Look you got a product, you sell it, explained Parker. While proving to be a frequent challenge for Parker, Elvis and the Colonel stuck together. We did some that were not quite so successful. Colonel Parker tells how the money was split. Austin Butler and Tom Hanks star in this musical biopic about the life of Elvis Presley, specifically his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. In the end, both Elvis and Colonel Parker shared a tragic journey that mirrored their working relationship. And it was the Colonel just wanting to do more low-budget stuff and crank it out. However, the tide wasn't actually changed until a 1968 TV special, produced by Scott Binder, put Elvis the singer back on top, while simultaneously showing the Colonel how close he was to losing the singer to another producer. "And the Colonel says, 'Because of me. Parker used Jimmie to sidle up to Elvis and form a friendship to get Elvis to sign with Parker and the elder Snow, who were then business partners. One thing he did with me was to say, I want you to remember this. And then he launched into this carny double-speak that sounded kind of like pig Latin. Yeah. "The question was, 'Why are we still talking about Elvis Presley?'" Over the next four years, Elvis movie career would indeed play out. I mean, he took him away from Sam Phillips, which was not nice, but proved to be an amazing boon to his career and popularity. The film opens on Parker, absolving himself of guilt for the trajectory of Elvis's life, saying, "Some would have me the villain in this story." In the memoir you worked on with Jerry and David Ritz some years back, Ritz quotes you as saying: Variety called it a loser. The actor wore a fat suit and heavy make-up to appear more like Parker, but the real performance came in the mannerisms, accent, and presence of Hanks embodying Elvis' manager. Austin Butler on Elvis and Why it Took Months After Filming to Find Himself Again, The Best Epic Movies of All Time, According to the AFI, The 25 Best Thrillers of All Time, Ranked, The Legend Behind the Jerry Lewis Holocaust Clown Movie Youll Never See. Fresh off portraying Sir John Falstaff in a Los Angeles production of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts One and Two, Hanks saw something Shakespearian in the dynamic. Colonel Parker is seen as under pressure from secretive governmental forces who want to keep Elvis from corrupting youth and to try to get him to tamp down Presley, they threaten to expose. Parker saw his job as an elevated version of. Elvis had just as many white influences and announced as early as seventh grade that he was going to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. Near the end of his life, Parker is said to have been speaking with two promoters about this, since Elvis was so deeply unhappy about never getting to go tour Europe, but it never happened. They went motorcycle riding together in Nashville. Did the Colonel live out his later years being sickly in casinos, as portrayed in the movies framing device? There is the legend of an afternoon where you and Leiber cranked out four classic Elvis film songs in just a few hours Jailhouse Rock, Treat Me Nice, I Want to Be Free and (Youre So Square) Baby I Dont Care pretty much because someone trapped you in a hotel suite and compelled you to be prolific. And I don't think it had been done the most righteous justice in order to capture why Elvis was this bend in the river of American culture. Does the phrase Thats All Right, Mama apply to the new Elvis movie as in, thats all correct, maam? Tom Hanks has built a reputation for disappearing into his roles. And it still gets produced; it played in New York again in 2018 and in London last year. I must say, Jean Aberbach was instrumental in us doing that, just by saying, Youre not leaving till I have them., Something else you wrote on the fly, on demand, that has endured well for 65 years: Santa Claus Is Back in Town., Yeah, we did that in a hurry, also. Well, Parker finally said, Did they spell his name right?. King and Little Richard later. We dont have approval on scripts only money. We could write pretty fast, but that was an unusual situation. Theyre doing it in Connecticut now; a young lady who was in the show in London is directing it. Finally, Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He didn't care what Elvis (Austin Butler) sang from the. Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. In contrast to Butler, who had to craft a version of a man everyone recognizes, Hanks had the freedom to start from scratch. He dreamed about that. Elvis never knew. And then we hit it off with Elvis, very easily. And so things resumed as they had been. He cited several reasons primarily security and not big enough venues, or said the money wasnt right. Theres about three different uses of Hound Dog, including the original Big Mama Thornton version, and of course theres some Jailhouse Rock in there. That changed I think as soon as they heard the initial recording. I played on one of the songs from those sessions (Treat Me Nice), but I wasnt that good of a player. There's no substitute for going there. Is it fantasy that he was constantly seeing or meeting up with all these important artists? So everything is a paradox and a coin flip. "The promotion. I don't know if that's true or not. All Rights Reserved. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. No, no, not at all. I thought it should have said directed by, like a film, because we werent funding it, like a films producers. Parker was eventually sued by the Elvis estate over mismanagement, which found his dealings over the years to be unethical and extortionate. While Elvis and the Colonel carried the movie to several awards, Hanks' omission stands out above most others. Whats your overall feeling on the movies truth-ometer? In a way, sure. But Elvis gives us Hanks as we've never seen him before: trussed up under layers of costuming and make-up, bloated and reptilian, with a strange, slightly Dutch accent, pulling the strings as the carnival barker-turned-talent manager who made Elvis into a star. But Nashs work is considered by many to be the authoritative word on Parker, a former carnie who made his fortune off the King, and whose pros and cons as a very, very controlling manager continue to be debated to this day. Parker became known as a shrewd, showy, and manipulative businessman who was able to work out lucrative deals at minimal overhead while making sure his pockets were lined healthily along the way. Not a singer-songwriter, Elvis' rep suffered because to do both became prerequisite after the Beatles. No, all that stuff was rehearsed and rehearsed. Procols Ninth was the name of the album. But before that he did have another big hit with a cover of one of your tunes, the ballad Love Me. Although Elvis sang it more seriously, It was surprising to read in your memoir that you had originally written Love Me as a country parody song a spoof of a subservient hillbilly who doesnt put up any objections to his lover treating him like garbage. I love your work so much. . Elvis Presley had his own struggles, particularly in his later years, as his lavish spending, addiction issues, divorce, and declining health took a toll on The King. But they all tended to be the same kind of story. He was huge. HANKS: There's a YouTube, one was named Comrade Rockstar and another movie called Red Elvis. Fortunately I managed to get down a Jacobs ladder into a broken lifeboat. Elviss first manager, Bob Neal, told me that he had a heck of a time getting stations to play Elviss first single. And you just, you always think about it. For one, Parker said, we can do some of the personal appearances we havent been able to. But once Elvis was onstage, controlling the music, he did what he wanted. Its shown as being Parkers idea to get him away for a while to put a lid on the sexual energy and image. Colonel Parker is the devil to many Elvis Presley fans. But we did an album of the score with an orchestra and some wonderful British singers and actors. And we finally were called in, and Jean Aberbach, in his Viennese accent, said, Vell, ze Colonel said, if you ever dare try to interfere in the career of Elvis Presley, you will never work anywhere again New York, London, Hollywood nowhere. And I dont think we ever wrote anything more for him. He took really great care of us. Known for his keen promotion and merchandising savvy, Parker, or "the Snowman," would help to make Elvis a household name, putting the singer on everything from lunch boxes to board games to trading cards and beyond. Parker returned to the carnival (one not-too-dissimilar to the 1950s carnival in American Horror Story thanks to the setting), where he made his living for a time before getting involved in music promotion, working with the likes of Gene Austin, Minnie Pearl, Eddy Arnold, and Hank Snow. But here was a guy that took him from the worst rental apartment in a bad part of town in Memphis and put him in Graceland, which is the mansion that's right there. Hanks looks almost unrecognizable in the. Parker found ways to market Elvis through merchandise, TV appearances, and films, always working in some kind of cross-promotion to make more money off the endeavor. Were Elvis primary music influences almost all Black artists, as portrayed in the movie? As opposed to the more methodical camera coverage Hanks is accustomed to, Luhrmann is more free-wheeling. Oh, Parker instigated that whole thing, but it wasnt to put a lid on the sexual energy. In the meantime, Colonel Parker had nixed all offers for Elvis to appear on stage, as he had for Presley to appear on TV. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com, he has over a decade of writing and reporting about the entertainment industry and has covered everything from Comic Con to CinemaCon to Star Wars Celebration, as well as covering numerous set visits and junkets all over the world. "And I told Baz, 'But you're describing Falstaff and Hal,' and Baz said, 'Exactly, except with millions of dollars thrown into it. But the first take was great. Elvis Cast Guide: What The Characters Look Like In Real Life, illegal immigrant (the theme of the Netflix series, Elvis True Story: Who Was Orion? It was supposed to be a Christmas show in the sense that it would air in December, and Parker wanted it to be a family show with Elvis as a 60s-era Bing Crosby or Perry Como. And when he said that, I said, 'Oh, well, okay, now that's brand new.". You know, it was Big Mama Thornton married to D.W. Washburn with a son named Charlie Brown that kind of inane shoehorning of things. Washburn, etc. You had your first R&B No. That can be found in detail in two Parker biographies published in recent years . Hanks was particularly intrigued by how little he (and by extension, the audience) knew about the Colonel. Butler is superb in the role and actually sings Presleys early songs in the film. Related: The Darkest Moments In Oscars History. I offer this information without prejudice or comment, leaving it to the reader to judge whether it reflects good or ill on Thomas Parker. He had never seen that before. But what you're describing there is literally something that happens on movies. We went back to my house and, in about 10 or 15 minutes, we wrote Hound Dog and took it back. [Laughs.] This is Luhrmann showing us Elviss influences. Finally they asked her to do Joey Bishops show, and she said, Ill do it if I can do this song. She did, and boom, everybody responded. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Tom Hanks during Tuesday's July 14, 2020 show. And that's what you do in order to get there on Monday at 10:00. Born in the Netherlands, Parker entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. And then I guess it, obviously, became something else. Any thoughts on that? Alan Hanson | 2015, Reader Comment:For me, Elvis was quintessentially suited as a blues artist. Elvis kind of liked Jimmie. He liked it that Elvis did what brought folks into the big tent. What happened at Atlantic Records was, we said, You know, were making these records. Is it true, as portrayed, that Parker was consistently trying to pressure Elvis to tone down his sex appeal? As a matter of fact, when we were in Paris, I heard Edith Piaf at LOlympia doing a French translation of Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots, called LHomme a la Moto The Man on the Motor Scooter which was a big thrill. He said, Dont worry, Ill fill it in later! [Laughs.] He never fired him on stage, but there was an incident in Vegas in 1974 where Elvis criticized Barron Hilton from the stage for firing one of Elviss favorite employees. Because what you get from that is a suit of armor. But if you have gotten over the fear of making the movie in the first place, which you do I think in the first three days of the movie. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. No one is probably expecting that; any practiced watcher of biopics knows virtually any example will take deep liberties with the facts for dramatic purposes. ", The Colonel just shrugged at the perception around Hollywood that Elvis was falling off at the box office due to over exposure. He was the American that we all knew." Elvis influences were so diverse. The Elvis manager certainly had some unethical practices when it came to the King of Rock n Roll, and many were shocked upon viewing the film to find out that this was the case. Check the list of the 10 top box office stars Elvis is right there. And his son, Jimmie (later Jimmy), envied Elvis and yearned to counsel him on his sinful ways. [Laughs.] Smokey Joes Caf, a revue using 39 of your songs, ran for 2,036 performances on Broadway starting in 1995. But Baz wanted to make him seem more other. Or as Baz told me in an interview, I thought it was very important that Tom present the audience with a strangeness, a sort of What is going on with this guy?. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Steven Weintraub launched Collider in the summer of 2005. We found that a lot of the blues singers that we knew, he knew them also, which was a surprise to us. Nash, a veteran music journalist, published The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley to acclaim in 2010 and her book has just been reissued with a new afterword. He didnt care what color he was. It's like you have a record, you have an album by your favorite artist. In particular, Hanks was looking forward to taking part in a fresh look at the story, as the tale of Elvis is well-known enough to garner fatigue. Hanks has portrayed real-life people in a number of films, from Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 to Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood to Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger in Sully - and many more. He never left the carnivals, really. Why not? Despite the court controversy, Parker continued to appear at Elvis-themed events, from anniversaries to special events, etc. I mean, even the 1968 comeback special, he said, "Hey, great. Hanks says Luhrmann's approach to the work also helped push him to new heights. My guess is that, if Elvis had been Black, he wouldnt have been as interested, because it would have been harder to take him to a larger audience, especially in the segregated South, which was Parkers stronghold from his days on the carnival circuit. It was more American, more rural. Why dont you wait outside? So we waited, trying to imagine how we were going to be rewarded for bringing this great plumb. [Leslie Uggams released a version a year earlier.] With the Coasters, who you were just as prolific with, you had a whole style of songwriting going that was based in storytelling, almost like mini-musicals you called them playlets.. Parker suffered a stroke in 1997, dying at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada after years of declining health, survived only by his second wife. I was a fan while my friends and peers were not. Any thoughts on the portrayal early in the film of country star Hank Snow, who first takes Elvis out on the road before becoming disgusted with him, and his son, Jimmie Rodgers Snow, who seems to worship Elvis?
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