The devastating actual motive Elvis Presley turned down Barbra Streisand’s A Star Is Born | Films | Entertainment | EUROtoday

In one of many ultimate scenes of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film, Austin Butler’s King is on the cusp of turning 40 in late 1974.

Sitting in a limo on an airport tarmac, his ex-wife Priscilla Presley asks the star about rebooting his film profession with Barbra Streisand’s A Star Is Born.

Elvis Presley tells her he might be 40 quickly and fears he received’t be remembered.

The King has a lack of coronary heart on such an concept, however what was the true motive behind turning down his Hollywood comeback?

A missed alternative for Elvis, A Star Is Born went on to star Kris Kristofferson reverse Streisand as an alternative and was big field workplace hit; nominated for 4 Oscars. The King hadn’t made a movie since 1969’s Change of Habit and had at all times wished to be taken critically as an actor after a string of primarily poor repetitive rom-coms.

In actual life, Streisand met with Elvis in 1974 to debate him enjoying the hard-drinking musician who discovers and falls in love along with her youthful singer – a narrative most just lately remade for a 3rd time in 2018 with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Both Elvis and Streisand carried out on the Las Vegas International Hotel, so had been effectively conscious of one another’s skills and the King was actually and excited by the position regardless of the depiction within the movie.

Tragically, as soon as once more, his supervisor Colonel Tom Parker – performed by Tom Hanks within the film – was in charge. Interestingly, the proposed contract continues to be within the Graceland archives to this present day and the ruthless businessman was asking an excessive amount of of his sole consumer, who hadn’t made a film for 5 years.

Among The Colonel’s extreme calls for was $1000 every week in bills for Elvis together with First Class transportation. Not solely that, but in addition a requirement that his identify be first place credit score, holding 100 per cent of the title above the title on the poster. Elvis’ supervisor additionally didn’t need to have his star portrayed as having a showbiz profession in decline, although The King’s live performance excursions continued to pack out venues.

Additionally, Ernst Jorgensen in Elvis Day By Day mentioned that Parker had demanded a $1 million wage for The King. Negotiations with the uncompromising Colonel fell by means of and Elvis by no means did get to behave as soon as once more in A Star is Born, although he in all probability might have put up with being second billed to Barbra as a long run technique for rebooting his transfer profession.

Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling later mentioned: “There was no way the film’s budget could stand two superstar salaries and Elvis didn’t care about the money. He was smart enough to know that this kind of supporting role could be his way back into the movies.”

The King by no means did make one other film, however would proceed touring till the final weeks of his life. Elvis tragically died aged simply 42 of a coronary heart assault on the bathroom upstairs at Graceland on August 16, 1977.