‘Elvis’ Director Baz Luhrmann on His Leading Man’s Transformation: ‘The Austin Butler That Was in Disney Shows Doesn’t Exist Anymore’

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBaz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” topped $100 million at the domestic box office on Friday, becoming one of the rare films without superheroes or dinosaurs to reach that mark. Globally, the Warner Bros. film has made over $170 million, an impressive result for this kind of material.To be fair, “Elvis” was expensive.

Baz Luhrmann‘s latest movie, the dazzling and operatic rock ‘n roll biopic “Elvis,” is in theaters now. And it’s wow-ing critics and audiences alike.

Fans who go see the new movie Elvis in theaters will probably be wondering if actor Austin Butler is doing his own singing in the film.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticDoes the phrase “that’s all right” apply to the new “Elvis” movie… as in, “that’s all correct”? No one is probably expecting that — any practiced watcher of biopics knows virtually any example of the form will take deep liberties with the facts for dramatic purposes. And maybe it’s a given that a director who puts hip-hop and hard rock on the soundtracks for period films, as Baz Luhrmann does, might favor effect over absolute verisimilitude.Still, “Elvis” is right on enough counts — literally or spiritually — that it’s worth trying to separate fact from fiction in the movie’s narrative of Elvis Presley (played by Austin Butler) and his nearly career-long manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).

Austin Butler is opening up about his role in Elvis.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWhile Austin Butler’s performance in Baz Lurhmann’s “Elvis” is visually captivating, the music experience is immersive. The film needs to be seen, but it demands to be heard.Composer Elliott Wheeler worked closely with music editor Jamieson Shaw, as the film dances between Butler’s vocals, Elvis Presley’s voice and newly recorded versions of the King’s classics like Kacey Musgraves’ rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”Wheeler says Butler recorded every single line of each performance seen in the film, and Presley’s voice was then mixed in when needed.

Paul McCartney on Thursday while promoting his Elvis movie on The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. The 30-year-old actor, who plays Elvis Presley in the new biographical musical Elvis directed by Baz Luhrmann, said he was in awe when he sat across from Paul, 80, for a more than two-hour train ride. 'Suddenly, I'm sitting on a trail across from Paul McCartney, the French countryside is going by and [Stella McCartney] plays the song that he listened to with Elvis,' Austin said.

The soundtrack for Elvis is out now!

Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Elton John, who got his own movie with “Rocketman,” Presley comes with more pop-culture baggage than you could stuff into a million Gracelands.There’s the campy Vegas impersonators, the “thank you, thank you very much” catchphrase, the white jumpsuit, the late-in-life weight gain and, of course, dying on the toilet at age 42. For such a singular figure in music — still instantly recognizable to teens today in a way that Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon are not — he’s not allowed much dignity.Luhrmann’s hugely entertaining film and Butler’s sensational performance are dead set on righting that wrong. A movie that runs on jet fuel and confetti, “Elvis” is a tribute to Presley’s innovative spirit, deep passion for fusing blues, country and gospel music and the intense connection he had with his audience. Elvis taking inspiration from black musicians like B.B.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorDirector Baz Luhrmann  hoped “Elvis” would be much more than a biopic of Elvis Presley — he wanted to capture a time with a social history of this captivating figure that also told the story of America.Starring Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, “Elvis” spans two decades. The backdrop is America’s Southern bible belt, the evolving cultural landscape, and the rock ‘n’ roller’s meteoric rise to stardom.Costume designer Catherine Martin explains there are two costume styles in the movie — “recreations of costumes that existed, and the other fictionalized outfits that are a synthesis of outfits that he actually had that help tell the story.” The pink suit rockabilly suit Butler sports was just one of 90 costumes he wore.

Elvis film exists, including scenes that show the legendary singer meeting Richard Nixon.Speaking to Radio Times in a new interview published yesterday (June 20), Luhrmann explained that the longer version exists, but needed to be worked into a smaller cut to for audiences.“I have a four-hour version, actually,” he said. “I do.

According to director Baz Luhrmann, a longer version of his newest biopic, Elvis. 

RadioTimes.com. The director’s latest biopic clocks in at a runtime of two hours and 39 minutes.

Elvis Presley.Baz Luhrmann — director of the upcoming biopic “Elvis” — recently revealed that he has a much longer cut of the musical drama.“I mean, I have a four-hour version, actually,” the Australian filmmaker, 59, told Radio Times.He also noted that there were a lot of extra scenes he wanted to include that would have helped complete the story of Elvis, portrayed by Austin Butler. However, there are serious time constraints. “You have to bring it down to 2 hours 30 [minutes],” he said.“I would have liked to lean into some of the other things more,” Luhrmann went on.

As long as you have a pretty basic knowledge of filmmaking, you understand that directors often turn in much longer versions of films when they first edit the footage together. Often, you can see a film is nearly twice its length in the first cut than it is for its eventual release.

David Bowie, explaining how they almost worked on a project together in Berlin.The director, who worked with the late musician on the soundtrack for 2001’s Moulin Rouge!, told NME about how Bowie’s classic track ‘Changes’ impacted his life.“From the moment I first heard this song, I was a huge Bowie fan,” Luhrmann said. “I eventually worked with him [on the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack] and then towards the end of his life, he became a very good friend.“He used to come round and we’d walk the dogs.

Priscilla Presley is giving “Elvis” her seal of approval.