
Filming wrapped over a year after it began, in March 2021
Elvis premiered at several festivals, namely in France at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2022
It was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in Australia on June 23, 2022
And in the United States on June 24, 2022
The film received generally positive reviews from critics
With Butler’s performance gaining the most acclaim
The project was first announced in April 2014
Then Baz Luhrmann entered negotiations to direct the film
With Kelly Marcel writing the script
No further development on the film was announced until March 2019
Then Tom Hanks was cast in the role of Colonel Tom Parker
Luhrmann was set as director
He also replaced Marcel as screenwriter with Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce
In July, the frontrunners for the role of Presley were Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Austin Butler, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harry Styles
With Butler winning the role later that month
Butler latter impressed Luhrmann with an audition tape of himself singing “Unchained Melody”
Luhrmann revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he got a call from actor-director Denzel Washington recommending Butler
In October, Olivia DeJonge was cast to play Priscilla Presley
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell were cast as Gladys and Vernon Presley in February 2020
With Yola cast as Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Principal photography began on January 28, 2020, in Australia
On March 12, 2020, production was halted when Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemi
Filming resumed on September 23
In September 2020, Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Helen Thomson, Dacre Montgomery, Natasha Bassett, Xavier Samuel, Leon Ford, Kate Mulvany, Gareth Davies, Charles Grounds, Josh McConville, and Adam Dunn joined the cast of the film
Roxburgh and Thomson replaced Sewell and Gyllenhaal, respectively, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts caused by the shooting delay
Kelvin Harrison Jr. was announced to be portraying B.B. King in December
In January 2021, it was reported that Alton Mason would be portraying Little Richard in the film
On May 25, 2022, Butler revealed to GQ that after filming wrapped in March 2021, he was hospitalized and bedridden for a week after being diagnosed with a virus that simulated appendicitis
On April 25, 2022, it was announced that Doja Cat would contribute an original song for the film, “Vegas” which incorporates elements Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog”
It was released as a single on May 6, 2022, ahead of the film’s companion soundtrack album, scheduled for release that summer by RCA Records
The album will also feature variations on Presley material by big name artists in a variety of genres and styles
Italian band Måneskin and Kacey Musgraves are also part of the soundtrack with their respective cover versions of “If I Can Dream” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
On May 23, 2022, rapper Eminem announced on his Instagram that he and CeeLo Green will collaborate on a new track titled “The King and I” which will be produced by Dr. Dre and will appear on the film’s soundtrack
The full roster of artists for the soundtrack album was announced the same day with Stevie Nicks, Jack White, Diplo, Swae Lee and many more joining the lineup, along with the film’s cast
Austin Butler’s renditions of Presley’s songs, as well as actual recordings by Presley himself, will also be featured
“The King and I” was released early on June 16, 2022, than its intended release date
The complete soundtrack was released on June 24, 2022
On June 12, 2022, Luhrmann revealed that when Elvis sings in the film, it is Butler’s vocals that are used when he is young, while the real Elvis’ vocals are used when he is older
To prove it, he released on social media an early 2019 pre-production test shoot of Butler as young Elvis performing “That’s All Right” live on set
Which went viral and received an overwhelmingly positive response from viewers
In the United States and Canada, Elvis was released alongside The Black Phone
The film is projected to gross $25 to 30 million from 3,900 theaters in its opening weekend
The film made $3.5 million from Thursday night previews
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 81% rating
Based on 169 critics’ reviews
With an average rating of 6.9/10
The website’s consensus reads, “The standard rock biopic formula gets all shook up in Elvis, with Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling energy and style perfectly complemented by Austin Butler’s outstanding lead performance”
On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100
Based on 43 critics
Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
Prior to its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s daughter, praised the film in an Instagram post after seeing it twice, calling it “nothing short of spectacular”
She went on to praise Butler’s performance as her late father
While touting Butler as a frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Actor
She added that watching the film reminded her of her own son, Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020, saying he would have loved it as well
On May 21, 2022, Presley’s granddaughter, actress and filmmaker Riley Keough, shared her response after viewing the film at Cannes, saying in full, “It was a very emotional experience. It’s very intense to watch when it’s your family”