As reported earlier, “Elvis” is finally coming out on DVD in the U.S.
More details are now out about the upcoming release:
Starz Home Entertainment (formerly Anchor Bay) has announced the August 14th release of Elvis: The Miniseries on DVD. The feature is 173 minutes long, and presented in anamorphic widescreen. For those of you with a home theater setup, there is a Dolby 5.1 Surround track, but if you don’t have that yet then there’s also a Dolby 2.0 Stereo track as well. And if you can’t use either one, then you’ll be happy to know that this release is closed captioned for the hearing impaired. Look for Deleted Scenes as a nice extra, plus a collectible 12-page booklet included inside.
You can preorder it from Amazon. The cover art has a special “black velvet” outer packaging. The disc case has a red top half, and on the bottom is a picture of Jonathan as the young Elvis, with a guitar slung over his back.
“Elvis” is reairing on Showtime this Sunday at 6 pm. Be sure to check local listings for exact showtimes in your area. Showtime is also having a marathon of “The Tudors” starting Sunday at 10 pm.
And Hugo Boss has put up a US website and UK website with a different version of Jonathan’s ad, behind the scenes photos, and a hot featurette on the making of the ad. Be sure to check it out (both versions of the website are a little different.)
“The Tudors” premiered last night at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Jonathan attended looking very happy and dashing. Photos from the premiere and after party will be posted as I gather them up. Be sure to check out the various entertainment shows tonight for possible coverage (ET, Extra, Access Hollywood, The Insider).
Tomorrow evening there will be another premiere party in New York. This will be followed up by Jonathan’s appearance on The View on Thursday morning. According to the NY Post, the NY premiere party will be held at the Hearst Tower’s Joseph Urban Theater. And Jonny will be in attendance.
Expect this weekend to be a JRM fest on Showtime. Not only are they rebroadcasting “Elvis”, but they are also showing “The Lion in Winter” at 3pm on April 1st.
Great news for those who want to catch Jonathan in his Golden Globe winning performance as Elvis again! Showtime is reairing “Elvis” on March 31st at 8:00pm. It’s 3 hours long without commercials breaks.
Jonathan is featured in a huge photo spread in the new issue of Esquire magazine (the January 2006 US issue). And he made another appearance with his “Match Point” co-star Scarlett Johansson in an interview on the Today Show’s Saturday edition this past weekend. And lastly, Jonathan has won Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television at the 10th annual Satellite Awards. His co-star Randy Quaid won Best Supporting Actor and “Elvis” won Best Miniseries. Congratulations Jonathan!
The 2006 Golden Globe Award nominations were announced this morning. “Match Point” got nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress (Scarlett Johansson). Jonathan got a nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie for “Elvis”! The Golden Globes will be presented live on January 16, 2006 8pm EST on NBC. And “Match Point” was named as one of the 10 best films of the year by the National Board of Review.
In other exciting news, the teaser trailer for “Mission: Impossible 3″ is now online!
Jonathan attended yesterday’s Emmy Awards and looked splendid on the red carpet. “Elvis” did not manage to win any awards. Jonathan also attended 2 pre-Emmy parties: Entertainment Weekly’s pre-Emmy party and the 3rd annual BAFTA tea party, both held on September 17.
Filming wraps on the Elvis production around March 10. The cast and crew recently showed up to film scenes at Graceland itself. Photos of Jonathan in character are starting to pop up, like at Elvis.com, and it’s certainly a treat to see the striking resemblance! FilmForce has 2 great stills of Jonathan in action and Entertainment Tonight has a small video clip! Check out FilmForce’s website on the miniseries, containing all the latest news and scoops.
One big magazine alert - Jonathan is featured in an 18 page fashion spread in the latest Another Magazine –Issue 8 (UK).
Airdates have been announced for “Elvis” (thanks Stacy):
Also on CBS in May is ELVIS, the previously announced new four-hour mini-series starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the title role which will be broadcast Sunday, May 8 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday, May 11 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). The fact-based drama, about the life of Elvis Presley, is being produced with the full cooperation and participation of the Elvis Presley Estate. His electrifying yet tumultuous story — from his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise to fame — will be told and Presley’s master recordings will be heard in a biographical film for the first time.
Jonathan has been cast to play Elvis Presley in a CBS 4 hour mini-series on the rock and roll legend. Filming starts in January in New Orleans with an expected airdate during May sweeps. This is the first biopic that has the approval of the Presley estate. Which means it can use original recordings of his music. Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari from HBO’s Six Feet Under are producing.
From IGN:
“He was the first person I’d ever thought of for the role,” said exec producer Howard Braunstein. “I watched Bend It Like Beckham and when you see him, you just say, ‘He is Elvis.’ But at the time he wasn’t available, so we started the search. … He both has the physical look and the style that embodies Elvis, both the sweetness and the sex appeal.”
The nationwide publicity stunt, er, casting search lasted just long enough for Rhys-Meyers’ schedule to open up and allow him to accept the role. “Frankly, we never found anyone that really embodied the essence of Elvis,” Braunstein added. “There were those who looked like Elvis or sounded like Elvis, but they were imitators, not actors.”
Greenblatt reportedly said “Rhys-Myers didn’t audition for the gig but did shoot a piece of film in which he was made up like Elvis and showed off his King-ly accent. ‘It was uncanny. . .the dialogue sounded so authentic.’”
