So when they call you and tell you Eminem wants to incorporate a song of yours into his, do you just say sure, or ask to hear it? Charlie Lamb, who was present that day, told me that Parker got up from the lunch table and got in his car that minute and drove to find him. Near the end of his life, Parker is said to have been speaking with two promoters about this, since Elvis was so deeply unhappy about never getting to go tour Europe, but it never happened. The actor has talked about the project, what drew him to it, and how he felt about the overall story. Later, in Memphis, he certainly attended a white fundamentalist church, and with his early girlfriend, Dixie Locke the all-Black East Trigg Baptist Church to hear Black gospel. Hanks recalls. Well, they were a lot of fun. However, it soon became obvious that Elvis had staying power, with the right guidance. Tom Hanks goes dark: Why our favorite good guy wanted to play the. How are you preparing for it? He did not know how to say no to someone who had already made all of his dreams come true. For example, in discussing how he didnt ever want to get taken advantage of, hed say, I dont want to end up with cider in my ear. And he had an underling fix up a cookhouse, a so-called carnival kitchen, by throwing an oilcloth over the conference room table in his office on the MGM lot. Presleys schedule didnt allow it anyway, according to Parker. If there were an award to bestow for the most accomplished living American pop songwriter who never doubled as a recording artist, the frontrunner would almost definitely be Mike Stoller, 89, half of one of the most famous writing duos of all time, Leiber & Stoller. Were Elvis primary music influences almost all Black artists, as portrayed in the movie? One thing he did with me was to say, I want you to remember this. And then he launched into this carny double-speak that sounded kind of like pig Latin. It's like you have a record, you have an album by your favorite artist. Most of the songs he cut of yours, you two wrote expressly for him. While proving to be a frequent challenge for Parker, Elvis and the Colonel stuck together. We thought we were the only white kids who knew all that stuff! I ended up being the piano player on screen in the movie Jailhouse Rock. And so (on-set) Elvis asked me, Write me a real pretty ballad. That was on a Friday. He never went to Elvis and said, "What would you like to do? Privately, Parker referred to Elviss family as shit and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. "But he had no other client than Elvis Presley, and he lacked the imagination to see just how truly a greater social force Elvis could have been.". Tom Hanks on 'Elvis' and How He Prepares for a Really - Collider Parker used Jimmie to sidle up to Elvis and form a friendship to get Elvis to sign with Parker and the elder Snow, who were then business partners. I would agree with that. King used to visit some in Las Vegas, but that was in the 70s. Even if the memory of Elvis Presley were completely wiped away, like the Beatles in that Yesterday movie, this pairing would still be in the history books and collective consciousness for Stand by Me, On Broadway, There Goes My Baby, Young Blood, Kansas City, Love Potion #9, Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown, Im a Woman, Ruby Baby, Is That All There Is? and other numbers deeply embedded in pop culture from the mid-50s forward. Acclaimed author of several books about Elvis including the recently re-issued, 'The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley' (Interview by Kees Mouwen, Nigel Patterson and Paul Belard. This is Luhrmann showing us Elviss influences. Coupled with the fact that the character of Tom Hanks' Tom Parker isn't his usual role, and Hanks was eager to play the part. When watching the movie, you think about all the what ifs. Tom Hank's Col Tom Parker accent . That's the thought that he had. Hard to do. More or less. So far as the wider world knew, the Colonel was Thomas Andrew Parker, born in Huntingdon, West Virginia, some time shortly after 1900. That potential is what interests him. He was also a consultant to the Hilton, where he gambled every day. But he was being very respectful and polite. Baz Luhrmann's musical biopic Elvis explores the eponymous singer's career, leading up to his tragic death, and one of the characters that has caused a fair amount of controversy is Elvis and the Colonel, Tom Parker. The film opens on Parker, absolving himself of guilt for the trajectory of Elvis's life, saying, "Some would have me the villain in this story." Offers may be subject to change without notice. A proud father, a combat veteran, dog lover, gym rat, coffee enthusiast and all around equal opportunity doughnut devourer, you can follow his daily exploits on Twitter and Instagram, as well as YouTube Videos on The Arctic Ninja Network. Colonel Parker tells how the money was split. Jumping into why I get to talk to you.The thing that's interesting about Tom, is that he was really good for Elvis at the beginning. Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 - January 21, 1997), [1] commonly known as Colonel Parker, was a Dutch musical entrepreneur, best known for being Elvis Presley 's manager. The Horrifying Elvis Story Tied To The Singer's Death - CINEMABLEND One of the offers he turned down was for Elvis to appear on the small screen for $150,000. And I have asked people from Russia and Poland and said, "Are you familiar with the American singer, actor by the name of Dean Reed?" The Colonel: The inside story of Elvis' powerful, mysterious manager And I don't think it had been done the most righteous justice in order to capture why Elvis was this bend in the river of American culture. Elvis influences were so diverse. In their rush to denounce him for failing his client in later years, many Elvis fans forget that there may not have been an Elvis Presley were it not for Tom Parkers work in those early days. ", "Why include the Colonel in all of this?" Colonel Tom Parker Biographer Says Tom Hanks' Elvis Movie Accent Isn't While Elvis and the Colonel carried the movie to several awards, Hanks' omission stands out above most others. This would sand the rough edges off his image and bring him back as the all-American boy fit for family entertainment with Frank Sinatra. Colonel Tom Parker - New Netherland Institute Within 30 minutes of their first meeting, Hanks was hooked. Davis went to have a look and went back to tell Colonel Parker all about him and how he wiggled and girls went wild. And I called, I think, Jack Viertel, because we had been working on a totally different kind of project a ballet musical which never got finished and I said, Listen, I dont like it. But she got it. And his son, Jimmie (later Jimmy), envied Elvis and yearned to counsel him on his sinful ways. Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, had dinner with their friend Priscilla Presley in the hopes of getting a better take on the man he was playing. The other five nominations were for technical (Editing, Sound, Cinematography) and design (Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling). As a producer/director/actor, if you could get the financing to make anything you want, what would you make and why? Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic. He. The band was cracking up, to hear Jerry singing as if he were a blues singer, lets put it that way. Was the Variety review of the New York show, or was it the out-of-town tryout in L.A.? The Masked Lookalike Explained. I played on one of the songs from those sessions (Treat Me Nice), but I wasnt that good of a player. Its a very strong film; I really like the movie. On top of that, Parker found venue upon venue for Elvis to perform in, be it recording studios, Hollywood films, TV specials, and even satellite broadcasts, immersing the artist into the cultural zeitgeist while keeping him landlocked in North America. I think thats what we sent to (Presley), and he loved it. Theyre doing it in Connecticut now; a young lady who was in the show in London is directing it. Colonel Parker is seen as under pressure from secretive governmental forces who want to keep Elvis from corrupting youth and to try to get him to tamp down Presley, they threaten to expose. Parker became known as a shrewd, showy, and manipulative businessman who was able to work out lucrative deals at minimal overhead while making sure his pockets were lined healthily along the way. That was in our minds (during the initial writing). Luhrmann describes another story in the aftermath of Presley's death where the Colonel immediately called RCA and instructed them to produce more records, knowing demand would skyrocket. So we hit it off and we had a great relationship. There were concert riots, most notably in Jacksonville, Fla., but not a concert for which Parker issued orders like that. And I would love to make a movie about that guy. [Stoller adds that the rabbit lyric might have been added by a lounge act Presley was believed to have seen and liked covering the song in Vegas prior to his taking it on.]. In the carnival, he had painted sparrows yellow and sold them as canaries. He cited several reasons primarily security and not big enough venues, or said the money wasnt right. Elvis Presley: TRUTH about Colonel Parker and '50 per cent' cut He is passionate about film, comics, TV and spends way too much on collectibles. But Im very proud of its success, nevertheless. Yes, it was manager Colonel Tom Parker who had his reasons for finally cutting Leiber and Stoller out of Presleys creative camp after 1963, none of them good. "I had the luxury of essentially recreating somebody who no one really knew. Which I thought was weird, at the time. By the third day, you're in love with him. Any thoughts on the portrayal early in the film of country star Hank Snow, who first takes Elvis out on the road before becoming disgusted with him, and his son, Jimmie Rodgers Snow, who seems to worship Elvis? And I was very happy with the way my songs were used. I had a different layer of expectations," the actor said. Baz Luhrmann is much like Colonel Parker. 6 pop hit in 1955 for the group the Cheers). Listen, this guy was no fool! "And I told Baz, 'But you're describing Falstaff and Hal,' and Baz said, 'Exactly, except with millions of dollars thrown into it. I told him pay us our regular fee and if Elvis gets the Oscar well give him his money back. The Colonel was now looking for the next big thing. I offer this information without prejudice or comment, leaving it to the reader to judge whether it reflects good or ill on Thomas Parker. Thats Luhrmann being the showman. Yeah. There's no substitute for going there. What can I say? What is it like for you when you are getting ready to step on set for say a big emotional scene on a Monday, can you explain to me, is it weeks in advance you're thinking about that big scene? I thought the way they used the song Trouble was very effective. And then they asked us to write for a movie that became Loving You, when it was renamed after the song that we wrote. I called Jerry the next morning and said, Hey, he wants a song. So we wrote him a ballad and made a demo of it on Sunday, and I brought it in to him on Monday. The promises. Hanks retains all of these qualities in his performance, including the adoption of prosthetics to help look more like the controversial Parker. And heres a guy who carries his pictures by himself the rest of the guys on the list have three or four stars to back them up., Fessier pointed out that the Presley-Parker partnership was one of the few in Hollywood that confined its demands to money. I mean, Big Mamas song was a woman singing it to a no-good guy, and the original lyric in the first verse was, You can wag your tail, but I aint gonna feed you no more. And the Presley version almost sounds like hes singing it to a dog: You aint never caught a rabbit, and you aint no friend of mine. I dont know where that came from. You could never have predicted the longevity of Smokey Joes Caf, surely. Randy Newman was brought in and did an exquisite chart fabulous and we produced it out here. Elvis kind of liked Jimmie. I mean, if youve heard Big Mamas record and the rhythm and the whole structure of the music, as compared to this kind of rockabilly [he claps out the differences in the two versions rhythms] But as Ive said: After it sold 7 million singles, I began to see some merit in it. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Unfortunately, Jerry and I didnt complete a show we were working on about Oscar Wilde, and its kind of sitting in our back pockets. Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action, Baz Luhrmann clarifies not casting Harry Styles as Elvis, hopes to work with him in the future. COLLIDER: I want to start with congratulations on the movie. We told the music publishers, who were our contact with the Colonel, about this exciting opportunity not only for us, but for Elvis, who wanted to be Marlon Brando or James Dean. When it was just written lyrics on a piece of paper, she started to croon it. A nice thing is that the characters names are the real names of the first cast, and its kind of sweet those first members of the cast have been immortalized. Whats your overall feeling on the movies truth-ometer? Check him out. And I mean, we enjoyed being in the studio with Elvis; we enjoyed being in the studio with the Drifters, with Ben E. King, with Peggy Lee. King would be playing in the lounge, and Elvis would be playing in the big room. Austin Butler on Elvis and Why it Took Months After Filming to Find Himself Again, The Best Epic Movies of All Time, According to the AFI, The 25 Best Thrillers of All Time, Ranked, The Legend Behind the Jerry Lewis Holocaust Clown Movie Youll Never See. Presley had other ways of making money that they could fall back on. Country radio stations said Elvis sounded too Black to play, and the stations that played rhythm and blues said he sounded too much like a hillbilly. I dont like the story. "You hear the Colonel literally lay out the foundation for how he was going to make Elvis immortal over the course of the next 30 years," marvels Hanks. Elvis clearly demonstrates the ways in which Parker was integral in crafting Presley into an icon, but it also doesn't hold back in exposing the abuses and limitations of that relationship a paradox and tragedy that Hanks says became the most intriguing driving force in his portrayal. Related: Every Baz Luhrmann Movie, Ranked According To Box Office Mojo. Austin Butler and Tom Hanks star in this musical biopic about the life of Elvis Presley, specifically his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Does it veer off in ways that seem unnecessary? Tom Hanks was also intrigued by the fact that the wider public knew very little about the Elvis manager, claiming this was another reason he took on the role. He was in for a surprise. It's one of only a very few villainous roles that Hanks has taken in his long career in movies, making it a relatively rare departure for the actor. Cash was split down-the-line of 75% to Elvis and 25% to the Colonel, with the William Morris Agency taking 10% off of the top of film revenues. Alex Shoofey, the executive VP of the International, testified that Parker was good for $1 million a year in gambling, but others think that number is low. Colonel Parker is the devil to many Elvis Presley fans. We went back to my house and, in about 10 or 15 minutes, we wrote Hound Dog and took it back. Capitol didnt want to release it, because it didnt have a back beat. There is the legend of an afternoon where you and Leiber cranked out four classic Elvis film songs in just a few hours Jailhouse Rock, Treat Me Nice, I Want to Be Free and (Youre So Square) Baby I Dont Care pretty much because someone trapped you in a hotel suite and compelled you to be prolific. There's a number of thematic elements there that All right. They had a piano player, Duddly Brooks, on the session. "If Elvis represents the soul and the new in America the possibility in America, the rags and riches in America, all those positive, very American things the Colonel represents the sell," he says. That led to a colossal shouting match afterwards with Parker and talk of firing and quitting on both their parts, with Colonel ultimately presenting a bill that the Presleys could not pay. As opposed to the more methodical camera coverage Hanks is accustomed to, Luhrmann is more free-wheeling. It had a line for our signatures. Colonel Tom Parker wasn't afraid to meddle in his client's personal affairs. ", So maybe we never win an Oscar but were going to win a few box office awards. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member (class of 1987) told us about everything from why he never much liked Presleys version of Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton was a hard act to follow to how he realized a Broadway musical rooted in the duos songs, Smokey Joes Cafe, could be a smash if they just dispensed with a storyline and script. While it sometimes borders on cartoonish parody, with Hanks seemingly becoming a supervillain of sorts, it fits the overall style and narrative of Director Baz Luhrmann's movie. The Truth About Elvis Presley's Relationship With His Manager, Colonel They keep asking us to do more, he said. THE ELVIS movie biopic stars Tom Hanks as The King's manager Colonel Tom Parker, who the actor has described as both a 'genius' and a 'scoundrel'. Colonel Tom Parker - Elvis, House & Death - Biography The kid who plays Elvis, Austin Butler, is a knockout as an actor, a dancer and a singer, and I have a feeling hell be nominated for sure for best actor. They were hot with Grand Funk Railroad and a variety of things, but that was not what they were looking for in 1969. Would you say Elvis was growling when he covered Hound Dog three years later, in 1956, becoming the first of the big hits he had with your songs? The story made no sense. One of the first things that we saw was the kid (in the screenplay) was in prison. Parker realized early on the bigger potential of Austin Butler's Elvis and transitioned to managing him full-time. When we came in, Steve Sholes was the top guy at RCA Records. Snow had a big ego and resented the fact that Elvis quickly became the draw on his shows, not Snow. HANKS: It's a beast, but you are aware of when that scene is coming. Colonel Tom Parker [1909-1997] Colonel Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker (Born Andreas Cornelis van Kuyk) was an enigma from the day he arrived on a freighter in Tampa Bay, Florida, as an illegal immigrant at about the age of 20 until his death at the advanced age of 87 in 1997. That convinced him this would be an opportunity to truly disappear into a different kind of role. The article in question appeared inVarietyon January 15, 1964. Although from the Netherlands originally, actor Tom Hanks' Parker had a Southern-style accent due to a huge chunk of his life being spent there, but it was more of a mixture with his native Dutch accent. No, Luhrmann has really framed this through a present-day lens. He's never been identified as anything other than this mercurial or puppeteer-like, quasi-evil, greedy manager that took advantage of Elvis from the get-go. The Colonel seized on the moment and put Elvis back on tour, eventually settling on a residency in Las Vegas and a non-stop barrage of venues and recordings that took the singer to the brink, as he deteriorated into a mockery of his former self. Is it true that Colonel Parkers reason for being attracted to Elvis was that he thought a white singer who sounded Black was bound to be a star and accomplish what a Black singer could not? But we used to have to say to him, This is Jerry, and Im Mike. I love your work so much. "What he did was keep Elvis alive," Luhrmann explains of how he saw Parker's mindset. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Elvis and the Colonel worked to change his overall image in the wake of the backlash from his critics, who frequently deemed him offensive. A "colonel" in honorary terms only, he was a shrewd, showman-like . Tom Hanks has questioned his decision to play Colonel Tom Parker who was Elvis Presley's infamous longtime manager in the upcoming biopic "Elvis." The 65-year-old Oscar winner discussed. Check the list of the 10 top box office stars Elvis is right there. That can be found in detail in two Parker biographies published in recent years Colonel Tom Parkerby James Dickerson (2001) andThe Colonelby Alanna Nash (2003). He was a very disciplined man, but also a guy who you might want to check your wallet to make sure you still have all those fives and 10s. The actual Parker diedJan. 21, 1997, at the age of 87. He could turn down scripts. COLONEL TOM PARKER - Interview on "ABC Nightline" (Aug 15, 1987) - YouTube 0:00 / 7:03 COLONEL TOM PARKER - Interview on "ABC Nightline" (Aug 15, 1987) waylonvids 20.1K subscribers Subscribe. Johnny (Otis) said, Are you familiar with Willie Mae Thornton? I said, no. Hanks said he was taken aback by her reaction. And he continued to go see Black performers, such as Jackie Wilson, throughout his life. Other than the tremendous pains Baz has taken to make this story seem woke, the liberties are essentially fair except to Parker. 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But he worked closely with the Pentagon, planning Elvis army career and post-army concert to raise money for the U.S.S. Are you kidding? Colonel Tom Parker managed Elvis Presley 's career from 1955 to 1977, overseeing almost every aspect of the star's life. Elvis Presley had his own struggles, particularly in his later years, as his lavish spending, addiction issues, divorce, and declining health took a toll on The King. Elvis would invite B.B. Nash, a veteran music journalist, published The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley to acclaim in 2010 and her book has just been reissued with a new afterword. As it is, we both take bows and if it doesnt hit maybe they get more blame that us. Elvis seemed to evoke a love or hate response in anyone I knew. I've never seen a photograph of him. He had never seen that before. Do you think, based on your experiences with the Colonel, which werent great, that its easy to paint him as a villain? Im not a super rap fan. We had a few run-ins with the Colonel. So that started a little bit of discomfort on the part of the Colonel. That caused a big to-do, because they didnt want anybody presenting him with a song that they might not own the publishing rights to.
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