Reply With QuoteA Rose by any other name would be Ann-Margret.
I don't know what I just said...you'll have to forgive me. Will be able to talk better later. Thanks for the likn--I mean link. I'm fine, thanks.
A Rose by any other name would be Ann-Margret.
I don't know what I just said...you'll have to forgive me. Will be able to talk better later. Thanks for the likn--I mean link. I'm fine, thanks.
...you won't forget me when I go.
Dang, that audition video scared the heck outta me!
And are you all as totally UN-impressed with the few peeks at the scenes (wedding, Elvis on stage in gold suit) as I am? God, this gives a whole new definition to the word amateurish
Last edited by Cherokee; 04-19-2005 at 03:27 PM.
Cherokee... I can't speak for anyone else - but I'm as unimpressed as you!
The whole thing feels sickly amateurish. Nothing about the upcoming mini series strikes me as factually rigorous, dramatically exciting or artistically inspiring. How can a production about the life of such an icon - and a colourful man to boot - be so insipid and lifeless?
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Clip #1: "Why can't you just stop buying stuff?" Who wrote the script? A friggin' ten year old? That's an appalling line and an equally unbelievable delivery. At least Randy Quaid gave the clip a modicum of respect.
Clip #2: If I never see a video with 101 Elvis freaks lining up for their shot at the bigtime, I'll count myself lucky. This is the media AGAIN denigrating the legacy of Elvis and obscuring the artist and the human being underneath by focusing on the lighter, cheesier, superfluous side. Who cares who did or didn't audition for the role when they're all so lamentably bad? (At least some of them had better hairlines than Rhys Meyers, however). A clip like that might be celebrating the more colourful side of Elvis' enormous fan following - but it's also something we've seen a thousand times before and just panders to the cynical, ironic, post modern "MTV" generation who see Elvis and his fans as walking jokes.
Clip #3: Rhys Meyers is able to convincingly hide his Irish accent (as demonstrated when he first starts talking compared to the latter half of the interview) - but he does a half-assed Elvis voice. Moreover, he doesn't seem to have much charisma. Whereas Elvis seemed to radiate genuosness and a sense of fun, Rhys Meyers looks and sounds like he's trying too hard to be something he isn't. Kurt Russell utterly wipes the floor with this guy - both as Elvis and as himself.
Clips #4-6: The lovely lady playing Priscilla seems like she could actually be good in the part; she definitely seemed to have an air of empathy about her. In his short screentime highlighted thus far, Randy Quaid seems like he'll elevate the mini series into something watchable. Ditto for Rose McGowan as Ann Margaret - not only is that lady positively gorgeous, but she has class! Unfortunately, Rhys Meyers is a big stumbling block. As is the script, the photography, the strong "anti-Colonel" slant, the decision to abruptly terminate the narrative at 1968...
Speaking of which...
Check out the attached image of the Elvis figure in the logo on the back of the chairs. It looks distinctly like the "70s Elvis" with bell bottoms! How ironic. Having perused the image gallery, that again brings me back to the issue of photography...
I can't get over how PLAIN and BORING the majority of the images look - particularly those shot in (sunny????) Memphis. Now, living in Birmingham, England, I don't really have a clue what the weather in Memphis is like. However... I did consult a climate chart and it seemed to indicate Memphis enjoys pleasant (warm but not overly hot) summers. Why then, in all the images, does it look so dour and uninspiring a place to visit? This mini series was obviously shot on the fast and cheap - just like one of Elvis' Hollywood movies! - with little consideration for the visual impact of the captured images and the pictorial embodiment of Elvis' home (and indeed, the other places he visited). In spite of the poor amount of sunlight and generally overcast look to the images, the DOP still overexposed the images! Take this shot of Graceland, for example:
http://www.cbs.com/specials/elvis/sl...ges/101_12.jpg
Rather than capture the radiance and regality of Graceland's appearance in the heart of a glorious summer's day, they clearly decided to shoot this particular image (and many more) at a less photogenic time. The sun appears to be low in the sky; the result is that the right-hand statue next to the bench is in shadow and the left-hand statue is in the light - it has been completely overexposed and all its detail obliterated! Again, look at this:
http://www.cbs.com/specials/elvis/sl...ges/101_05.jpg
Considering what a dull day it evidently was when that image was taken, the image is overly bright and almost completely lacking in depth. The sky practically blooms over the roof of the house in the background. Further, the blue of Gladys' cardigan and the yellow of Elvis' shirt - while fairly light hues - verge on appearing white! The kicker is the upholstered car interior seen in front of them; the texture of the leather is impossible to make out!
Very poor photography. Those images and others look like the sort of stuff we'd take - amateurs with cheap cameras and lenses, cheap film (or CCDs), no time to wait for good light or to set up shots with fancy equipment like additional lights, reflectors etc. But this is supposed to be a professional production about the life of one of the most iconic men of the 20th century! For me, the photography is EXCEPTIONALLY important. Film/TV is a visual medium and Elvis himself was a visual guy; to have such poor imagery deprives the mini series of any artistic edge and deprives the audience of the feel of the periods, places and people being conveyed.
One final thing...
How come Rhys Meyers looks so sombre in most of the pics? Despite Elvis' dark side, he did smile an awful lot! Even in the few pictures in which Rhys Meyers is shown smiling, it's a half smile at best, like he's trying to push a turd out or something. No, really! Just go through the gallery they have up and LOOK. He's not even beaming for Elvis' wedding (we all know it wasn't what Elvis really wanted but he did still appear incredibly happy in the actual photos). They've really overamped the "don't screw with me/my life sucks" Elvis angle. This is yet another reason why the mini series feels flat and uncompelling.
All in all, I will watch this mini series if I get the chance when it airs - but the whole thing seems pretty redundant and lacklustre. The REAL Elvis story, even a half decent one, is still waiting to be told.
Last edited by Cryogenic; 04-19-2005 at 07:07 PM.
The more I look at it, the more I shake my head. The hairline, the lack of height (certainly as compared to Randy - 6'4" - Quaid's Colonel), the narrow shoulders, the awful speaking voice, the "over the top" acting in that little scene on the movie set...... I would have imagined Elvis more simmering than as hysterical as this guy does it.......
I'm sure the girl playing Priscilla is a very nice, talented actress, but before she started all that PS idiocy, Priscilla was truly one of the most gorgeous women ever. This girl is nice looking, at best. This way you don't get the vibe at all that was described often in publications about "the couple" that was Elvis and Priscilla: two of the most beautiful people in the world whose appearance made people stop and look at them........
Last edited by Cherokee; 04-19-2005 at 05:08 PM.
Yes... Priscilla was mind blowingly hot. If the ladies wanted Elvis, then I wanted her!Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Antonia Bernath do look like a parody of Elvis and Priscilla, sadly. I guess it was always going to be inevitable to some extent.
But so much could have been done better!
The whole thing feels like a high school production of Elvis' life story. Just look at the wedding scene. It's like they're clonking us over the head with the idea that the "nasty Colonel" forced the "good Elvis" into it. Now sure, there's probably a lot of truth to that - but this mini series has no sense of subtlety. I question Elvis' use of "baby" when addressing Priscilla, too. True, he used the word a lot, but it just jumped out at me as another cliche. Why couldn't they just have had him say "Cilla"? He HAD just married her afterall.
I'd even go as far to say that this mini series shows a certain contempt - or certainly a lack of genuine respect - for Southern people. Neither Robert Patrick nor Jonathan Rhys Meyers bothered mastering the accents that Vernon and Elvis had; again, their attempts are half-assed at BEST. Real actors and actresses take it upon themselves to sound authentic.
What a sad state of affairs.
I know I shouldn't swear but I'd like to make an exception here cos it's about time I summed up every post I've ever made about it:
This thing looks ****ing awful.
Man ... this is a subject that wont lie down, and i have to say i still agree completely with all ur comments on this DIRE ... DIRE .... DIRE production.
Did i say how dire this is
Its shaping up as being the worst production based on the King ever made
a complete lack of decent casting (meyer is very very bad) .... a pitiful script, and sadly a complete lack of talent !
Im just so annoyed with the fact that after so many years they are still so obviously unable to do a decent Elvis movie , and KR Elvis the movie still walks all over this shambles of a film.
When will they get it ?
Elvis cannot be cast ... there is nobody who can even get close to portraying him in earnest ... nobody with enough resemblence, charisma, or personality .... and definately not enough X Factor !
Please, please leave these **** awful films where thet belong ... in the trash can ....
and certainly not on our screens.
I dont care if the subject is Elvisthis film is sh*t and should be wiped off the soles of our shoes and never allowed to be brandished on an Elvis loving public .... who heaven forbid after nearly 30 yrs since his passing, deserve something a darn site better than this
And what's with everybody having sort of a "Southern" accent
I mean, I think I can detect a slight lilt in even Pris' and her parents' accents. Weren't they from the NY area before they moved to Germany? (I can't think straight: have a bear of a flu
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