Elvis Presley to Get the Baz Luhrmann Treatment in a Biopic
Unless he's caught in a trap and can't walk out, it looks like 'The Great Gatsby' director Baz Luhrmann will be directing a film about the life of Elvis Presley, though it's unknown how much of the king of Rock and Roll's life the film will cover.
The Wrap broke the news that Luhrmann is in negotiations to make the movie with a script from 'Saving Mr. Banks' and 'Fifty Shades of Grey' screenwriter Kelly Marcel. They wouldn't be the first to tackle Presley's life story as John Carpenter made a TV movie about the performer (which starred Kurt Russell) in 1979. More recently, in 2005 Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Rose McGowan starred in a miniseries about Elvis and Ann-Margret, while Elvis has turned up as a character in numerous films from 'Forrest Gump' to 'Bubba Ho-Tep.'
Though Luhrmann's style seems a little more Liberace than Presley, there's no denying he would make an interesting fit for the material, and as he turns most of his films into musicals, this seems like great material for him to exercise his talents. There's also a lot of unexplored territory with the musician's life. Most films have focused on the young Elvis, but there's no denying there's something fascinating about his final years as he became bloated and addicted to drugs. But we could just as easily see Luhrmann drawn to making a film about the impossibly inane musicals that Presley was serviced into making by manager "Colonel" Tom Parker, which had him singing about smorgasbords and having no room to rumba in a sports car (seriously). See for yourself: