Photo: Gisela Schober/Getty
Priscilla Presleygot emotional while joining the filmmaking team behind the newElvisbiopicat the film’s premiere at theCannes Film FestivalWednesday.
During the enthusiastic and extended applause at the end of the film, Presley, 77, hugged directorBaz Luhrmannwhile wiping away tears.
The group remained close-knit for much of the evening, while walking the red carpet ahead of the film, as well as at the afterparty.
Daniele Venturelli/WireImage
At the post-film event, lights in the sky formed various shapes of the King of Rock and Roll, and wrote “#Elvismovie” in the sky.
Italian rock band Måneskin, who have a song on theElvissoundtrack, took the stage at the event, performing the Elvis classic “If I Can Dream.”
Ahead of the premiere screening, Luhrmann reflected on the bumpy production ofElvis, which was significantly delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (in fact, Hanks, 65, was the first major celebrity tocontract the viruswhile on his way to shoot the film in Australia).
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“I really believe that we would come to Cannes with this film, but then COVID came, and the film was shut down, and it was never going to happen,” Luhrmann, 59, told the crowd.
“But for the bravery of Tom to come back, and the bravery of his cast, and this crew, to go on through COVID, and to finish this film… and we are back in Cannes,” he continued.
“And to see these streets so full of people who love movies, of every form of life, of every background, and every kind of movie says so much more about what this place means, and what it means to be back in the cinema. So for that we are eternally grateful, Cannes. All I can say is merci beaucoup, merci beaucoup.”
Priscilla haspreviously sung her praisesof the new film recounting the meteoric rise of her late musician husband, saying during theMet Galared carpet earlier this month, “I think it’s a movie for everyone.”
“Even the people who’ve heard stories about Elvis before, they’re gonna learn something,” she added.
OnInstagramdays later, she reiterated her feelings, writing alongside a trailer for the film, “I’ve seen Elvis the film, I watched the trailer over a dozen times.”
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“But the words I heard from my daughter [Lisa Marie Presley] on how much she loved the film and that [granddaughter]Rileywill love it too when she sees it brought tears,” she added.
“I relived every moment in this film. It took me a few days to overcome the emotions as it did with Lisa. Beautifully done Baz, Tom, Austin and Olivia.”
Elvis,also starringStranger Things’Dacre Montgomery andPower of the Dog’sKodi Smit-McPhee, arrives in theaters June 24.
source: people.com
