But not everything in the film is entirely true to life. Having to compile four decades of life into a two-hour and 39-minute run time made for many details of Presley's career to blur together, while some were fictionalized entirely for the sake of entertainment.
During “Burning Love,” there are a few shots of the real Elvis in there. It was all sublime. We didn't want to distract audiences too much, but there are quite a few shots of him in the movie.
Starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks alongside a range of performers portraying real-life superstars, the movie has its roots in reality. As with any Luhrmann project, accuracy inevitably gives way to showmanship. Considering the subject, this is probably the right approach.
But for Elvis, it was revealed that the movie would not be filmed at the legendary estate. Instead, Graceland would be recreated at the filming location of Queensland, Australia, where the crew built notable parts of the mansion on the set.
The Colonel himself ended up being the greatest sucker of them all, giving back almost his entire fortune to the Hilton croupiers.
Colonel Parker agreed to turn over all of Mr. Presley's master recordings to RCA for $1 million. The rest of the payment was for movies, television clips and Colonel Parker's rights to a 1977 videotaped Presley concert.
Since he had never applied for U.S. citizenship, he was essentially a man without a country and no one had jurisdiction over him. Such tactics delayed resolution so long that the Presley estate finally settled with Parker, and he received a $2 million settlement from RCA Records.
Where Was “Elvis” Filmed? “Elvis” was filmed in Queensland, Australia. Production of the film took place in the Gold Coast region of Queensland, which sits slightly south of Brisbane along the country's eastern coast.
Seems like a lot considering he “only” got paid $700,000 for his most famous role—but this could have something to do with the fact that he's starring in the upcoming Dune 2 and presumably commanded a pretty high post-Elvis paycheck. Either way, expect Austin to stay humble.
Not just him, his co-star Tom Hanks has reportedly earned a whopping $8 million for playing Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The masterpiece directed by Baz Luhrmann was released on June 24, 2022.
The sum varies from $2 million to $10 million, she says, and as the movie shows, Elvis ultimately decided he couldn't afford to pay and went back to work for the colonel.
Out of the ridiculous $10.5million figure, Elvis received $4.5million and the Colonel received $6million.
After a lifetime that saw him earn in excess of $100 million, Parker's estate was worth barely $1 million when he died.
In 1983, during her 25th birthday, Lisa Marie finally inherited her father's entire estate, which had grown to about $100 million.
In 2010, Elvis Presley was threatened with kidnap and death during his Las Vegas concert. During the Civil War, King George was armed and ready to fire with FBI agents hidden throughout the audience. He amassed a large collection of firearms in addition to his love of guns, which he openly displayed at Memphis.
In order to play Presley, Butler had to use a Tennessee accent as well as his own singing voice for certain performance scenes in the film.
A majority of this money comes in through Graceland, which earns around $10 million annually during a typical year. All in all, the Presley estate is worth anywhere between $400 to $500 million as of 2020, according to a Presley estate executive cited in a report by Rolling Stone.
In the starring role as The King himself is 30-year-old American actor, Austin Butler, and co-starring in the film is Tom Hanks, who plays Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker.
Over the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia became somewhat of a haven for movie and TV show makers who were looking to create media in a safe environment – with the bonus of the great weather when staying on the Gold Coast, and what Lynne Benzie refers to as “enormous financial and industry-specific benefits.”
Filming took place at Village Roadshow Studios – one of the many recent films shot in the Sunshine State with the support of Screen Queensland – where production used empty backlots and local construction to build elaborate sets and recreate moments of musical history.
The main cast of Baz Luhrmann's upcoming musical drama “Elvis” has been set, with Richard Roxburgh, Helen Thomson, David Wenham, Luke Bracey and Dacre Montgomery among the prominent Australian actors co-starring with Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge in the film.
Yes, Colonel Tom Parker did go to Elvis' funeral.
The Wanted's Tom Parker left £70k to widow after he died from cancer without writing will. The Wanted singer Tom Parker died without making a will before he died after a gruelling battle with cancer, but the singer left £70,000 to his widow Kelsey.