Austin Butler in ELVIS

Baz Luhrmann's big-screen spectacle ELVIS tells the story of music legend Elvis Presley (played by Austin Butler) through the prism of his complicated relationship with his longtime manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).

The life of Elvis became a vehicle for Baz to tell the story of race, sex, class and music in America, from the 1950s through to the 1970s. Baz's goal was also to restore humanity to a figure who had for decades become a symbol or an icon rather than a man.

Shot in Queensland, with filming interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ELVIS premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022 and was a box-office smash after it opened in cinemas worldwide from 23 June 2022.

At the 95th Oscars on 12 March 2023, ELVIS was nominated for 8 Academy Awards: Best Picture (Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss), Actor in a Leading Role (Austin Butler), Cinematography (Mandy Walker), Film Editing (Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond), Costume Design (Catherine Martin), Production Design (Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy and Beverley Dunn), Make-up and Hairstyling (Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Alan Signoretti), and Sound (David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller).

In the lead-up to the ceremony, the film won a multitude of other awards including four BAFTAs from the British Academy (for Leading Actor, Casting, Costume Design and Make-up and Hair), the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and 12 AACTA Awards including Best Film.

Curator Jenny Gall writes in-depth about Catherine Martin's costumes for ELVIS.

Notes by Stephen Groenewegen