“Elvis”: the long-awaited film will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival

The film Elvis begins its escalation of presentations and nothing better than opening the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which this year offers its 75th edition. The biopic's director and producer, Baz Luhrmann, will be presented there, along with the central cast of the production, Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Tom Hanks (Welcome to the Neighborhood) and Olivia DeJonge (The Visit), who play Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley and the director musical Tom Parker.

Luhrman, creator of major films such as Romeo and Juliet or Moulin Rouge, has not presented a film for more than six years (his last production was The Great Gatsby starring Leo DiCaprio). But his label is unmistakable and fans of Australian cinema are looking forward to the release of this film that had to overcome all the conflicts that the pandemic brought about. One of them was the suspension of filming when, in the midst of the spread of COVID-19, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive. The news spread all over the world as he was one of the first actors to contract the virus when very little was known, and of course, there were no vaccines yet.

Luckily, once the actor from Forrest Gump recovered, the recordings were resumed and the film could be finished. Now, then, we will see it at the Cannes Film Festival which will start on May 17 and run until 28 of the same month.

From the institutional communication of the event they published: “The film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker. T he story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker that spans more than 20 years, from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, in the context of the evolving cultural landscape and the loss of innocence in America. At the center of that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis' life, Priscilla Presley.”

Luhrmann has to his credit a kind of record in being the only director who could present two of his productions at the opening of the Festival. These are Moulin Rouge in 2001 (in competition) and The Great Gatsby in 2013 (in this case out of competition). Also in 1992 he presented his debut film in the Un certain regard section with his film Love is on the air.

Elvis is scheduled to release in the United States on June 24 (June 22 in the rest of the countries) and is produced by Bazmark and The Jackal Group.

Another film to be presented at Cannes will be Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise and which will enter out of competition (this film has a release date of May 27, the day before the end of the festival). But what could be confirmed is that Tom Cruise will receive a special award as a tribute to his years of career in the entertainment industry.

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