Elvis First Look: Make Way For The King
The King of Rock 'N Roll has entered the building. Director Baz Luhrmann has opted for a little less conversation and a little more action about his upcoming Elvis Presley movie, dropping a hunk o' burning love in the form of a first look at Austin Butler as the King of Rock 'n' Roll in the untitled film that arrives in the summer.
Dubbing today as "Elvis Monday," the Oscar-nominated Luhrmann tweeted from his official account with the caption, "Made a little something to let you good people know we are taking care of business on June 24, 2022," along with the hashtags #Elvis and #TCB, which stands for Presley band name and favorite catchphrase, Taking Care of Business. "TCB" comes up a lot in the Elvis Presley story; after his 1968 NBC comeback special, the singer began doing live performances again and named his core group of musicians The TCB Band. TCB Productions was the name of his production banner, and his private plane — the Lisa Marie, named for his daughter— had "TCB" on her tail.
Luhrmann's caption accompanied teaser footage of Butler ( who previously played steely-eyed Manson family member "Tex" Watson in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time ... in Hollywood") rocking his sculpted pompadour and strutting his stuff in the untitled Elvis biopic, which Warner Bros. will be distributing.
Check out the clip below.
Only Fools Rush In... To Production
Set against the backdrop of a soulful acapella version of Presley's "Suspicious Minds," an immaculately-coiffed man — presumably Elvis — poses his way from the humble beginnings of a county fair to the set of a tv show (perhaps one of his early appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show"). It takes us all the way to him walking backstage with his closest circle of supporters in the iconic white jumpsuit, designed by Bill Belew, which would come to be associated with Elvis' Las Vegas engagements of the early '70s.
So, the movie appears to take us through the King's career from his birth in a two-room shotgun house in Mississippi to rock and roll immortality. Elvis' story is a sprawling one, a true rags-to-riches arc that demands a storyteller who goes big or goes home. As such, Baz Luhrmann, he of the three-hour epic "Australia" and the all-out Hollywood musical "Moulin Rouge," is the man for the job.
Elvis Monday⚡️
Made a little something to let you good people know we are taking care of business on June 24, 2022.#Elvis #TCB pic.twitter.com/grf8IGqfw9
— Baz Luhrmann (@bazluhrmann) November 15, 2021
The forthcoming Elvis movie is penned by Luhrmann & Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner, based on a story by Luhrmann and Doner. It stars Butler opposite Tom Hanks (who plays longtime Presley manager Colonel Tom Parker), with Olivia DeJonge, Yola Quartey, Luke Bracey, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Dacre Montgomery, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, and David Wenham in supporting roles.
The untitled Elvis movie arrives in theaters on June 24, 2022.