Baz Luhrmann
Shonka Dukureh, Who Portrayed Big Mama Thornton in Elvis, Found Dead at 44
Shonka Dukureh, who portrayed Big Mama Thornton in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, was found dead in her Nashville apartment on Thursday, July 21st. She was 44 years old. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (via Tennessean), Dukureh was found unresponsive by one of her children early Thursday morning who went to a neighbor’s apartment for help. Police do not suspect foul play and an autopsy is underway to determine the exact cause of death. Dukureh hailed from Charlotte, but resided in Nashville after graduating from Fisk University with a bachelor’s degree in theater. She also held a master’s degree in education from Trevecca Nazarene University. Advertisement Related Video Prior to landing the role in Elvis, Dukureh performed gospel and blues music locally and worked as an elementar...
Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sound Dog: 5 Elvis Presley Remixes You Need to Hear
A little less conversation and more dancing, yeah? The legendary Elvis Presley rose to prominence in the 50s and is prevalently known as the “King of Rock and Roll.” With culture-shifting songs like “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel,” the late rockabilly great has stood the test of time as among the most influential musicians in history. With Presley’s new biopic Elvis in theaters, we’re reminded of just how impactful his art was on the musical zeitgeist. As the King’s legacy continues to live on, here are some of our favorite remixes of his music. Elvis Presley – A Little Less Conversation (Junkie XL Remix) Known for his compositions for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Tomb Raider, Godzilla vs. Kong and many more, renowned Du...
Baz Luhrmann’s Australia to Be Expanded into Six-Part Limited Series Faraway Downs
If you thought nearly three hours of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia was a lot, prepare to be buggered: Hulu and Disney+ are set to release an expanded and reimagined cut of the 2008 period drama, split up into a six-part limited series called Faraway Downs. Deadline reports that the series will consist of footage captured for the original film, along with a fresh soundtrack and “an expanded, serialized version of the story with a new ending.” Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Australia was quite the ambitious love story on its own, but Faraway Downs will allow the story to delve even deeper into the World War II-era draconian racial policy known as the Stolen Generations, by which the Australian government forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families. “I origina...
How Accurate is Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis? Here’s a Fact Check
Baz Luhrmann has made a career out of bending time and reality to tell stories with a distinctive melodramatic flair. Moulin Rouge! was full of Parisians circa 1900 singing MTV-era pop songs. William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet featured 20th century American characters speaking in the original play’s 16th century dialogue. Elvis Presley is one of the most mythologized figures in the American imagination, looming over pop culture via Vegas impersonators and conspiracy theories about his death as much as his music. So one might expect Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis to be about the legend, not the man. But Luhrmann, who began work on the film eight years ago, researched Presley’s life extensively, co-writing the screenplay with longtime collaborator Craig Pearce, as well as Sam Bromell and Jeremy Done...
Elvis Review: Baz Luhrmann’s First Biopic Is Not As Absurd and Ahistorical As You Might Expect
The Pitch: Baz Luhrmann, the Australian maximalist behind such audaciously stylized films as Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, has taken on his first biopic, and it’s a monster. Although a few attempts have been made at dramatizing the life story of Elvis Presley, most notably Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1979 film also titled Elvis, Luhrmann’s movie is by far the biggest and boldest yet, with an $85 million budget dwarfing every other Presley biopic combined. Austin Butler, a 30-year-old actor who made his name with several teen and tween-friendly TV roles on the Disney Channel and The CW, is the unlikely star of this massive biography of the King of Rock’n’Roll. An Anaheim native whose most prestigious previous project was a small role as a member of the Manson Family in Once Upon ...
Doja Cat Unveils New Song “Vegas” from Elvis Soundtrack: Stream
Doja Cat has dropped a new song called “Vegas,” which serves as the lead single to the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic Elvis. Listen to the track below. As the first look at the Elvis soundtrack, “Vegas” follows Luhrmann’s grand tradition of pairing historical content with modern music. Doja Cat lives up to the challenge, sampling Elvis’ (nay, Big Mama Thornton’s) rock and roll classic “Hound Dog” for a moody rap song bemoaning a universal truth: men ain’t shit. “You ain’t nothing but a/ Dog? Player, I get it/ Fraud? Player, I get it/ I understand, I understand,” Doja spits, over boosted bass. Some things never change. The official Elvis soundtrack arrives June 24th, the same day as the film. The project, Luhrmann’s first since 2013’s The Great Gatsby, stars Au...
Kelvin Harrison Jr. Cast as B.B. King in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Biopic
Kelvin Harrison Jr. and B.B. King (photos via Wikipedia) Kelvin Harrison Jr. is The King of Blues. The 26-year-old actor has been cast to play B.B. King in Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming Elvis Presley biopic. Known for his roles Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, Luce, and Waves, Harrison Jr. will join the Warner Bros. production alongside Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Yola, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and others. As Deadline points out, the film resumed shooting in September after a six-month production shutdown that followed Hanks’ COVID-19 diagnosis way back in March. With Butler playing The King of Rock and Roll and Hanks as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Harrison Jr.’s supporting role as The King of Blues will be crucial to portraying the cultural landscape of the ’50s and bey...
