Austin Butler has been on set since he was 16. He’s been tanned in the springboards of young promises like Disney Channel (“Hannah Montana”) or Nickelodeon (“Zoey 101”). He didn’t stop working on the small screen, and just before the pandemic he started making the leap into big leagues with supporting roles for Jim Jarmusch (“The Dead Don’t Die”) or Quentin Tarantino (“Once upon a time in .. .. Hollywood ‘) But it is Baz Luhrmann who will receive his name in gold letters (knowing Luhrmann, literally). The Californian becomes the king of rock himself in ‘Elvis’, the new film from the director of ‘Moulin Rouge’.
We got to talk to him about a production that took a long time due to the pandemic, but for Butler it was a blessing because he had “almost a year and a half” to shape his interpretation of Elvis Presley alongside Baz Luhrmann: “We constantly proposed and rejected ideas, but the time came when he said to me: ‘I can help you with your preparation, but in the end it will be only you who will go out there to do it’. I felt the pressure and responsibility, but also the certainty of Baz Luhrmann’s support. “ admits the actor, who stands out from the Australian “attention to detail, detective work and how much was involved” in the project.
All that preparation was vital in adapting to the method “jazz musician” from Luhrmann: “To play jazz you have to know the instrument thoroughly, know the music theory and the scores by heart. But when you are on stage, you improvise and respond to what happens in front of you. This is Baz Luhrmann”. The changes also came in the middle of the shoot: “I could be in the makeup and hair chair. She would come in and say, ‘I completely rewrote the scene’ or ‘I thought you were going to sing a song today that you haven’t prepared yet.’ I proposed some things at that moment and at the beginning it is scary because you think ‘but why don’t we do what we have prepared?’ But it brings out things from me that I didn’t know I had, and I love it.”.
Elvis, Austin and fame
In “Elvis” we retrace the main milestones in the artist’s life, narrated by his former manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). This man could see in Elvis Presley a star like the world had never seen before, but he also knew how to manipulate him so that he never ran out of money in the bank, even if he was against his client’s wishes. For someone who has gone through megacorporations like Disney, this type of relationship is not unfamiliar to him: “I identify a lot with the subject of fame. We’ve all had someone who helps or guides us, or who may have ideas that hold us back. For me, the key thing is not to fall into the traps of your worth and become obsessed with fame.. You are like a flag in the wind, one day people tell you that you are great and the next that you are the worst. Ultimately, your conception of yourself distorts you. This is why I try to keep my feet on the ground “..
The premieres of “Elvis”. in theaters on June 24th.
Source: E Cartelera
