What pivotal scene did Elvis star Austin Butler
insist on changing? And why'd he call it out? Elvis' momma would be proud.
With such projects as Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge under his belt, it's no great shock that Baz
Luhrmann decided to tackle the story of the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. Starring
Austin Butler as the titular music legend, Elvis follows his rise to fame and eventual professional
and personal decline. It also takes a look at the relationships he shared with those in his life,
including his partner, Priscilla, and his longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker,
as well as the condition of the United States and the world across the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
That's a lot of ground to cover in one film — hence why Luhrmann has a four-hour cut that
we'll likely never see — but simply filling out a checklist of important moments and events isn't
enough. This is Elvis Presley, after all, one of the most famous and recognizable musicians
ever to walk a stage or grace an album cover, so getting it just right is of the utmost importance.
Thankfully, Austin Butler doesn't phone it in with his take on Elvis Presley. In fact,
the star was so dedicated to the production that he even gave some
brutally honest creative feedback to Luhrmann regarding a pivotal scene he found "corny."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler
explained the process of pinning down Elvis Presley's speech patterns and music vocals.
"It was very daunting at first, uh, but just the joy of my life."
This proved no easy feat and required a lot of effort on Butler's part,
but they eventually got it down to a science. In doing so, they even changed a scene about Elvis'
attempt at inspiring his Vegas band during their workshopping of the song "That's Alright (Mama)."
"I uh, I want to try something new."
When it finally came time to shoot after months of rehearsal, Luhrmann recalls,
Luhrmann instructed the band to play different notes so Butler could find a desired sound that
sounded more sincere and true to the role. While this tweak made it possible for the
actor to slip into his role more authentically, this level of commitment didn't come without a
price. Butler told Collider in June of 2022 that rediscovering himself after wrapping up
his work on "Elvis" wasn't a quick and easy thing to pull off. He said that the project
required him to practically isolate and become the closest to Elvis he possibly could, adding,
"It's sort of an existential crisis, you know? You kind of question who you are."
Austin Butler clearly gave his all for Elvis and wanted to do right by the pop culture icon,
and identifying a corny scene isn't the only way Butler helped Elvis become the success that it
turned out to be. In fact, the movie may not have reached the finish line at all if the actor hadn't
pushed for it when the going really got tough. Viewers may recall a frightening moment from early
2020 when Elvis star and actor Tom Hanks revealed that he had contracted COVID-19. As it turns out,
Hanks' illness came right around the time that Elvis was in its most crucial stage
of production. With one of the film's lead actors out of action, things quickly went sour,
and it even seemed to Baz Luhrmann like the film was going down in flames.
During a speech at the 2023 Palm Springs Film Festival,
Luhrmann spoke about this tumultuous time in Elvis" development, saying,
Luhrmann recalled that he subsequently went to Butler and told him the film was
over and production had shut down. However, Butler remained resolute,
insisting that he wouldn't exit the film until it had been finished. Luhrmann went on,