Elvis biopic to resume filming in Australia following coronavirus shutdown
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic is set to resume filming in Australia later this month after production was shut down back in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby director’s latest project, titled Elvis, delves into the dynamic between Presley (played by Austin Butler) and his manager Colonel Tom Parker, who is being played by Tom Hanks.
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However, production on the movie was halted back in March after Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive for coronavirus.
Deadline reports that production on Elvis is now set to resume in Queensland, Australia on September 23.
In a statement, Luhrmann confirmed his excitement about returning to work on the movie.
“We’re back to, as Elvis liked to say, ‘taking care of business!’” the filmmaker said. “It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global moment that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on Elvis.
“I cannot emphasise enough how lucky we feel in the current climate that the state of Queensland, and Queenslanders in general, have been so supportive of this film. We thank our partners in the Queensland Government and Queensland Health for their extremely diligent process, so that we can be an example how creativity and productivity can proceed safely and responsibly in a way that protects our team and the community at large.
“We are all excited to start working with Tom Hanks when he is out of quarantine in two weeks.”
Speaking to Deadline back in April, Luhrmann revealed that the entire cast and crew of Elvis were tested for coronavirus after production shut down.
“A team turned up in hazmat suits and we were tested,” he recalled. “We wouldn’t have been immediately infectious – you have to see if you have symptoms – but poor Tom and Rita, they were in the hospital and we were locked down in quarantine. They did really good tracing work by looking at the footage. Some of the players were extras, but they tracked everybody down and they quarantined everyone who had real contact with Tom.
“And it turned out we never had one more infection in the entire crew,” he added.
