The new film dedicated to Elvis Presley is coming to the big screen in June. The Australian director Baz Luhrmann, author of “Moulin Rouge!”, “Romeo + Juliet” and “The Great Gatsby”, ventures into the story of the life of the rock 'n' roll icon.
Austin Butler, a 30-year-old actor best known for his roles in series such as The Carrie Diaries and The Shannara Chronicles or for Tex Watson, plays the legendary singer, who died prematurely after at least a decade of excess at just 42 years old in 1977.
Among the actors Tom Hanks, the enigmatic and somewhat disturbing Colonel Tom Parker, entrepreneur and talent scout who began his partnership, marked by light and shadow, with Presley, when the singer was 20 years old and was an emerging of Sun Records. .
But also Olivia DeJonge, in the role of the great love and later wife of Elvis, Priscilla, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Xavier Samuel, Kodi Smit-McPhee. "The great storytellers like Shakespeare did not make biographies, but used a life of a real person as a canvas to express their ideas - explains Luhrmann - I have always been a fan of Elvis, but I did not know in depth all the details of the mythical life he has. Deepening them, I realized that there would be nothing better than his journey to tell the America of the 50s, 60s and 70s, in which he lives three lives together. Elvis for me is a great canvas to explore America".
The biggest bet for the director, however, is Butler, chosen after six months of casting: "What thrilled me most about playing Elvis - says Butler - was exploring the humanity of a man who represented a mirror of society. , who has become almost a superhero in popular culture ". Butler sang many of Presley's songs for the film: "I worked on the role for over a year before shooting, I wanted to sound as real as possible," he explains.
"Austin sings all the songs of Elvis from the 50s, then moving forward in time his voice merges with that of the real Presley - underlines Luhrmann -. This is because his 50s recordings were mono and also remastered, they have a a sound that doesn't give a sense of reality in a film. We had to enter Elvis' soul and so we used our own language to do it. " To prepare, Butler studied rocker down to the smallest detail of the movements, "which change from decade to decade. I watched and listened to all the material available for months. I felt an incredible responsibility towards Elvis' family, Priscilla and his daughter Lisa. Marie ".
(Unioneonline / D)