Elvis – American Trilogy

Baz Luhrmann charts Elvis Presley's trajectory through three eras as he stands at the cultural/commercial crossroads of change in America with long-time manager Colonel Tom Parker. The director and his cast tell Total Film how they crafted a Shakespearean tale of "the greatest carnival act" in Elvis... and what Priscilla Presley thinks about it all.

- By Jane Crowther

How am I? asks director Baz Luhrmann when Total Film catches up with the Aussie filmmaker in an LA editing suite as he races to finish his latest opus in time for a bow at the Cannes Film Festival. For a man who doesn't get tired, I'm tired. Having just battled a bout of Covid while finalizing the mix of his film, Luhrmann is on the final furlong of a long journey with Elvis Presley that, on reflection, he's been on since his childhood.

Growing up in Heron's Creek in New South Wales where his dad ran the projector at the local cinema, Luhrmann was brought up on weekend matinees of Elvis' studio pics. As a kid, I just thought he was the coolest, he recalls of his first exposure to the King's swivel-hipped charms. That fascination continued through his ballroom dancing years as Luhrmann coveted Presley's famous white jumpsuit for his Latin numbers, and remained a cultural presence in his life as his film career took off. But it wasn't until Luhrmann - a music and style magpie who often weaves modernity through period texts - began to toy with the idea of a biopic of a musical titan that Elvis and his rise-and-fall story spanning three decades really began to interest him. Though he admits he resisted the project for a long time, he felt that the tale of a poor southern boy transforming his cultural touchstones into an incendiary performance ability that changed rock 'n' roll history, took him into a profitable/toxic relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and ultimately left him dead at the age of 42, was too juicy to ignore.