G-eazy wants to be Elvis in Luhrmann movie
An Oakland rapper who recently headlined a stage at the Beale Street Music Festival hopes to make headlines as the movies’ King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
G-eazy — “often hailed as the ‘James Dean of rap’ for his cool, rebelstyled persona,” according to a story in The Commercial Appeal — is actively seeking the starring role in director Baz Luhrmann’s planned film biography of Elvis Presley, according to TMZ and other celebrity news outlets.
Born Gerald Earl Gillum, the 30year-old recording artist — whose most recent album is the 2017 certified-platinum release, “The Beautiful & Damned” — posted a photograph of himself to his 8 million Instagram followers above the caption “Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.”
According to TMZ, G-eazy is “pushing hard” to play Presley, and has met with Luhrmann and “been in talks with people at Warner Bros.” about the movie.
However, G-eazy apparently is not among those that Lurhman has tested for the Presley role. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the five men the director is considering to play Elvis include Ansel Elgort (”Baby Driver”); singer turned actor Harry Styles; Miles Teller (”Whiplash”); Aaron Taylor-johnson (”Kickass”); and Austin Butler (TV’S “The Shannara Chronicles”).
Tom Hanks has been signed to play Elvis’ manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker, and it is expected that the film will focus largely on the push-and-pull between Presley and Parker. Also expect some of the fanciful glitz and glamour that has characterized such past Lurhmann as “Moulin Rouge!,” the 2001 musical that provided fanciful inspiration for such recent rock-and-roll biopics as “Bohemian Rhapsody” (about Queen’s Freddie Mercury) and “Rocketman” (about Elton John).