‘Elvis’: 5 Things the Movie Got Wrong About the Memphis Singer’s Life
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis brought the king of rock back into the mainstream. While the movie does portray many beautiful and heartbreaking moments from Elvis’ life, there are many fictionalized aspects in the film, unsurprisingly. Movies based on true stories always get some things wrong, but knowing the facts is essential.
Here are 5 facts the movie got wrong about Elvis
1. Elvis didn’t fire Colonel Tom Parker during a performance
A highlight of the movie is when Elvis (Austin Butler) finally stands up to Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) and fires him during a performance after discovering he lied about his identity and is an illegal immigrant without a U.S. passport. While Butler’s performance is outstanding in this scene, it is heavily fictionalized.
The scene is reportedly based on a Sept. 1973 show at the Las Vegas Hilton where Elvis did go on a rant, but it was directed at the hotel. After the show, Elvis fired Colonel Parker after a loud argument, but it was done privately.
2. Elvis didn’t face an ultimatum of joining the army or prison
In Elvis, the conservative culture police became frightened after seeing Elvis perform on stage and the reactions his gyrations elicited from female audience members. After his Memphis show, the Colonel is worried both could face legal trouble, so he convinces the government to draft Elvis into the army.
This could be a symptom of the Colonel being an unreliable narrator, as Elvis was never under threat of being arrested. Many were concerned about his provocative stage presence, but never to the point where they thought about throwing him in jail.
3. He didn’t perform ‘Trouble’ at the Memphis show which led to a riot
In the movie, The Colonel wanted Elvis to behave during his show in Memphis. However, Elvis disobeys his orders and sings, “Trouble,” leading to a full-on riot. It was exciting, but it never happened, mainly because Elvis didn’t know this song yet. According to The Wrap, no riot occurred either. He performed a half-hour set, which riled up the crowd but was mostly kept under control.
4. He wasn’t inspired to change the comeback special after Robert Kennedy’s assassination
The ‘68 Comeback Special is a monumental moment in Elvis’ career, but the movie fictionalizes many aspects of this event. Presley wasn’t a fan of Christmas specials but never planned on betraying the Colonel by singing “If I Can Dream” at the end. The Colonel did sign off on this in real life.
However, in the movie, Elvis decides to go against the Colonel’s wishes after Robert Kennedy is assassinated, and he wanted to make a political statement. In reality, Elvis was affected by the assassination, but it didn’t affect plans for the special.
5. The International Hotel didn’t pay for the singer’s shows
During his residency at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, it was said, in the movie, that the hotel offered to pay for the entire production of Elvis’ shows. If that offer sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. The hotel did not offer to pay for everything, and Elvis had to pay about $80,000 out of pocket for the performances.
