4. Elvis
There is only one place to start when you are designing the sets of an Elvis Presley biopic: Graceland. Martin, Murphy, and art director Chris Tangney traveled to Elvis’s legendary Memphis mansion before production began. They built their very own Graceland in Australia, the decor inside changing slightly throughout the film as the years pass. One room that posed a particular challenge was Elvis’s bedroom, as visitors are not permitted inside and there are no photographs of it. However, director “Baz Luhrmann”, was allowed to see the room without taking any pictures. He told us how he saw it, and Baz is very descriptive, very eloquent, and he also speaks in a way that you understand in design terms. He talked about the technology in the room from the 70s and how there were intercoms and radios and stereo systems on his bedside table.
Main filming locations: The soundstages and backlot at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.