Presley Family Has Concerns Over New Movie

Above, the Graceland Pool and the Meditation Garden in the background. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since Elvis Presley's death in August 1977, I have seen only one docudrama on the King of Rock 'N Roll. That was the one starring Kurt Russell and Season Hubley. It was an okay movie, but I have no interest in seeing the new one that's about to be released. I really don't see Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker, Presleys manager.

I was wondering if the Presley Family had any input into it. Apparently very little. In fact, they have concerns about it.

According to the Express (U.K.):

ELVIS PRESLEY's relatives, who were so close to The King that they'd spend hours talking to him on his bed upstairs at Graceland, have shared their concern over the upcoming Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, claiming they weren't consulted and that The Colonel's voice is wrong. Meanwhile, Priscilla Presley has admitted she is "very nervous" about how the film could turn out, despite having met with the director.

Around a month ago, Warner Bros released the first trailer for the upcoming Elvis movie. Baz Luhrmann’s biopic will chart the life and career of The King through the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. The creative team behind the film have consulted Graceland and others like the star’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley about the project, although some family members aren’t sure what they’re going to make of the movie’s accuracy, having seen the first footage.

Elvis Presley's cousin and last surviving original Memphis Mafia member Billy Smith knew The King before he was famous and was one of the last people to see the star alive.

On his YouTube channel Elvis Fans Matter, he said: “I just won’t go to the movies to see something like that now. When it comes on TV, I’ll probably wind up watching it sooner or later. It’ll be interesting to me to see how Tom Hanks plays The Colonel. Outside of that, I don’t know. I’ll probably get around to watching it, but I don’t know when or where or if I’m going to be here to watch it, but we’ll see. And with that, I don’t care nothing else about this subject.”

When he and his wife Jo, who used to spend hours talking to Elvis in his Graceland bedroom, were asked if they were consulted for the movie, they said no and added: “It’s from another point of view.”

If there's any documentary on Elvis Presley worth watching, it would be Elvis Presley:The Searcher.

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