Two years ago I wrote an article entitled John Carpenter & Kurt Russell's ELVIS -- Where's the DVD?, wherein I championed this nearly forgotten 1979 biopic of the King of Rock and Roll. Produced by Dick Clark two years after Presley's tragic passing, ELVIS was the first collaboration between young director John Carpenter -- hot off Halloween, the highest-grossing independent film at the time -- and Disney's teen heartthrob Kurt Russell. These two up'n-comers would, of course, later collab...
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On this date, January 8th, 2010, Elvis Presley would have celebrated his 75th birthday. Hard to imagine what Mr. P would have been doing these days had he not succumbed to excess, but the legion of us who still hold him dear never tire of the question. While we will never know, we still treasure the legacy he left behind.To read MUCH more about Elvis, and watch some of his classic performances, check out my profile of the man on Examiner.com, a blurb of which appears below.Widely regarded as t...
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In a previous article regarding the 1979 TV biopic, ELVIS, directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell as the King of Rock and Roll, I sang the praises of this little-seen film, bemoaned the nonexistence of the movie in DVD form, and encouraged readers to sign a petition form to see it reissued in a digital format.Well, I am bemoaning no longer.KURT RUSSELL AS ELVIS PRESLEYHere is the press release I just received from SHOUT! Factory:Timed closely to coincide with the 75th anniversary o...
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I've done a few Twilight-related articles here ... however, after recently doing a bio of Elvis Presley over at Examiner, something occurred to me about one of the mysterious reasons this series is so popular.Yes, Stephenie Meyer paid homage to some classically successful literature in her books (Romeo and Juliet, anyone?), and basically told a story about an “every-girl” in love with the "ultimate bad boy with a heart of gold," but when it comes to the furor over the film series, I'...
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To commemorate the passing of Elvis Presley, I spent damn near all day yesterday working on a profile of The King of Rock and Roll. Elvis died on this date, August 16th, way back in 1977. Hard to believe his career only lasted 21 years, and he's been gone now for 32. Regular visitors to TheWordslinger know I'm an Elvis aficionado, but I wasn't sure if I could condense this man's complicated life into a brief (ha!) bio. I gave it my best shot -- you can check out my profile of The King at Exa...
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Given its massive radio play, I'm sure you know about the Elvis Presley Christmas Duets album that was released by Sony BMG a couple of months ago. In particular, the cover of Blue Christmas with Martina McBride. But have you seen the video?Using footage from Elvis' '68 Comeback Special, some digital wizards have magically inserted Martina onto the stage with Elvis, and dang if it don't look convincing. Especially since they went to such pains to make the lovely lady look of the period ... in...
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WORDSLINGER'S NOTE: Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I am closing in on the tail end of the book edit and that has consumed all my time. When that is finished next week, I will devote much more of my time posting on this blog. Thanks for your patience. In the meantime, I thought I'd put up an easy one ...I'm an Elvis fan. I've made no bones about that here. Or here. I've also argued that if any contemporary music artist comes close to matching the beauty, talent and charisma of Elvis...
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I'm putting up this post because I'm a big Presley fan, and ... well, I'm in the mood for a little Elvis this morning. So why not post a few of my favorites? Most of the Elvis songs I'm fond of were never huge hits, and nearly all of them are from early in his career. I also think one of the greatest periods in music history is 1956 Sun Records.After searching out available songs on Google Video and You Tube, and finding a treasure trove, I've decided to a do a series of posts, categorized by...
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In 1979, two years after the tragic, untimely death of the King of Rock and Roll, Dick Clark sanctioned a 3-hour TV biopic, entitled simply, Elvis. Director John Carpenter, a lifelong Elvis fan, red hot after the success of Halloween, was hired to helm the film. After lengthy auditions, Kurt Russell was cast as Presley and it would be this film that cemented his transition from juvenile Disney fare to more adult roles. Carpenter and Russell, would, of course, go on to make many more films toge...
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