Take a look inside last night's star-studded screening for 'Elvis'
“I would like to thank you for making time for us tonight,” said Anna Wintour, addressing Baz Luhrmann andBetween them, the husband-and-wife duo claim a lengthy list of credits on the film, which offers a whistle-stop romp through the life of the king of rock and roll: He’s the director and co-writer, she’s the costume and production designer, both are producers. And since the film’s debut at Cannes last month , the pair, along with their cast, have been on a whirlwind promotional tour.
Among those seated was a fashion-heavy crowd that included Vera Wang, Batsheva Hay, Victor Glemaud, Jonathan Cohen, and more. And from the film, there was Butler, Olivia DeJonge, Yola, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alton Mason, and Tom Hanks. Beaming, Luhrmann welcomed them all to the stage one by one before the 159-minute cinematic extravaganza began.
Introducing DeJonge, who plays Priscilla Presley, Luhrmann shared remarks from Priscilla herself. “She said, ‘Thank you for selecting a young actor who could really make me look so good and be so true to me.’” The British musician Yola, meanwhile, appears in the film as Sister Rosetta Tharpe. “[She was] the inventor of rock and roll—no doubt about it,” Luhrmann explained.
Luhrmann went on to praise Harrison Jr. for his role as the legendary B.B. King—a confidente of Elvis’s—and Mason for his rousing interpretation of Little Richard. He then amused the audience with Hanks’s introduction. “One of the real joys is to find a new name, to give them a chance, a few lines, and see how they'll do. And this one has done fairly well.