Hardly anyone doubts that Tom Hanks is a brilliant character actor. He will soon expand his repertoire of roles with a character that is rather unusual for him: in the new Elvis biopic he plays the greedy, cunning manager Colonel Tom Parker. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself is played by the hitherto less well-known Californian Austin Butler, while the Australian Olivia DeJonge appears as Elvis’ wife Priscilla.
First pictures, first words
“Elvis” is distributed by “Warner” and is the first work by director Baz Luhrmann since “The Great Gatsby” from 2013. Production in Australia was interrupted for a long time after Tom Hanks fell ill with Corona there in 2020. The strip is now scheduled to flicker across American screens from June 24, 2022, and a little later a film start in Germany is also expected. The first official trailer was released on Thursday (February 17).
Parker and Elvis: The Million Dollar Factory
The clip begins with Tom Hanks speaking the Colonel’s words: “Some might see me as the bad guy in this story.” This is how the real one reads: According to research by the American journalist Alanna Nash, in October 1954 a confidante informed Tom Parker about a boy in Memphis who makes the girls sob. As a result, the money magnate created Elvis, the biggest brand and youth icon in music history. In his contract with Elvis, he not only secured 25 percent (later 50 percent) of all net earnings – he also controlled the image and life of the superstar. Together they made millions and together they crashed: Presley messed himself up with pills, Parker with gambling.
“It can only ever be called Elvis and the Colonel”
“We’re the same, both of us: two unusual, lonely children, reaching for eternity,” says Tom Hanks into his protégé’s face in the final seconds of the trailer. After Elvis Presley spent his final moments in the bathroom at his Graceland ranch, Parker graced the burial in a Hawaiian look – his stout body covered in a silk shirt printed with palm trees, his head in a baseball cap. He refused to carry the coffin like friends and family members do – and made a decision: According to legend, he refused management requests from famous artists until his death with the words: “It can only ever be called Elvis and the Colonel”.