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Return of the King

Elvis, a four-hour miniseries, airs tonight and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on WTSP-Ch. 10. The network follows with Elvis By the Presleys, a collection of interviews and home movies, at 8 p.m. Friday.

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published May 8, 2005

	[Photo: CBS]

"I didn't do anything but just jiggle" - Elvis Presley, 1972.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers was explaining to reporters how he transformed himself into Elvis Presley for the upcoming CBS miniseries.

His accent was unmistakeable. A soft, understated, Irish accent.

Aye.

Meyers is pure Irish. That's part of what makes his performance in CBS' two-part miniseries Elvis so interesting. While it may seem a good portion of the southern Nevada economy is built on Elvis Presley imitators, most Elvi don't fly. Somehow, Meyers puts it together: the moves, the mannerisms, the aw-shucks moments.

CBS has gone Elvis crazy this week. The four-hour miniseries Elvis, starring Meyers, airs tonight and Wednesday, and a two-hour family retrospective, Elvis by the Presleys, airs Friday. And then there's an accompanying book, also called Elvis by the Presleys, a two-CD sound track, and a deep interactive Web presence at www.cbs.com The network is hyping the productions with magazine ads, Elvis holograms projected onto buildings, airline in-flight clips, and a commissioned crossword in the New York Times.

The timing of Elvismania? Take your pick. Elvis would have been 70 this year. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the King's appearance on Frank Sinatra's television variety show. Heck, it's Mother's Day, and Elvis loved his mama.

Elvis executive producer Howard Braunstein said there's no reason. And there's every reason.

"I wish I had a really smart answer," Braunstein said, pondering the timing. "It wasn't really about time in terms of 70th birthday or some milestone event, it was more: "You know what? There's never been an Elvis movie where they used the digitally mastered recordings, or they used Graceland, or, in our opinion, got it right. Boy wouldn't it be great to do it the way it should be done, the way they did Ray? Wouldn't it be great to get this right?'

"That's how it started," he said.

Presley's former wife, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, in a statement issued through CBS, cheered the effort. With her, daughter Lisa Marie, and the rest of the Presley estate working with CBS, providing master recordings, home movies, and access to Elvis' Memphis home, Graceland, the stars aligned.

"We had an influx of interest from a new generation of fans who are coming into Graceland and asking a lot of questions about Elvis," Priscilla Presley said. "Lisa Marie and I decided to share what little we have about this incredible human so that the younger generation can learn more about him. It's been difficult, but the outcome has been very rewarding."

The resulting home movie compendium, airing Friday, is interesting. Elvis fans will love it. There are some shots and interviews most have already seen, but there also are great home movies that show Elvis relaxing, living and, ultimately, wrestling with the ultimate instrument of his defeat: the sparkly jumpsuit.

"I think that was a great style for him, because it allowed him movement," Priscilla Presley says, still apparently in denial. "He felt very comfortable with that, and had hundreds of jumpsuits made."

The horror. The real star of CBS' week is the miniseries. Elvis rocks.

The series follows young Presley from his parents' sharecropper shack to Beale Street to Hollywood. Covering the period from 1952 to his televised 1968 comeback special, Elvis chronicles Presley's rise, his Army days, his movies, and his love affair with a 14-year-old Priscilla (which, seen from 2005, looks downright felonious, no matter how much Elvis vows to preserve her honor.)

It's the 26-year-old Irish actor (coach Joe from soccer-chick flick Bend it Like Beckham) who makes it work. Learning the impact Elvis had on American culture was the first step to taking the role, he said.

"I was aware of the fascination with Elvis and the adoration, but I was aware of it like somebody from Europe," he said.

In a conference call with reporters, the closest Meyers said he could come to a figure as big as Elvis in his life is U2 frontman-world activist Bono.

"But nothing is like Elvis," Meyers said. "It's completely different. He was the first. He will always be the first."

Meyers said he was afraid of the role at first, but he learned as he studied.

"I think it starts with the heart," he said. "You've got to love this story. You've got to love his joy in what he did. You've got to love his family. There was an energy that he gave off."

Meyers said he threw himself into the performance. He studied Elvis' old films (King Creole was his favorite) and he tried on the accent, speaking as Southern as he could for weeks, even off set, while shooting on location in Memphis.

Meyers said he drew on the things he and Presley had in common: growing up poor, loving his family (with his first big paycheck, Meyers bought his mother a house), a desire to be somebody, to perform.

"It was just like memories came boom, boom, boom, boom, boom," Meyers said. "You can take the boy out of the poor, but you can't take the poor out of the boy."

The result is convincing. He's not perfect, but Meyers said he hopes fans will look beyond his impersonation and look instead at his interpretation.

"There's going to be some people who are going to be really critical and really picking," he said. "But I played Elvis Presley, I am not Elvis Presley."

Sunday's two-hour segment is the stronger of the two nights. Wednesday's feels rushed. The second night has to incorporate Presley's Army days, his creepy encounter with an underage Priscilla (scenes of her in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit at Graceland are mildly disturbing) and the swift decline and return of Presley's career, all packed into two hours. Scenes of Presley's undoing come too quickly, the path to drug abuse too sudden.

Despite some rushed moments, the attention to detail is strong throughout. Randy Quaid (Cousin Eddie from Vacation movies) plays Presley's manager Col. Tom Parker like it's the role he's been waiting for. And Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret is slinky and dangerous.

But Meyers is the glue.

"I first became really aware of him in Bend It Like Beckham," producer Braunstein said. "He had this Elvislike quality. I have to tell you. I thought, "My goodness, is there a chance he could play Elvis?' "

The Irish accent was the only thing in the way.

"He could switch from that Irish brogue to that Southern accent. . . . It was like he was flipping on a switch," Braunstein said. "If he couldn't, we wouldn't have hired him."

Overcoming a universe of bad Elvis imitations and the movies that came before was daunting, Braunstein said. But the time was right.

"I felt the pressure, sure, absolutely we did," he said. "I think audiences are very sophisticated. When they see (2004 Ray Charles biography) Ray and these wonderful bio pics, audiences expect something very different than they did 25 years ago. We had to approach this in a way that made sense.

"People would know immediately if we were fakes," Braunstein said. "They would know."

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 14:03:02]