Yeah I'm with you on the 70's wig. It is a little mullett-y (is that a word?).
I'll tell you what though, if that guy was lip syncing to the actual Elvis records it would completely ROCK! Visually he has got it down.
I'll say.
Sometimes the resemblance is a little off but other times it's uncanny.
And I should clarify about the still image. I just brought that page up to have another look at it and it's changed. I originally saw a picture of the guy made up to be Elvis from the 50's. THAT's the one that fooled me. The one that came up just now isn't anywhere near as deceptive.
Last edited by Cryogenic; 02-25-2005 at 02:38 PM.
Yeah, what he saidOriginally Posted by Cryogenic
I thought that WAS Elvis in that still image on the left-hand side of the screen! (Only the sideburns gave it away).
****.
VERY good makeup and wig work. Although... his hair is completely wrong at the back in the 70s era. It looks like an 80s mullet!
Shame about his singing. I sound more like Elvis than him. And I don't even sing professionally.), but the voice is dismal
Last edited by Cherokee; 02-26-2005 at 05:54 AM.
Who wants an MP3 of me singing "I'll Remember You"?
I could show this guy a thing or two!
LOL.
I'm getting ahead of myself a little - but he's no Elvis in the vocal department. That's a shame as he's obviously a competent enough singer in himself.
Did anyone see the UK programme "Stars In Their Eyes" a few weeks ago? They had a pretty decent guy singing "Suspicious Minds".
Ok, Guys! I'm excited to see that you're using this thread to discuss the upcoming mini series!!! Your raw, honest opinions are appreciated!!! I, for one, am looking forward to the series, but am prepared for a chance at dissapointment. Who knows, this could be a great film?
Anyway, here is the latest on the film... We've scored six new photos of the cast and crew, including shots of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Elvis, and Camryn Manheim as Gladys.
Also seen for the first time are Clay Steakley and Mark Miller as Elvis' bandmates Scotty Moore and Bill Black, respectively.
I will see this movie because i like Rose McGowan.
because the show she in "Charmed" she'll do fine to play ann.
And the last season She sing the song Fever and she did a fine job of it.
Curtis Simpkins
Long Live Vinyl.
:worthy:
Yep ... there have been some good + bad opions of this mini-series .... which makes for a healthy debate... and im afraid these latest screenshots dont change my view on this .... this guy is a very .. very ... dismal Elvis
and if u cant get the main character right .... u are doomed to fail
There is more information & cast interviews in this article:
http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dw...10c51e203.html
If I wasn't supposed to include the text or should have put it elsewhere, my apologies. I did look around a bit for some guidelines however no luck.
Eileen
=====================
Young actor will bring Elvis back to the small screen
05:26 PM CST on Saturday, March 5, 2005
By ED BARK / The Dallas Morning News
NEW ORLEANS ? Just 21 days old on the day Elvis Presley died, high-intensity Irishman Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the latest ascender to The King's throne.
So here he is onstage at the Scottish Rite Temple on Carondelet Street, where Masons usually call the tune. Preparing to replicate Elvis' first national TV performance, on the Jan. 28, 1956, edition of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's Stage Show, Mr. Rhys Meyers revs himself by furiously wriggling his hands near his hips.
"Well since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell ..." Guitar in hand, he slams into "Heartbreak Hotel," deftly matching his lips and gyrations with a piped-in recording of Elvis' one-and-only original. A couple of dozen extras whoop and squeal on cue to help prime the kid's pump during a taxing regimen of start-and-stop musical mimicry.
It's another day in the life of CBS's four-hour Elvis, scheduled to wrap this Wednesday after a nearly two-month shoot. Director James Sadwith, with the acclaimed 1992 CBS miniseries Sinatra to his credit, then will have just two months to meet a May 8 premiere date. Camryn Manheim and Randy Quaid also star as Mr. Presley's beloved mother, Gladys, and his controversial manager, Col. Tom Parker.
The production covers Elvis from ages 18 to 33, when he made his now-fabled 1968 "comeback" appearance via an NBC special. So there could, of course, be a sequel, particularly if Part 1 of Elvis somehow holds its own against ABC's Desperate Housewives.
"They'd have to pay me a helluva lot of money, baby!" Mr. Rhys Meyers, 27, laughs during a break from filming. "I'd become Vegas Elvis then! I'd get my own Colonel on it!"
Then he downshifts. "I don't know. Let's see how this one works first. I don't think it's an option right now. I'd have difficulty putting on that weight, first of all. I'd have difficulty taking it off, too."
For now he's a stick-thin, heavy-smoking daredevil best known for the 2002 feature film Bend It Like Beckham. His first response to the idea of playing Elvis is unprintable as he tells it. Then he warmed to the idea of putting himself in the crosshairs of The King's still fanatic fandom.
"I thought, 'Hold on a minute. I've gotta be brave. I've gotta be brave as I can be.' It's like that for any actor. I'm sure it was daunting for Jamie Foxx when they said, 'We want you to play Ray Charles.' But I have the guts to do it, the guts to fall down flat on my face if people don't like it."
Many others have gone before him, including pacesetter Kurt Russell in ABC's 1979 version of Elvis. Don Johnson then gave it a go in 1981's Elvis and the Beauty Queen, and Dale Midkiff starred in 1988's Elvis and Me.
The CBS treatment is the first to use Mr. Presley's master recordings rather than sound-alike vocals from the likes of veteran Elvis impersonator Ronnie McDowell. It's also being made with the "full cooperation and participation of the Elvis Presley Estate," which isn't necessarily a plus. ABC's 1990 weekly series Elvis, which also dramatized his early years, likewise had the full blessing of Priscilla Presley. But largely favorable reviews weren't enough to save it from a quick cancellation. Its star, Michael St. Gerard, hasn't had a screen credit of any kind since 1994's Replikator.
As a kid in Dublin, Mr. Rhys Meyers was "aware of Elvis Presley's music, but it wasn't something I was particularly into until I got this role. A lot of people my age, they get duped into thinking Elvis Presley was this guy in a jumpsuit on a Vegas stage who was very overweight and sweating profusely and then died in the bathroom. This is what you hear when you're a kid. But I now know he once was a young artist whose medium hadn't really been invented yet."
Mr. Quaid, a Houston native who "grew up with cousins with the ducktails emulating Elvis," rejected an earlier offer to play Col. Parker. He's more comfortable with this script and also newly determined to just say no to lunkhead roles such as Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure and the Fox sitcom The Grubbs, which never aired.
"I love comedy, but I'm just kind of over it right now," says Mr. Quaid, who received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Lyndon Johnson in 1987's LBJ: The Early Years.
"I really think it's an open question as to whether Col. Parker led Elvis astray," he says. "As long as Elvis had pocket money and could whip out the cash and buy what he wanted for his friends, he was happy.
"The way I'm playing Parker, it's more of a father-son relationship. The colonel is very adept at sizing people up. From his carnival background, he had a philosophy of either you're being hustled or somebody's being hustled by you. In a way he hustled Elvis. He's selfish in the way he operates, but at the same time he did take care of Elvis' career in such a way that who could argue with the stature of it. If Col. Tom hadn't of been there, would Elvis have attained that popularity?"
Mr. Quaid is game for a sequel but not sure that the Presley estate is.
"There's another 10 years, and there are a lot of warts there. It's amazing how they kept the whole show afloat with what was going down. It's not as romantic as the early years."
Elvis and the colonel don't have any scenes together on this particular day of shooting. This enables Mr. Quaid to relax in his downtown hotel while Mr. Rhys Meyers keeps his motor running. In the morning he shares a scene with young producer Steve Binder (Jack Noseworthy), architect of Mr. Presley's triumphant NBC special in times when The Beatles were in full flower.
"Let's be frank," Elvis is told. "I don't think most kids know who you are anymore."
A streamlined King in black leather would put him back on top. But first he had to buck both the colonel and the Peacock network.
"There is a problem, Elvis," Binder says. "The colonel and NBC want you to sing just Christmas songs. Yeah, well, I think that's too limiting, and exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. What do you think?"
"I think, let's do it," Elvis says. "I think it's gonna be great, Steve."
In his next scene, Mr. Rhys Meyers must rewind 12 years to Elvis' inaugural appearance on the aforementioned Stage Show. First the future King and his combo are backstage, which in this case is a tiny upstairs room in the Scottish Rite Temple.
"Imagine, being on TV at the same time as Perry Como," says one of Elvis' men.
"Perry Como's a square, man," says another.
To which Elvis retorts, "Whatcha talkin' about? I like Perry Como."
The scene ends with a call to arms of sorts.
"Well, this is it, man. This is TV!" Elvis says, popping to his feet and pivoting smartly toward the new world awaiting him.
"Could you imagine havin' that for real?" Mr. Rhys Meyers asks later while we sit on a concrete ledge of an adjacent balcony. "You can't act that. That's something you have to feel inside, and I hope I can portray a little bit of it. But it's very difficult to feel like The King. If this is good and people like it, then I'll feel like The King. Then I can sit back and go, 'Yeah, baby.'
"But until then, it's work."
I have to really wonder about the quality of this movie. He shoots a scene set in 1968 talking with Steve Binder then the next scene he shoots is set in 1956 on the Dorsey Bros show? That's a 12 yr difference in a matter of minutes. Are they concerned at all about the difference in the image and the difference in the evolution of the character? I'm definitely going to watch it. I want to like it. I'm afraid I'm just going to get pissed off again.
Let's all pray together.
"Please God don't let this movie suck."
"I always liked that hillbilly."
-Waymore
The Mercury News visited the New Orleans set of the upcoming CBS miniseries where they chatted with stars Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Randy Quaid.
Filming was taking place at the Scottish Rite Temple on Carondelet Street, which was doubling as the Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show where Elvis made his TV debut in 1956. Another scene being filmed there is Elvis' 1968 comeback special. Jack Noseworthy (Idle Hands, Dead at 21) portrays Steve Binder, the TV producer who convinced Elvis it was time to forsake playing it safe and return to his rock n' roll roots.
Rhys-Meyers was initially reluctant to portray The King but then, "I thought, `Hold on a minute. I've gotta be brave. I've gotta be brave as I can be.' It's like that for any actor. I'm sure it was daunting for Jamie Foxx when they said, `We want you to play Ray Charles.' But I have the guts to do it, the guts to fall down flat on my face if people don't like it."
The Irish thesp says he was "aware of Elvis Presley's music, but it wasn't something I was particularly into until I got this role. A lot of people my age, they get duped into thinking Elvis Presley was this guy in a jumpsuit on a Vegas stage who was very overweight and sweating profusely and then died in the bathroom. This is what you hear when you're a kid. But I now know he once was a young artist whose medium hadn't really been invented yet."
Quaid had rejected an earlier offer to play Elvis' notorious manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker, but eventually signed on after warming to the script. "I really think it's an open question as to whether Col. Parker led Elvis astray," said Quaid. "As long as Elvis had pocket money and could whip out the cash and buy what he wanted for his friends, he was happy."
"The way I'm playing Parker, it's more of a father-son relationship. The colonel is very adept at sizing people up. From his carnival background, he had a philosophy of either you're being hustled or somebody's being hustled by you. In a way he hustled Elvis. He's selfish in the way he operates, but at the same time he did take care of Elvis' career in such a way that who could argue with the stature of it. If Col. Tom hadn't of been there, would Elvis have attained that popularity?"
The topic of a sequel comes up since Elvis only covers Presley's life and career until 1968. Elvis went into a drug-induced decline after that, dying in 1977. "They'd have to pay me a helluva lot of money, baby!" Rhys-Meyers laughed. "I don't know. Let's see how this one works first. I don't think it's an option right now. I'd have difficulty putting on that weight, first of all. I'd have difficulty taking it off, too."
Quaid added, "there's another 10 years, and there are a lot of warts there. It's amazing how they kept the whole show afloat with what was going down. It's not as romantic as the early years."
Thanks for keeping us updated with pictures and articles, nabelt and eileen (although the last article that was posted features all the same quotations as the previous one!).
To be fair to Jonathan Rhys Meyers, he has a certain Elvis-like intensity and danger in his eyes - very important. Further, while his hair doesn't quite match that of Elvis (a contentious issue I talked about earlier in the thread), I can at least see the logic in going for a more natural look: perhaps the makers of the mini series want to distance themselves from the steady stream of wig-wearing impersonators out there?
Nevertheless, the new mini series' limitations are in evidence even at this stage of the game. First and foremost, this thing has the word "whitewashed" written all over it; it has the approval of EPE and only charts Elvis' life and career as far as 1968. Then there are Rhys Meyers' comments that make me wonder if a "sequel" filling in Elvis' final decade will EVER happen: "A lot of people my age, they get duped into thinking Elvis Presley was this guy in a jumpsuit on a Vegas stage who was very overweight and sweating profusely and then died in the bathroom. This is what you hear when you're a kid. But I now know he once was a young artist whose medium hadn't really been invented yet." While his conveyance of the average person's perception of Elvis is bang on the money... that last sentence has me a tad worried. Rather than moderating his negative comments of Elvis' later years with equally positive obsvervations of that same time period (such as noting some of Elvis' incredible set lists, his vocal performances and Elvis' own unfailing charisma and human vulnerability), he instead balances them out by referring to how good Elvis was in his early years; the implication is that the Elvis of the 70s is a waste and not worth pursuing.
There's one final issue that's bugging me. Take another read of this:
"There is a problem, Elvis," Binder says. "The colonel and NBC want you to sing just Christmas songs. Yeah, well, I think that's too limiting, and exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. What do you think?"
"I think, let's do it," Elvis says. "I think it's gonna be great, Steve."
This exchange seems overly simplistic and rings false to me. While I'm sure Binder may very well have said what he said almost exactly as is written above, Elvis' response seems too obvious. Would he really have agreed with Binder so quickly? I'm not convinced. To me, his answer there trivialises the kind of person Elvis was and the relationship he had with Parker. Even when things were bad, Elvis was very reluctant to push off from the shore and violate his and Parker's implicit trust and potentially set himself up to fail. At the very least, I think the dialogue needed expanding here to show that Elvis was WILLING to listen and KNEW deep down what he had to do but needed a bit of extra pushing. To me, the scenario described here seems much truer to Elvis' psychology, and written/directed/edited in the right way, would tell the viewer a LOT about the way he thought (as well as simply making a great scene) :
See... Elvis didn't just over-rule Parker at the drop of a hat; it took him time to find the balls to do it. Imagine seeing that event depicted. With each rendition, we would see the cogs turning more and more as Elvis' face changed from casual indifference to nervous enthusiasm to full blown acceptance. The sequence could be accomplished with a series of fades/dissolves in which we hear a fragment of the song between each fade/dissolve and see Elvis' expression subtly changing between each. It would generate the opportunity for a great and subtle piece of acting from the person playing Elvis, and dramatically/artistically, it would be more realistic and compelling than a banal exchange of dialogue in which Elvis is told to do something and he instantly accedes.From http://www.furious.com/perfect/elvis69.html :
Most importantly, there was the gospel-bluesy "If I Can Dream," written especially for the close by musical director, W. Earl Brown. Elvis resisted Colonel Parker's standing order that the special close with a standard Christmas carol and avoid any kind of social comment. Steve Binder, the producer, felt a message song about peace, humanity and brotherhood would be a bold and fitting send off. Binder sold the idea to Elvis:
Earl sat down at the piano and played it through. Elvis sort of sat there listening. He didn't comment; he just said, "Play it again." So Earl sat there and played it again - and again. Then Elvis started to ask some questions about it, and I would venture to say Earl probably played the song six or seven times in a row. Then Elvis looked at me and said, "We're doing it."
It was a significant and unusual moment. Elvis rarely over-ruled Parker, and it demonstrates the confidence he felt as he began to retool his image.
I dunno... maybe it's just me. But I feel that between us all, we could write the ultimate script and show everyone else a thing or two!
Last edited by Cryogenic; 03-14-2005 at 09:23 AM.
Excellent post, Cryo. I too was a little bugged by the implications of JRM's "Vegas Elvis" comments...not so much for what he said, but that he didn't realize that he was affirming the negative notions. It's like he was saying that people, himself included, have got Elvis all wrong.
Your assessment of the Binder exchange is right on as well. They might as well have had Elvis say, "Yes, sir, Mr. Binder," without a moment's pause.
...you won't forget me when I go.
This seem to be EPE once again telling the world that Elvis' life and work after 68 is not worth knowing about. That in fact they find it too shameful to even speak of!
It really does tick me off. With the world, in general, they don't go past 68 and with us fans, minus the FTD collection which i'm sure they'll cut the miniute its not profitable, they don't like to go past 73!
Unfortunately, as far as the world is concerned. Elvis will always be fat and worthless past 74! With EPE never stepping up the plate and actually defending him and saying he has worth while work after this period, nobody will find out. Course we scream it from all roof tops but most of the world at large thinks Elvis fans are all nuts anyway. And why is this? Because when ever there is any Elvis event any where the media runs around trying to find the one person dressed and or acting like a nut case to put on TV! The rest of the world is watching going, oh my gosh these folks need to get a life!
Trish
Wondering if anyone has seen the new trailer for the upcoming film.... I was told that they are now showing one on CBS, and I have yet to see it. Would love to catch it sometime if anyone has a link for it?
It's good to be King
Elvis returns to small screen in four-hour biopic
Friday, May 6, 2005 Posted: 1:55 PM EDT (1755 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) --
When Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers was asked to play American icon
Elvis Presley, his first instinct was to reject the role.
"In my head I was saying, 'No, no, no,' because I wasn't quite sure, first, about playing
rock 'n' roll stars and second, somebody who's so well known to everybody," Rhys Meyers
told The Associated Press. "Then I thought to myself, 'Really, how often do you get to be a
king? Wouldn't it be just a little bit of fun to be the king of rock 'n' roll for eight weeks.' "
The result: "Elvis," a four-hour movie airing over two nights on CBS, 9-11 p.m. EDT
Sunday, May 8, and 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, May 11. The cast includes Camryn Manheim as
Presley's mother; Randy Quaid as his manager "Colonel" Tom Parker and Rose McGowan
as actress Ann-Margret.
In a mini-Elvis festival timed to the May ratings sweep, CBS also is airing "Elvis by the
Presleys" (8-10 p.m. EDT Friday, May 13), a special including interviews with Priscilla and
Lisa Marie Presley and others.
(The marketing bonanza doesn't stop there: a two-CD set and a book, both also titled
"Elvis by the Presleys," is out in May.)
Rhys Meyers, 27, isn't the first offshore actor to nab the part of a famous American. Other
recent TV examples include Kenneth Branagh as Franklin D. Roosevelt in a new HBO film
and Jeremy Northam as Dean Martin in a 2002 made-for-TV movie.
In this case, Rhys Meyers notes, there are certain parallels between his own life and
Presley's.
"I was brought up a poor boy from southern Ireland. He was brought up a poor boy from
the south of America," he said. "There's not that much of a difference in being poor.
"You can relate to that, and having dreams. Having dreams and being successful at what
you do and the pressures of that, the loneliness of it."
'Oh, he's actually a sweet boy'
He gained insight into Presley's style and personality from studying his music and movies
and talking to those who knew him. He sought to evoke but not mimic him.
"I didn't try to do an Elvis impersonation because there are so many better ones than me.
... People making a living out of being Elvis Presley."
Rhys Meyers also shares with Presley the sort of dramatic good looks -- including a full,
pout-ready mouth -- that make him a convincing young Elvis. (The movie follows the
singer's life from age 18 to 33.)
Then there's the actor's bad-boy screen quality, useful when he's playing a man who
shook the innocence out of pop music with his sexually charged stage performances.
Although Rhys Meyers softened his image with the soccer romance "Bend It Like
Beckham," he's played an assortment of dark and difficult characters in films including
"Vanity Fair" and TV's "The Magnificent Ambersons."
"People's perception of me was that I was quite a feral character and there was something
quite dangerous about me," the actor said. "Then I did 'Beckham' and people said, 'Oh,
he's actually a sweet boy, too.' "
Presley is a hybrid, Rhys Meyers suggests, "slightly dangerous and a little bit overtly
sexual but still a very pleasant Southern boy who says, 'Yes, ma'am,' 'No, ma'am.' "
The film depicts Presley's rise, his personal and professional relationships and the start of
a pill addiction that some have linked to his 1977 death at age 42 (heart disease was the
coroner's official finding).
Singing wasn't an issue for Rhys Meyers: the Presley estate allowed access to master
recordings for such classics as "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don't Be Cruel."
But there was that foreign accent, apparently not a serious challenge. During a phone
interview from New Orleans, where most of the film was shot, he dropped easily into a
Southern drawl and, later, a comic impression of Woody Allen. (He's in Allen's next film,
"Match Point.")
An admitted practical joker and a vivid storyteller, he described meeting a social-climber
who looked "like he'd walked off a Brooks Brothers poster with the most wonderful set of
Gucci teeth."
Rhys Meyers claims a desire to star in a big action film ("It's mainly for my twisted little
ego," he said, cheerfully), but up next is "A Playwright," in which he plays Shakespeare
contemporary Christopher Marlowe.
"I've been studying Marlowe for a few years. He's another dangerous boy."
Apparently Rhys-Myers is NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY for his portrayal of Elvis......
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