The Presley family is getting emotional over a movie about Pop King patriarch Elvis Presley.
Elvis’ widow Priscilla Presley, their only child Lisa Marie Presley and eldest grandchild Riley Keough sat down with 20/20 for a special called Exclusively Elvis: A Special Edition of 20/20, which will air Tuesday night.
While Lisa said the film made her “emotional,” Riley cried five minutes into the film, which was shared during a preview on Good Morning America. The film, from acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann, opens in the US on Friday.
Talking Dad: Lisa Marie Presley stars in a preview for Tuesday night’s 20/20 special on the new Elvis movie
The King: Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla prepare to leave the hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, with their new daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968
The interview took place at Elvis’ old home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, which has been a museum for decades.
Lisa Marie told 20/20’s Chris Connelly that watching the film was “emotional” for her and brought up “such generational trauma … in a good way.”
And her mother, Priscilla, said she believes her late husband would have “loved” the film.
Goin’ to Graceland: The interview took place at Elvis’ old home, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, which has been a museum for decades
The background: Lisa Marie told Chris Connelly of 20/20 that watching the film was “emotional” for her and brought up “such generational trauma … in a good way”.
“It was really intense. As a film, it’s just an extraordinary film,” added Riley, who was crying five minutes into the film.
The title role of jailhouse rock singer Elvis is played by Austin Butler. “I wasn’t thinking about what I was going to do physically, I felt like I was looking through his eyes,” Butler said during the 20/20 special.
Tom Hanks plays Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker. On the special, he said he didn’t know Elvis was the first to bring sexuality to the stage.
Exclusive Elvis: A Special Edition of 20/20 airs Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Starting Wednesday, it’s available to stream on Hulu.
This preview comes shortly after Luhrmann revealed there was a four-hour version of his Elvis film.
A look at Grandpa: “It was really intense. As a film, it’s just an extraordinary film,” added Riley, who was crying five minutes into the film
The 59-year-old director recently helmed the two-hour, 39-minute film in which Austin Butler plays the eponymous music legend Elvis Presley, but there’s also a longer cut.
He said: “I mean, I actually have a four-hour version. I do. But you have to reduce it to 2 hours 30.’
Luhrmann would have liked to have included more in the film about Elvis’ romance with his first girlfriend Dixie, as well as his relationship with his band.
The film chronicles Elvis’ childhood and rise to stardom, as well as his relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks).
He Channeled Elvis: The title role of jailhouse rock singer Elvis is played by Austin Butler. “I wasn’t thinking about what I was going to do physically, I felt like I was looking through his eyes,” Butler said during the 20/20 special
Family bond at Graceland: Butler at left with Lisa Marie in white and black
He has won rave reviews: Butler seen in the special; He has said he was nervous about playing the icon because he didn’t want to let anyone down
Luhrmann added to RadioTimes.com: “I would have liked to have focused more on some of the other things – there’s so much more. I mean there’s a lot of stuff I’ve done like the relationship with the band that I had to cut [that] down – and it’s as interesting as the Colonel [Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks] gets rid of her.
‘The relationship with his first girlfriend, Dixie, you know. And later, like…once he’s caught in a trap and confused and doesn’t understand…someone who has a hole in his heart like Elvis, who keeps looking and looking for love and finding it on stage, but nowhere else.’
Butler recently admitted he felt an “immensity of anxiety” while playing Elvis.
A new feeling: Tom Hanks, who played Colonel Parker, said he didn’t know Elvis brought a sexual quality to the stage
He said: “I felt such a responsibility towards Elvis, his family and all the people around the world who love him so much. So it was unbelievable pressure – and with it, immense fear.
“I started to feel this energetic exchange. And so I allowed my imagination to really accept that this is the 68 Special, I’m doing this for this audience right now. My career is at stake.
“I looked at myself in the mirror – I’m dressed in leather and drenched in sweat. And I had this moment where I suddenly thought, “OK, I can do this.”
A happy start to her marriage: Priscilla was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973. He died in 1977