Production on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, starring Tom Hanks, is set to restart soon following a three month delay.
Work on the film was halted after Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson became two of the first high-profile cases of Covid-19 back in March.
The new film sees Hanks play Elvis’s long-term manager Colonel Tom Parker, while Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’s Austin Butler plays the singer himself. The movie charts the rise of Elvis’s career and his relationship with Parker during the birth of rock and roll in the 50s.
Production is due to resume at the Village Roadshow Studios on Australia’s Gold Coast, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing earlier today that she was working closely with Luhramm to get filming underway.
“We want to ensure that this can happen as soon as possible while making sure that the cast and crew can operate safely,” Palaszcuk said, speaking at a press conference.
“Screen Queensland and Queensland Health are also currently developing a screen industry Covid safe plan that will be released shortly, paving the way for the whole sector to get rolling cameras again and crew back to work on sets,” she added.
Australia’s new regulations require film crews to draw up their own Covid-Safe Risk Mitigation Program, while British crews will follow the recently announced British Film Commission guidelines on socially distanced film production.
