What do you think of this Elvis biopic trailer?

[True Dough]

Likely to watch, or nah?

Link to tweet

[True Dough]

1. The lead actor

looks a little more like John Travolta in these stills than he does Elvis, IMO.

Link to tweet

[blm]

2. The Unchained Melody track confuses me. AFAIK Elvis only sang it

partially during a live Las Vegas appearance 2 weeks before he died. Was there an actual recording made in the studio by Elvis at that same time and never released all these years? Did the film-makers get an impersonator to record the song, passing it off as Elvis?

[csziggy]

3. I can't answer your question but I found this video

In it, Elvis said he'd just recorded the song and it was to be released in two weeks - so just about the time he died.

[blm]

4. Wow. Hard to believe the studio recording was never released.

And he seems very winded and unwell at that show. The movie soundtrack version sounds so strong, like peak Elvis.

[csziggy]

5. That's a question for Elvis' estate - why wouldn't they release a new to him song?

After all, they've been willing to milk his legacy for all they can get.

[Docreed2003]

7. He sang it many times in the 70's

Also, not to nitpick but to inform, his last concert was in June of 77 in Indianapolis...his final Vegas concert was in Dec of 76.

[blm]

8. Just trying to piece it together based on

what I’ve heard about that particular song. That’s why I used AFAIK. I don’t know the full story and have questions. I know Elvis loved the Righteous Brothers. 😁

I’d ask a former lawyer of his estate, but, he lost some of his memory after a kidney transplant, and we’re ALL getting older. 😉

[Docreed2003]

11. That's a cool connection you have!

I was a lead tour guide at Graceland during med school and I had to memorize all kinds of "useless Elvis trivia" in addition to learning all about the house. My wife finds my knowledge both amusing and annoying...so I apologize again if I came across as a "know it all".

[blm]

14. You were fine.

My old friend was the lawyer for the estate in the 90s. He specialized in music in film. He grew up in the biz, too, as his dad was Sherwood Schwartz (Father Knows Best, Gilligan’s Island, Brady Bunch). He was having memory problems last time we spoke. 😢

Did you spend any time with Jerry Schilling? He was always kind to me when I was working with Les Paul.

[Docreed2003]

16. Wow, had to process "working with Les Paul"

How incredible was that?!

I was able to meet Jerry several times during my time at Graceland. He was always incredibly gracious with the tour guides and always had the best stories.

[blm]

17. Worked on a few of Les' projects with hm.

One of them was Schilling’s History of RocknRoll.

[madaboutharry]

6. It is just so sad what happened to Elvis.

Maybe he would have had a better life if he hadn’t become famous.

[underpants]

9. It's a big picture. I had to look up how long it is

2:50

We saw the trailer during the Olympics. I said “Hey! Tom Hanks!” and then realized he was Colonel Tom Parker.

Taking on Elvis is a huge role. I did like that they show him sneaking into black tent shows. At least that pays some homage to where he got his music.

Looks good. Definitely see it.

[Docreed2003]

10. I'm sure I'll go see it

Elvis deserves to have a well done biopic. In todays world, it's very easy for folks to gloss over his story. I think part of that is due to the fact that Elvis is so ubiquitous to all things culture. There was really no one who had that kind of impact culturally before him. It's hard to imagine what it must have been like on Elvis going from poverty to superstardom in the course of basically a year, all between the ages of 20 & 21. He was an extremely complex individual who was broken by the fame he chased. There's a great series of books on Elvis' life by Peter Guralnick. The first book "Last Train to Memphis" covers his life from childhood through the death of his mother and it's especially good. What I'm afraid of in this movie is that it will attempt to cover too much ground in one movie and end up being nothing more than flashes of Presley's story. I will say that both in his voice and mannerisms, Hanks looks like he nails Tom Parker in this flick.

[True Dough]

12. "There was really no one who had that kind of impact culturally before him."

That Jesus Christ fella seemed to make an impact, Doc.



Just pulling your leg!

[Docreed2003]

13. Lmao...well played

Very well played

[blm]

15. Some say, anyway.

😉

[mnhtnbb]

18. That's going on the calendar.

[True Dough]

19. Let me guess,

it will be Oh Happy Day!