Why Harry Styles was not chosen to portray Elvis Presley in upcoming biopic: ‘He was desperate’

Elvis Presley, starring rising star Austin Butler, was released. The new film focuses on The King's relationship with his controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, who some fans believe made him the music icon he was, while others believe he held back the singer leading to his untimely demise. When cast in the role, Tom Hanks ended up having dinner with Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley who asserted that the Colonel wasn't the villain some make him out to be.

Kacey Musgraves puts a slower spin on Elvis Presley‘s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” for a newly released music video for the upcoming Elvis movie.

Priscilla Presley, daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, and granddaughter, Riley Keough — made it official, with a hand and footprint ceremony at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The trio — along with Lisa Marie's 13-year-old twin daughters, Harper and Finley — was honored in celebration of the legacy of their famous family, as well as the upcoming release of the biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll himself. Luhrmann and Butler both spoke at the ceremony, which was a moving moment for all of the members of the family, who have been outspoken in their support of the upcoming film and its portrayal of their late, iconic patriarch.«It means a lot, absolutely, to my family and the people who knew Elvis really, really well, to be honored in this way,» Priscilla told ET, adding that the theater — then known as the Grauman's Chinese Theatre — was one of the first sights she saw with Elvis when she first came to Los Angeles in 1962. «It's just incredibly emotional and kind of hard to process, but it's definitely such a big honor,» Riley agreed.For Lisa Marie, the film's release feels like a much larger cultural moment than just a celebration of her father's legacy — not only explores the life of the man himself, but the Black artists and cultural traditions that shaped his musical background.«It means everything to us, it's so important,» she shared. «I mean, everything that's happening right now… the movie is important. The subject matter is important.

Elvis Presley’s family are leaving their mark on Hollywood.

Eight Elvises, was sold by the Italian art collector Annibale Berlingieri in a private sale for $100m to an unidentified buyer, thought to be the Qatari royal family. In 2014, another Warhol painting, Triple Elvis, sold for nearly $82m at an auction at Christie’s in New York. In the years since his death, the character of Elvis has featured in some 31 feature films, played by actors including Kurt Russell, Harvey Keitel and Don Johnson.

Austin Butler felt a heavy weight on his shoulders when it came time to step into Elvis Presley's blue suede shoes for the upcoming biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann.«Elvis is so loved and so iconic,» the actor told ET's Nischelle Turner earlier this week. «You feel a responsibility playing any human that has actually lived, but with him, it's a weight like I never felt before.»«There's a responsibility to his family, and also putting his story into context,» he continued. «There's so many misconceptions about him, there's so many ideas about him.

Austin Butler is undoubtedly the man of the hour and talk of the town.MORE: Austin Butler is unrecognizable as Elvis PresleyThe actor has been making waves left and right, red carpet after red carpet, and his latest promotional visit was to none other than Today studios, where he chatted with the one and only Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.Opening up to the co-hosts about his journey to embody the iconic singer and his efforts to portray him as accurately as possible, he also revealed a shocking – and heartbreaking – connection the actor and the rockstar have.WATCH: The Elvis trailerJenna was the one to make the revelation, telling Austin: "One thing that you and Elvis have in common, a heartbreaking thing, is that you both lost your mothers at 23."She went on to ask him: "How did that inspire you to get into this role?" which led him to explain how hard he found it at first to become Elvis rather than just an impersonation of him.He detailed the pressure and distance he felt from the late star, saying: "It's that thing where when you first look at Elvis he feels so much larger than life, and you look at him like a god-like figure or a caricature of Elvis."A post shared by TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@hodaandjenna)The heartbreaking revelationRecalling some of the tapes he attempted to film of himself to share with his director, he admitted he wasn't satisfied, saying: "I fell into that, the first month when I was trying to work, where I'd tape myself and I watched it back and I just saw an impersonation, and I just couldn't send it to Baz."MORE: Lisa Marie Presley mourns late son BenjaminMORE: Kaia Gerber and Austin Butler's hottest style momentsHowever, everything changed when he learned about the connection they had over

Austin Butler had more than a few nerves when it came time to take on the role of Elvis Presley in the upcoming Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic, . The actor dealt with his nerves by becoming nearly «obsessive» in his research for the role, learning all about Elvis' life, career, family, and even his iconic voice.«I said, 'I'm just gonna drop everything and I'm gonna obsess. I'm going to allow myself to obsess,'» he recalled in a behind-the-scenes clip from the film. «And so I just started reading and watching everything I could on his life and on his friends and on his relationships and listened to only his music.»The other thing Butler had working in his favor as he tackled the daunting role was the support of Elvis' family.

Priscilla Presley was joined by her daughter Lisa Marie Presley in a rare appearance at the U.S. premiere of "Elvis." Priscilla and Lisa Marie were part of a rare three generation appearance at Graceland in Memphis, as they were joined by the "Lights Out" singer's daughters; Riley Keough along with Finley Aaron Love and Harper Vivienne Anne Lockwood. The group posed for photos with the star of "Elvis," Austin Butler.

Harry Styles in a new interview, saying the singer “embodies so much of Elvis”.The director’s biopic about the king of rock’n’roll will be released in cinemas in the UK on June 24 and is simply called Elvis.Speaking to The Times about the new movie – which stars Austin Butler in the titular role – Luhrmann observed that Elvis had “incredible style”. “Before people talked about [gender] fluidity, he had knitted bolero tank tops with his midriff hanging out, truck driver sideburns, make-up and dyed black hair,” he said. “He wore what would have been called, in the 19th century, dandy clothes.”When Styles was mentioned to him as the modern version of that, the filmmaker replied: “I know Harry well.

Harry Styles and Elvis Presley are both pop-culture sensations who crossed over to movies after wildly successful music careers. But for “Elvis” director Baz Luhrmann, their status as generational icons made Styles a poor choice to play The King in his new biopic.

Harry Styles will appear on the YouTube series The First Take.The pop star has recorded his session for the Japanese music series on YouTube, which arrives this Monday (June 13).The First Take challenges artists to perform whatever song they’d like to, but the caveat is that it has to be in one take with no vocal or visual effects.Previous performances have come from CHAI, Tomorrow X Together and many others.A short teaser of Styles’ attempt has been shared ahead of its airing – watch below.⠀ THE FIRST TAKE⠀ ⠀ ⠀ OUT AT MONDAY 6/13 9AM EST 6/13 6AM PST 6/13 2PM BST 6/13 10PM JST▶︎ https://t.co/xVntU2Qokq・#THEFIRSTTAKE pic.twitter.com/8g3AQ6Q5Ou— THE FIRST TAKE (@The_FirstTake) June 7, 2022Viewers on Eastern Standard Time in the US can watch the performance from 9am on Monday, while Pacific Standard Time viewers can catch it from 6am. UK viewers can watch it from 2pm while those in Japan can see it from 10pm.Meanwhile, Baz Luhrmann has explained why he didn’t cast Styles in his Elvis biopic.The director said in a new interview that the pop star “is a really talented actor” but wasn’t quite right for the role that eventually went to Austin Butler.

Did you know Harry Styles’s first-ever recorded song was apparently a cover of Elvis Presley’s version of “The Girl of My Best Friend?” The “Watermelon Sugar” singer grew up listening to The King as a kid, so naturally, he eventually became a frontrunner to play the legend for director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic. But alas, it was not meant to be. “Harry is a really talented actor.

Harry Styles wasn’t cast in his Elvis Presley biopic and, honestly, it makes total sense. The filmmaker reckons the Grammy Award winning musician is just too much of an ‘icon’ to play Presley, which is surely the nicest job rejection you could possibly get. As It Was hitmaker Styles went for the lead role in Luhrmann’s biopic of The King, but ultimately lost out to Austin Butler.

Baz Luhrmann revealed why Harry Styles wasn’t cast as Elvis Presley in the upcoming “Elvis” movie in a new interview.