The good news dovetailed neatly with the birthday of director Baz Luhrmann’s wife and producing partner Catherine Martin, and their wedding anniversary.
“We’ve had some really difficult days,” Luhrmann said, “and it was good to just get away and be here for this.” Both Luhrmann and Martin give huge credit to Butler for his nominated performance.
“Obviously this isn’t a documentary, this is a storytelling, but to get as close to a human story and to find that humanity in Elvis, I think that is what Austin really has given to the world. He found Elvis’s humanity and put it on screen,” said Martin, who also is nominated for costume design and production design.
“If there’s one thing I couldn’t bear not happening it would be him not being recognized for his almost almost unearthly achievement in revealing the soul of that character,” Luhrmann added. Austin Butler said he was dedicating this nomination to her. The 31-year -old actor said in an interview: "A moment like today is bittersweet because I wish Lisa Marie were here with us to celebrate. I also know how much this film meant to Lisa Marie and how much her father's legacy meant to her, so I feel so proud and so humbled to be a part of that story."
In May 2022 Lisa Marie posted on Facebook "In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully (If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha)."
Luhrmann also highlighted DP Mandy Walker - only the third woman ever to be nominated in that category. “I mean, it’s just shocking to me that in 90 years, only three women have been nominated as a DP,” he said.
And he delighted in the nomination for his editors. “I think about the faces of the people that I spend hours and hours and hours in rooms with, or on sets with, like Jonathan Redmond and Matt Villa,” Luhrmann said. “Those ones that don’t get the recognition. To me that’s a thrilling part. It really is a great end to an epic journey.”
The Australian director and his four-time Oscar winning wife are both producers of the Elvis Presley biopic, which is up for 8 Golden Statues at the 95th Academy Awards:
- Best Actor – Austin Butler
- Costume Design - Catherine Martin
- Production Design – Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy (Production Design) and Bev Dunn (Set Decoration)
- Make-Up and Hairstyle – Mark Coulier, Jason Baird, Aldo Signoretti
- Best Film Editing – Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
- Best Sound – David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
- Best Picture – Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, producers
- Best Cinematography – Mandy Walker
With Jimmy Kimmel taking over from Rock as host, the Oscars will take place on March 13, 2023.
A terrible Dutch accent and a latex face mask in the movie Elvis could earn Tom Hanks a Golden Raspberry Award, the satirical counterpart of the Oscars. The American actor got nominated in the Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Interplay categories for his portrayal of Elvis’ manager Tom Parker.
(Source: Variety / Deadline / TMZ / Razzies / NOS / Elvis Presley News)