See the Film, Live the Legacy
Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS
Official Movie Site
See the Film, Live the Legacy
Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS
Official Movie Site
From Oscar-nominated visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann comes Warner Bros. Pictures' drama "ELVIS," starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks. A thoroughly cinematic drama, Elvis’s (Butler) story is seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
From Oscar-nominated visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann comes Warner Bros. Pictures' drama "ELVIS," starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks. A thoroughly cinematic drama, Elvis’s (Butler) story is seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
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Baz Luhrmann recreated Memphis to film ELVIS on Australia's Gold Coast, but you can visit the real locations in Memphis, Tennessee, where Elvis spent his childhood, got his start as a recording artist and lived throughout his career. Elvis' home was and will always be Memphis.
- Tupelo, Mississippi, is Elvis' birthplace, less than 2 hours' drive southeast of Memphis. Local organizations, including Graceland, offer day tours to Tupelo's Elvis Presley Birthplace & Museum.
- The Presleys settled into Lauderdale Courts (now called Uptown Square) upon moving to downtown Memphis. Today, you can tour and even sleep over in the Presley family apartment.
- Check out the historic marker at Humes High School, Elvis' Memphis alma mater.
- From 1957 to his death in 1977, Elvis called his Memphis mansion, Graceland, home. Today, it is open for tours (including Elvis' car museum), concerts and events like Elvis Week just 20 minutes south of downtown Memphis.
- Priscilla had her classic hairstyles coiffed at The Beauty Shop Restaurant halfway between Graceland and downtown Memphis. Today, pop in for lunch, dinner, cocktails or weekend brunch.
MOMENTS FROM BAZ LUHRMANN'S ELVIS
- The historic Beale Street Entertainment District is just over a mile from Lauderdale Courts, Elvis' boyhood apartment in downtown Memphis. Walk Beale, lined with dozens of bars and clubs, to soak in the sights and sounds just like Elvis did. Pop into the street's Memphis Music Hall of Fame to learn more about inductees including Elvis and B.B. King (portrayed in ELVIS by Kelvin Harrison Jr.).
- To see where Elvis first recorded, and even hold his mic, tour Sun Studio, just a mile from Beale Street at the edge of downtown Memphis.
- A few minutes east of Sun Studio, check out the free spring-through-fall concert series at Overton Park Shell, where Elvis gave his first paid concert in July 1954.
- About a block from Beale, take a selfie outside the Hotel Chisca. Now home to restaurants and apartments, the Chisca was where DJ Dewey Phillips first aired "That’s All Right (Mama)."
- Down the street from the Chisca, request the Elvis booth at The Arcade, one of Elvis' favorite Memphis restaurants.
- Shop at Lansky Brothers inside The Peabody Hotel, still owned by the family whose patriarch helped create Elvis' signature style.
- While Russwood Park, Memphis' original baseball stadium and host to an Elvis performance memorialized in the film, was lost to fire, you can swing by Memphis' new baseball stadium at AutoZone Park.
More Trip Ideas For True Elvis Fans
Can't help falling in love with Memphis? Here's more to explore.
When did Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS premiere?
Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS had its world premiere at Cannes in 2022, marking Luhrmann’s fourth film to go to the prestigious festival, following his lush interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” in 2013, his musical “Moulin Rouge!” in 2001, and his first feature, “Strictly Ballroom,” in 1992.
How did Austin Butler audition for ELVIS?
ELVIS star Austin Butler reached out to filmmaker Baz Luhrmann to audition for the role by submitting a video of himself playing the piano and singing the popular song “Unchained Melody,” which Presley had covered in 1977, and which appears on the ELVIS soundtrack.
Who is Colonel Tom Parker?
Oscar-winner Tom Hanks stars in ELVIS as the music icon’s only manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who started Elvis off in a touring company of performers that included country musician Hank Snow.
Who plays Elvis’ wife Priscilla Presley in ELVIS?
Native Australian Olivia DeJonge stars in ELVIS as his wife, Priscilla. DeJonge can also currently be seen as another real-life individual, playing Caitlin Atwater in the HBO Max true crime series “The Staircase,” alongside fellow Aussie Toni Collette.
Where was ELVIS filmed?
ELVIS takes place primarily in Tupelo, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Las Vegas, Nevada; Hollywood, California; and the various U.S.-based locales where Elvis performed throughout his career. However, the film was shot entirely on Australia’s Gold Coast, on the massive Village Roadshow sound stages, and surrounding locations.
How was Beale Street recreated for ELVIS?
Part of the action in ELVIS takes place along Memphis, Tennessee’s legendary Beale Street; the set took the production crew 12 weeks to build and, for authenticity, was constructed on a slope, like the real locale was at the time.
How was Graceland recreated for ELVIS?
To serve the story in the movie ELVIS, the filmmakers created Graceland as it appeared in the periods covered in the film, specifically the late 1950s, `60s and `70s. Production designers Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy and their teams pulled architectural details from blueprints provided by the Graceland Estate in order to recreate the elements of the home for the movie ELVIS. The ELVIS filmmakers viewed Graceland as a symbol and expression of Elvis’s success and built the interior sets on the massive Village Roadshow sound stages in Australia’s Gold Coast to reflect this. The exterior façade of Graceland was constructed on a rural property in the Gold Coast that possessed remarkably similar topography to the actual site in Memphis, including the pitch of the grassy slope leading up to the house. The ELVIS filmmakers built the interior sets to show Graceland the way it appeared when Elvis first purchased the house, and also changed elements to show updates the family made over time—for example, the floorboards seen when Elvis and his parents moved in are later carpeted in red shag for scenes that take place after the real Elvis had this bold design element installed.
How many cars and motorcycles were used in ELVIS?
It is well-documented that Elvis was a big collector of both cars and motorcycles, so for the film ELVIS, the production’s picture vehicles department acquired over 300 cars and motorbikes.