The director of “Moulin Rouge” and “The Great Gatsby” Baz Luhrmann is known for creating luxurious and intricate films with magnificent details, and this makes him almost the perfect person to create a new movie “Elvis”. Austin Butler plays a titled music icon, and his performance in the film was highly appreciated by fans. Interestingly, before working on his musical biopic, the actor received solid advice from none other than the veteran of Luhrmann films Leonardo DiCaprio.
While it would be hard for you to recognize the sleek, rhinestone-studded actor Elvis as a member of the Charles Manson cult of Tex Watson, Austin Butler did play both characters who were based on real people. As for the latter, he starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as a character in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood… and at some point Butler received frightening but sound advice from a celebrity about working with Baz Luhrmann. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Butler revealed that DiCaprio told him that Luhrmann was going to push him into acting to find new abilities that he didn’t even know he had. Here’s how Butler conveyed this advice:
Leo told me, “Baz will constantly throw you off balance, and it will pull things out of you that you didn’t even know were inside you.” This is exactly the experience I had.
It would seem that it would be incredibly scary to work with such a prolific director with such a unique style. But while it may be unconventional, it’s hard to argue with the results when you’re watching a movie on a big screen. In the same interview, the actor explained that he was often asked to go further than was prepared, and this had excellent effects, even if at first it caused him some discomfort. He explained:
There were days when I just thought: “Baz, why don’t we just do what we’ve prepared?” I realized that he would push me right to the edge of what I am capable of. In a sense, you are catching lightning in a bottle - if you had just done what you prepared, it might have been more stale.
No matter what Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler did together during filming, people were thrilled because last weekend it was struggling with the incredibly successful movie “Best Shooter: Maverick” at the box office. The film made an impression not only on fans, as the late musician’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, praised him and the way he portrayed the musical icon.
Austin Butler is certainly worth waiting for in Hollywood as his career continues, and his time under Baz Luhrmann will certainly be as priceless for him as, apparently, for the young Leonardo DiCaprio in those days. I would say that Butler certainly has a bright future and I look forward to the other roles he will take on over time.
Elvis is currently in theaters, and although it lacks one particularly cold story related to the death of the King, it is praised for its authenticity, as well as for a rather spectacular show, as you would expect from a Baz Luhrmann film.
