You just wanna go to a movie show and sit there holdin’ hands. You’re so square.

Well, there’s nothing wrong with being square if the movie show’s subject is the one and only Elvis himselvis!

It may have gotten off to a slow start thanks to Tom Hanks’ rendezvous with that pesky disease, one that has put a crimp on many a plan, but Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic of Elvis will be in a cinema near you soon…well, soon enough! 2022 in fact.

Filmed in sunny Queensland and simply titled “Elvis”, it spans the 1950s to the 1970s, a tumultuous few decades for America, with struggles for civil and social rights, equality and social justice dominating the narrative of the times.  Against this backdrop, however, Elvis stood out as a symbol of counterculture.  The film follows his rise to stardom from the age of 13 to his partnership with the Colonel (Tom Hanks), his first film, Love Me Tender, his stint in the military, his marriage to Priscilla (Olivia de Jonge) to him being crowned the “King of Rock and Roll”.

We’re hoping the lead actor, Austin Butler, captures the essence of Elvis.  Baz is not one to disappoint so our hopes are high!  He made it clear that he couldn’t make this film until the casting was perfect, searching “thoroughly for an actor with the ability to evoke the singular natural movement and vocal qualities of this peerless star, but also the inner vulnerability of the artist”.  Other actors in contention for the part included Harry Styles, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ansel Elgort before Baz settled on the “swoon-worthy” Butler.

Peerless, indeed, Elvis was and, with the monumental task of playing him, Austin enlisted the help of a trainer to replicate his build and to nail those unmistakable Elvis hip moves, to make sure the way he moves his hips down to his fingertips will make us feel heaven bound!  Baz even took Austin with him while doing research in Tupelo, Mississippi, posting a picture on Instagram in October 2019 at the entrance of the Tupelo Hardware Co. Inc.  Now, if you don’t know the significance of this iconic store it’s time to do a little research!

Priscilla has been “involved as much as Baz will let me be involved” and Baz’s wife, Catherine Martin, is the film’s costume designer.  She worked alongside him on Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby, earning her a total of four Oscars.  Could this film earn her another Oscar?  We’ll wait and see.

We are all fired up for this film, popcorn at the ready!

Colonel Clarker signing off