Presley Estate Needs a Hit with “Elvis” Movie to Invigorate Record Sales, Graceland, Philanthropy

This movie should’ve came out when Walk The Line did.

Elvis is so irretrievably cheesy.

I don’t think anyone cares about Elvis. He doesn’t really have songs that are on the level of Bohemian Rhapsody to get people in the seats.

Comparing Elvis net worth to Madonna and Bieber when Elvis has been dead for 45 years is kind of stupid.

R4 Elvis was a HUGE moneymaker after he died.

But he has really faded.

People remember him more as a tacky relic of the '70s than a cool rock star of the '60s.

This was obvious from Mars - Lisa would burn through every penny in her messy, drug-addled life and then cry victim. Hope all those kids didn’t get used to the luxury.

Well, even the Beatles aren’t what they were in the 1990s.

I got into Elvis about 10 years ago. In 2015, I visited Graceland and while it was nice, it was also quite cheesy. The Stax Museum in Memphis and the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville and the Dolly Parton Museum within Dollywood were all superior and more enjoyable experiences.

Stax is just great music all around, Johnny Cash's music has had more of an impact on new generations than Elvis' and Dolly Parton -- well, who doesn't love Dolly Parton?

One of the employees at Graceland told me that Graceland isn't very busy most of the year aside from Elvis' birthday.

Elvis made a lot of cheesy movies and recorded sub-par material and became a joke in his last few years. I think the '68 Comeback Special was his best moment. He lost weight, got his shit together, and showed the world why he became a star. But within a few years, he got stuck in a rote and became the bloated Elvis that many remember him as today.

Growing up in the 90’s as a child, I was aware Elvis and Frank Sinatra were huge legends of the past. I didn’t know much about them but they were everywhere.

Both have kind of vanished from pop culture.

I associate Elvis with white southern trash. I envision a shrine in the living room of some little shack in Florida with those flamingo decorations on the front lawn.

I think about his face on plates and worthless coins that were sold on TV in the 90’s.

And I think of impersonators marrying people in Vegas.

I don’t really think of his music.

Viva...

If Lisa Marie sold her rights in the Estate off, what does it matter how the movie does? She won't personally benefit if she relinquished her rights, no?

Elvis Presley was named the Greatest Singer of the 20th Century. His fame and memory of him will never fad. Hope his estate bounces back!!

I love Elvis Costello. Pump it up bitches. Presley? Never mind.

Most of the people who remember Elvis's performances when he was alive are Boomers or from the Silent Generation--they're aging out.

Pop culture is ultimately disposable. People never seem to understand this. There is no pop singer nor pop group whom large numbers of people will still listen to forever--not even Elvis.

The family’s praise for the film does seem a bit over the top. I did a lot of driving over the holiday weekend and happened to tune satellite radio to the Elvis channel. I was struck by how really fun his catalog is, all the deep cuts, especially the really early stuff. Even the movie tunes were well crafted.

R14 Mary Pickford was the worlds famous woman at one point. No one knows who the hell she is today or her contributions to Hollywood.

Legends can’t live forever.

Mistakes were made, including many by Lisa Marie Presley. Fact remains however it is an uphill climb to keep Elvis relevant to modern generations who don't know the man from Adam.

Priscilla Presley actually was the making of Elvis Presley's estate. She took charge and turned what was largely an estate worth nearly nothing around into one worth tens of millions. Then came Lisa Marie....

That Forbes article is tragic.

A big hindrance to their mission.

Ckboh0u

The Beatles outstream Michael Jackson on Spotify so I wouldn't say they are forgotten. But Elvis by comparison? Yeah, pretty much.

Nothing to do with this article but this man was so super talented and gorgeous what a sad fall from grace talk about not preserving the legacy it’s embarrassing

Yes R22, but the issue is that Sony music owns The Beatles' entire catalogue and they have constantly promoted it over the years. They made the band appealing to self-pitying Gen-X pseudo-rebels, later on to pretentious Millennial hipsters and then, to social media-obsessed Gen-Z plasticoids. Robert F. X. Sillerman had lots of financial problems, went bankrupt several times in less than 10 years and couldn't properly promote Elvis, so he has been virtually forgotten. If the catalogue is eventually sold to an entity that can properly manage it, the promotion will surely make it appealing for mass consumption once again.

As for Lisa Marie, she has always been a lazy idiot. I read Priscilla Presley's book Elvis and Me, and even she recognizes that Lisa Marie has always been an obnoxious little cow with a considerable mean streak, no work ethic, no understanding of what money is and a sense of entitlement the size of Jupiter (of course, Priscilla blames this on Elvis and claims that she did her best to bring LM up properly, but was constantly thwarted by Elvis' excessive fatherly indulgence).

The sad thing is that Elvis was an outstanding singer, whereas The Beatles and he Rolling Stones have always been middling talents inflated by shameless self-promotion and hype. Of course, there is the additional problem of Elvis' very uneven output and the fact that he was an utter and complete joke for the last 10 years of his life, whereas both The Beatles and the Rolling Stones have maintained a dignified, professional image for decades.

Anyway, I hope that the film is a success, if only because Elvis had a great voice and it would be a pity if it were forgotten.

I hope the young do come to realize how awesome he was.

As I mentioned upthread, I listened to the Elvis channel for about three hours driving over the Memorial Day weekend. I was able to focus on what a good singer he truly was. Even though I most enjoyed the early rockabilly type stuff, I was struck by his ability to take the corniest ballads and interpret them with utmost sincerity.

I have never been a huge Elvis fan but have watched some of his stuff on YouTube over the past few weeks. I was struck by how good he actually was and how varied his repertoire was. Some of the later stuff of him singing out if breath but still with much talent, was heartbreaking,

Elvis will always be the king of rock and roll to me.

Have you watched his 68 comeback special? you can do so on youtube. He was sooooo hot and he is such a great singer. real talent. no autotune! great performer.

He sings with such emotion....I don't think we will ever see anyone like him again.

I was listening to one of his live albums and he goes around kissing his fans...so fucking lucky! he handed out silk scarfs too!

[quote]Lisa Marie’s actress daughter, Riley Keough, are surely praying for a big hit when “Elvis” opens June 24th. That’s because the state of Elvis needs to be reinvigorated and fast.

Because god forbid the granddaughter actually went to college and then got a real job rather than live off a dead relative.

[quote]he was an utter and complete joke for the last 10 years of his life

It's closer to last 5 or 6 years of his life. He was cool from 1968 until 1972 or so, when he got divorced and did "Aloha From Hawaii." That's when he wore the white sequin thing with a cape that had an American Eagle on it, and immediately lost any cool cred he had with the younger generation.

The early years of Vegas were great. Check out the That's the Way It Is box set. Some great performances. A few years later, Elvis was simply going through the motions again.

I just wanna see Austin Butler grind his hips.

I like Elvis’s romantic songs more than his rock n roll songs.