“Elvis Came Back to Manage Me” is a screenplay written by Jay Schorr. What makes this movie different than other political thrillers is that voters are being asked to lobby Hollywood producers to green light the project. “Usually the producers in Hollywood decide which films get made,” said Bill Singletary, a South Florida media executive. “This is the first time someone’s trying to vest that decision with the movie-going public.” Singletary says there’s no better way to test market a potential movie concept than to put it out there before the public. “They buy the tickets and know what they want to see.”
“Elvis Came Back to Manage Me” is based on the story of Charlie Blake, a struggling South Florida country musician. One night, while performing at a Fort Lauderdale Moose Lodge, Blake sees an apparition of Elvis Presley. Elvis tells Charlie he's come back to manage him and propel him to stardom. In exchange, Elvis asks that Charlie assist him in his quest to track down those responsible for the King’s premature demise. But Elvis’ interest in Charlie goes far beyond any conspiratorial unraveling. It is soon revealed that Charlie is the King’s illegitimate son. What follows is nothing short of a cosmic series of events with profound repercussions for father, son and the fabric of American society.
“The movie is destined to become a cult classic,” said Schorr. Schorr said the public will be able to read his script online, then if they like it, click on a thumbs-up link to major movie studio executives. The public also will get to participate in casting the movie. “We’ve already begun to explore talent attachments,” Schorr said. “People will be able to vote on who they want to star in the movie. We’ve already put out feelers to Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy and John Travolta.” The title track, Elvis Came Back to Manage Me, will be performed by a major country music star.
Forget about this and any other Elvis bio movie. It will never be as good as a definitive Anthology which is now 35 years overdue!
Cult Classic is a euphemism for a low budget production. That does not necessarily mean bad. In the case of Elvis's treatment in the past movies, however, I think it will be a turkey. That is if it ever gets produced.
I'm certainly for an Elvis representation in a fictional movie, but this plot line doesn't do it for me. Plus, this isn't the first time that someone thought of using the ghost of Elvis in a story. Dean Koontz uses the ghost of Elvis in his book "Odd Thomas". In that story line, Thomas sees and converses with the dead, and the ghost of Elvis helps Thomas catch a serial killer. IMDb says "Odd Thomas" is being made into a movie. However, it looks like the Elvis character has been dropped from the screenplay. Too bad. Koontz portrays the ghost of Elvis in a very positive way.
I recently watched "My Week With Marilyn"---and it was great. Then I watched "The Prince and the Showgirl"--the actual Marilyn Monroe movie. It was like night and day. The real Marilyn (of whom I am not even a huge fan or anything) simply had something that no other actress is going to be able to capture. And, in my opinion, Elvis has that quality multiplied by 1000! We've seen Elvis portrayed by Val Kilmer, Don Johnson, Kurt Russell and a host of more unknown guys. No one can pull it off. Watching the movie "Ray" was a revelation. It was easy to believe that was Ray Charles. It wasn't too tough to believe the actor in that Johnny Cash biopic. But nobody seems to be able to really do justice to Elvis. (also, on a side note, this movie sounds utterly stupid and terrible. I sincerely hope it never gets made)
B"H You guys haven't even seen the script yet! Give it a chance. The irony is that Elvis was forced into making some of the worst movies you could imagine; flops left and right. He was never really given a chance to show his acting chops in a movie worthy of his talents. I think Elvis would have been all for a flick that was well-written, genuinely funny, and which didn't take itself too seriously. Any serious Elvis fan with an inkling of what the King was really like - fun-loving and free-wheeling - would know Elvis would have gotten behind a great comedy with good-natured laughs. (The article didn't say the movie is a biopic, endeavoring to be the definitive Elvis movie.)
We already had an Elvis fantasy movie, it was called Heartbreak Hotel with Tuesday Weld. Anyone remember? It was Ok but we dont need another.
dgirl, I do remember. it was indeed ok. An interesting idea. Do we need something like this one? I seriously doubt that.
Diana Archer, you have a ngood point about the movies ELVIS made. I mean Jailhouse Rock and King Creole were amazing. Wish he had made more movies of that quality. Yet the contracts killed that ambition. Like you I think ELVIS also felt he was trapped or snared into that later stuff.
One has to agree with KingKreole that no one ever managed to play ELVIS with the right vibes. Mostly it is exagerated to a silly level, it is because he was a natural. It is like those singers copying him pretending to have a voice almost like him. But when you listen to their voice and other songs it is obvious that it is not so. Likewise the ctors/
Agree with SteveV - anthology please! ( how many years have I been asking for that now?)
This sounds interesting, although I’m not too crazy about Charlie being the King’s illegitimate son. That premise was done in the film ‘3000 Miles to Graceland’ where the movie ‘suggested’ that Kevin Costner’s character is Elvis’ illegitimate son, so I don’t think it would work.
I do think that a good comedy could be done properly. Imagine a movie where the main character is an Elvis impersonator (a bad one) that somehow makes money from appearing in all those ‘reality’ shows. He doesn’t really know (or care) about Elvis’s legacy, he just wants to make a buck. Then he would start seeing Elvis’ ghost everywhere, in the audience, haunting him, until he would finally agree to go back to visit Elvis’ roots (Mississippi, Memphis) where Elvis began. The movie could end with the guy giving up the ‘impersonation’ and doing his own music, starting small (like Elvis did) in local hang-outs, etc… The last scene would be Elvis in the audience, smiling, then getting into his pink Cadillac, and driving off in the sunset with an Elvis tune in the background. The lesson learned would be doing things your way, not trying to copy others, and doing music for the pleasure (not the fame). Something like that could be interesting. Who would play Elvis? The only one I believe could do Elvis justice is Kurt Russell.
Troubleman I think you hit the nail on the head with Kurt Russell playing Elvis again. But Charlie the musician should not be inspired by the spirit of Elvis but the real Elvis. The plot should be that Elvis never did die and that he wants to help this musician who is his illegitamate son become a star. It would sorta be like the movie Heartbreak Hotel where Elvis is kidnapped and encourges the kidnappers to play in the High School musical contest.
No, this is a lousy idea. Elvis would have acknowledged any other children, so I hate him being portrayed as not having done so. Having Elvis' ghost visiting an aspiring singer, yes; but not with Elvis as his father. Also, Kurt Russell would be a ghastly choice. He wasn't that great originally. Check out that movie again, and see all the glaring mistakes in it. I didn't like how he portrayed Elvis. A person who was fun-loving and giving.And he's too old now. And most importantly, he was horrible on the Graham Norton show in England, when he laughed when that revolting woman commented about how Elvis died. No true fan would have found that a laughing matter.