The Man Who Would Be King

WS: CBS Miniseries On Rise Of Elvis Should Show Him As He Was

(Weekly Standard) 
Then comes a two hour television special, also entitledElvis By The Presleys, set to air on CBS on May 13. The special will feature never-before-seen footage of Presley's performances and family home movies, along with photographs from the Presley Estate archives. Interviews with Presley family members, including former wife Pricilla and daughter Lisa Marie, will also highlight the special.

Just when you thought the show was over, Presley is back for another encore. EnterElvis, an upcoming CBS miniseries chronicling Presley's life and rise to stardom. The two-part, four hour miniseries will air on May 8 and 11. What makes this project so rare is that it has acquired the endorsement and cooperation of the Presley Estate; it also gained access to Presley's master recordings. It is the largest of the four Presley projects this month; Todd Morgan, Director of Media and Creative Development for Elvis Presley Enterprises, hopes Elvis "will be a ratings champ."

More than likely, Morgan's wish will come true. Twenty-eight years after his death, Presley is still a gold mine. But will this new installment to Everything Elvis present anything different from what we've seen so far? Val Kilmer, Harvey Keitel, and Don Johnson have already taken on the role of the famed rock'n'roller, and a pre-teen Kurt Russell appeared with Presley in It Happened at the World's Fair before taking on the role himself in a 1979 TV movie. Russell donned a jumpsuit again some twenty years later in 3,000 Miles to Graceland.

Although there have been satisfactory portrayals -- Russell's version is perhaps the highest praised -- the bad far outweigh the good. In fact, none has accurately captured Presley in full -- not his career, not his personal life. Minor details to the average viewer are enormous to fervent Presley fans. For instance, many past films cast a star with too young or too old an appearance to play both phases of Presley's life. There's the actor-turned-Elvis on stage (poorly) lip-syncing songs from the wrong era, handing out sweat drenched scarves while in the famous black leather suit (wrong era again), or wearing Hawaiian lays while sporting the Butterfly jumpsuit (wrong suit, wrong concert, and wrong year). Again, to Elvis fans, these are serious mistakes.

Then there are the lights in which Presley is shown. There have been very few balanced biopics. He is either shown as a flawless rock god, or as a drug induced, gun wielding madman obsessed with peanut butter and banana sandwiches. As an Elvis fan myself, I do not cheer the glossed-over versions, nor do I scoff at the darker ones. As a true Elvis fan, I hope for both.