EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros along with Elvis Presley’s estate Graceland is pulling out all the stops in celebration of the King of Rock n’ Roll’s birthday on Jan. 8.
The Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis, which is the highest grossing original movie of 2022 at $286M WW, will screen for free in ten cities as part of various festivities. Those markets includes Atlanta (AMC Phipps Plaza), Chicago (AMC River East), Dallas (AMC NorthPark), Kansas City, KS (AMC Town Center), Los Angeles (AMC Burbank), NYC (Loews 34th Street), San Francisco (AMC Metreon), Toronto (Cineplex Scotiabank) and Vancouver (Cineplex Odeon International Village). All screenings will take place at 5 pm, except for LA which starts at 4 PM. Luhrmann and star Austin Butler will provide an introduction before the screening. At Graceland in Memphis, there will be a 2PM screening.
The pic is nominated for three Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture Drama; Best Director
(Luhrmann) and Best Actor Drama, Butler.
While the movie is available to watch on HBO Max, there will also be a 30-minute special dropped on Jan. 8, Just A Boy from Tupelo: Bringing Elvis to the Big Screen about the making of the Luhrmann movie.
Also SiriusXM will rebroadcast the Elvis cast town hall from Jan. 6-8 with Luhrmann, Butler, Tom Hanks and Olivia DeJonge on Elvis Radio (ch. 75), moderated by SiriusXM host Jess Cagle.
RCA Records will also drop the never-before-released full-length mash-up track from Elvis: Britney Spears x Elvis Presley “Toxic Las Vegas: Jamieson Shaw Remix” on Jan. 6.
Other birthday events include
–Elvis Movie Marathon and Club Elvis Hawaiian Style dinner, dancing, and “Blue Hawaii” (Jan. 5),
–Graceland Excursion to Tupelo; Archives Show & Tell; annual Elvis Birthday Pops Concert with Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra (Jan. 6).
–Conversations with Elvis with host Tom Brown, guests Hal Lansky, Glen Hardin and Alton Mason, who portrays Little Richard in the film; Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii 50th Anniversary Concert (Jan. 7).
–Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony, with free online viewing via Graceland’s Livestream page; Lisa Marie Presley, along with special guest Alton Mason, will join the ceremony taking place on the front lawn of the mansion at 8:30 a.m (Jan. 8).
–The unveiling of “The Making of ELVIS” at Elvis Presley’s Memphis, a new exhibition in partnership with Warner Bros., National Film and Sound Archives of Australia and Luhrmann, which explores the beginning of the film’s creative process through its journey to the big screen; Alton Mason will also be on site for the opening (Jan. 8).
Graceland will offer new, limited-time ELVIS Movie Ultimate VIP (UVIP) Tours (Jan. 9-Feb. 28).
Luhrmann said, “We are so appreciative of the audiences of all ages who came out to see the movie in theaters, and to Warner Bros. and exhibitors who took on what was certainly not a sure bet. A big thank you to audiences who made Elvis the number one original title of 2022, and especially to Elvis’s fans—both old and new. The entire Elvis team, along with Graceland and the Presleys themselves, have been listening to you all and working diligently to come up with these very special gifts in celebration of Elvis on his birthday.”
“No one was more appreciative of his fans than Elvis, as evidenced by the pilgrimage so many make to Graceland every year,” stated Joel Weinshanker, managing partner and majority owner, Elvis Presley Enterprises. “That’s why we are especially thrilled to partner with Warner Bros. on the occasion of Elvis Presley’s birthday, to add to our robust lineup for fans the gift of Baz Luhrmann’s incomparable film ELVIS—whether they are seeing it for the first time or, as we suspect, able to repeat the big screen experience they’ve undoubtedly been hoping for.”
Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Miss. and died at 42 on Aug. 16, 1977. He would have been 88 years old this year.