Elvis Presley: New ‘Elvis’ Movie Trailer Shows the Darker Side of Fame
A second trailer has dropped for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley movie biopic called Elvis, starring Austin Butler. This follow-up to the film’s original teaser takes a different turn than the first clip, where Presley’s first introduced to the world by Col. Tom Parker. However, Presley’s personal sacrifices showcase the darker side of fame and his ascent into God-like status.
What actors star in ‘Elvis’ and what is the movie about?
In the Elvis movie, Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Carrie Diaries) stars as the King of Rock and Roll alongside Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker, with Olivia DeJonge (The Society) playing Priscilla Presley.
The biographical film spans Presley’s life: from his days as a young man living in Tupelo, MS, through the height of his career in the 1970s.
However, the movie focuses primarily on the relationship between Parker and Presley. It chronicles Elvis’s rise to stardom. It delves into how he changed the wholesome look of the music industry forever against a backdrop of civil change.
Alongside Butler, Hanks, and DeJonge is theatre actor Helen Thomson as Gladys Presley and Richard Roxburgh as Vernon Presley.
Luke Bracey is Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett plays Dixie Locke, and David Wenham portrays Hank Snow. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is B.B. King, Xavier Samuel plays Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee is Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
The new ‘Elvis’ trailer shows the darker side of Elvis Presley’s fame
The second Elvis Presley biopic movie trailer shows the singer as the unlikely cultural leader of his generation.
“Our country itself is sick. It’s lost its sense of direction – even its common decency,” says a critic about Presley and his dance moves.
Off-camera a promoter tells the entertainer, “you don’t do so much as wiggle a finger” while on stage.
“There’s a lot of people saying a lot of things. But in the end, you’ve gotta listen to yourself” Presley tells a crowd of screaming fans from the stage shortly after the warning.
In response, Butler wiggles his pinky to a screaming crowd as the camera pans toward The Colonel, Presley’s Manager.
Parker says in a voiceover, “In that moment Elvis the man was sacrificed and Elvis the God was born.”
Above all, Parker asserts, “He [Presley] had no idea what he had done” as the singer was shoved into the back of a police car.
Likewise, the clip closes with a montage of Presley from the later years of his career.
Presley says to the camera, “A reverend once told me that when things are too dangerous to say, sing.”
Luhrmann says Elvis lived ‘three great lives’ rolled into one
The movie documents Elvis Presley’s rise to the top of the popular music charts. This is led by Parker’s behind-the-scenes push to make a talented, dirt-poor country boy the greatest musical legend ever.
Subsequently, during a virtual event, as reported by The New York Daily News, Luhrmann explained Presley’s life mirrored the social and political changes which occurred during his heydey.
“In this modern era, the life of Elvis Presley could not be a better canvas on which to explore America in the ‘50s, the ‘60s, and the ‘70s,” Luhrmann explained.
In addition, the filmmaker explained, “It’s a mythical life that he lived. (Presley’s) Forty-two years is three great lives put into a short period.”
Elvis is released in theaters on June 24, 2022.
