Baz Luhrmann, the Australian director best known for visual spectacles like Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, is reportedly in talks to helm an Elvis Presley biopic for Warner Bros. The project is not based on any source material and it’s not clear what part of Presley’s life the director will cover in the film.
Kelly Marcel, who adapted Fifty Shades of Grey for Universal and Focus Features, is working on the script, according to TheWrap, which first reported the news. Tecumseh Productions’ Gail Berman will produce, along with Andrew Mittman of Whalerock Industries. Courtenay Valenti is set to oversee for the studio, but Warner Bros. has not commented on the project.
Sources for TheWrap said that Warner Bros. has already secured the music rights to Presley’s catalog, so original music from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will be used.
Luhrmann’s last feature was The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. It was met with a mixed reception from critics, but the director’s wife, Christine Martin, took home took home two Oscars for costume and production design. She won the same awards for Moulin Rouge! (2001). It’s expected that she’ll work with her husband again on the Presley movie.
Luhrmann is working on several projects at the moment, including an HBO miniseries on Napoleon based on Stanley Kubrick’s unproduced film script. Steven Spielberg would produce.