Not to belabor this point, but it may be that they want to convey the image of Butler as doing it all, and think it would reflect poorly upon him or the film if it was known that someone dubbed some vocals for him. I was talking more about his ego being damaged by not being able to sing as well as Jake Rowley. Ah well. I don't have a dog in this race or a strong opinion one way or the other. I'm just saying it's not implausible to think they might want to try to conceal it if Butler had "help" from Rowley. It would not be the first time such a thing was done.
...and that's just the Warner Brothers American YT channel. I added up well over 10 million views from multiple channels around the world. I think they're going to promote this like crazy and a cooped-up populace is probably going to be hitting the theaters hard this summer. This movie could be huge. What a boon for the preservation of Elvis' legacy.
I think you are spot-on, Art. I speculated a few years ago that if a biographical movie of Elvis finally got made and featured a new young actor with some degree of charisma and good looks, Elvis's legacy could reach a new generation of fans that might really appreciate his talent and revolutionary style. I think this trailer is getting quite the positive buzz right now. The comments from the public at large seem extremely positive regarding the trailer and Austin Butler in general. I myself was very skeptical about Baz Luhrmann producing this project. Not because he isn't talented, but because I was worried about what poetic licenses he would take with the story. After I saw several stories about the amount of research he was doing in Memphis and in Tupelo for the project, I began to feel a bit better about the upcoming movie. I am not saying I am definitely going to love this film, but I absolutely love the trailer. Elvis himself was flashy, over the top and often bombastic, so maybe Elvis and Baz were a match made in heaven, Lol. I still reserve the right to hate this film, once I actually see the final product, but right now I'm about as excited as I've ever been for a posthumous Elvis project.
I do wonder if Austin Butler was the biggest name to fill this role? Feel like a bigger name would have pushed this to possible big hit territory.
I thought a lot about the casting of Austin Butler in this role as well. Baz casted his net pretty wide with some of the most well known younger heartthrobs in the business auditioning for this hotly contested role, from Harry Styles to Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort, but I think it was important for the actor chosen not to be so famous that the audience would see him more as his own personality than Elvis's. Going with an actor not so well known by everybody, allows him to become Elvis more easily or at least our suspension of disbelief can be heightened with a less well known personality playing the role. What I like about Austin is the fact that he is also a musician himself and can actually play the piano and guitar a bit. He also said he basically did nothing but live and breathe Elvis for the last three or four years and didn't mind it a bit. Although not a spiting image of Elvis, he is handsome enough be a believable sex symbol. I more interested in his ability as an actor. Quentin Tarantino liked Austin enough to cast him in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, so that is a good sign. As @BeatleJWOL pointed out earlier, no actor is going to have the exact looks and unmatched charisma of Elvis Presley, but I will take a good-looking actor that can adequately capture some of the magnetism and heart of the man and his musicality.
Coulda ruined it too though. This choice feels right; not a super-unknown, but not a bigger name/face that has been over-exposed, either.
My number one hope for the movie is that it inspire audiences to seek out Elvis' music and recognize his unique and incredible artistry. HBO's doc THE SEARCHER was a great start at showing a more balanced and real look at Presley beyond the stereotypes. The trailer getting so many views is certainly a good sign. The interest is there.
Must be a bit funny for Tom Hanks, who has been a successful actor for long enough to have once been young enough to play Elvis, but now he's playing Colonel Parker!
As someone who does not care all that much about Elvis, I am blown away by the trailer. It looks amazing and it will be so over the top, stylish and outrageous.
That's my reaction as well. I'm astonished by the nit-pickers who don't like the casting, and somehow want an exact robotic clone who's indistinguishable from the real Elvis. From every actor alive today, I think it's hard to imagine somebody better in the role than Austin Butler. Note that he spent three years on singing, piano, and guitar lessons so he could do a convincing job. From what I see, his on-stage movements and hand gestures are uncannily accurate.
Luhrmann's work is not exactly "subtle," so he's definitely an acquired taste. I liked Moulin Rouge, but hated Great Gatsby, so there you go.
Australia is probably his most "subtle" film (or at least the most conventional), but also the least memorable, and the one that I'm least likely to want to watch again. I'd watch Moulin Rouge again tomorrow.
I too love Baz' style. Saw this in the cinema when it opened, and own it on blu ray. It's going to be a long wait till June!
Thought Moulin Rouge was awful, and hated Great Gatsby.. but love Elvis Presley! Do you see where I’m coming from.
Luhrmann just might be the right director to present such a larger than life personality as Presley (and Andreas Cornelis (Dries) van Kuijk)- calling him Colonel Tom Parker seems a bit disingenuous. The amount of work that Butler put into the part has to speak volumes about how committed he is to the role.
And you did watch more than the first 15 minutes of Moulin Rouge? Because most of the people I know who hate the film never watched the entire thing.
Yes! Stuck in the cinema, if I hadn’t been with someone I’d of walked out. They hated it as well…. Found out later.
Have early EJ albums sacds but the Elton biopic was terrible. Don’t have any Queen record’s but thought Queen biopic was good. Huge Elvis Presley fan. With this Elvis biopic .. I’ll know doubt watch for period detail and music, performance ? Hopefully I’m wrong.
This is what impressed me as well. Here is a quote from an article in the Commercial Appeal newspaper regarding Austin's perspective on taking on the role of Elvis: Early in the process, Butler said he felt like "when you're a kid and you put on your father's suit and the sleeves are much too long and the shoes are like boats on your feet. How could I do anything but feel like less than this superhuman individual?" "Ultimately, I had to unleash myself from the constraints of (impersonation) and try to live the life as fully as possible... to find the life within and the passion and the heart."
I saw all of Moulin Rouge, and while I thought it was a visual feast, I kinda rolled my eyes at the musical anachronisms. I get that it was supposed to be wild and wacky, like a contemporary Broadway musical, but watching it felt like I was getting punched and pumelled while watching it. It's an exhausting film.
