Does A Star is Born get any better if Elvis takes the lead male role instead of Kris Kristofferson? I heavily doubt it. I wouldn't say that Presley was in the business of blowing peoples' socks off with his acting chops. Rather, it's his star power that likely holds a lot of the draw. Regardless, the film would've done numbers for his moves within Hollywood. His wife Priscilla says it was almost his from the start.
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Recently, Priscilla Presley spoke with PEOPLE Magazine. There, she reveals that Elvis was offered the role as the main love interest to Barbra Streisand. Unfortunately, Colonel Tom Parker heavily advises the King of Rock 'N' Roll against the role, eventually swaying him from the part. "Barbra had offered him the part. Colonel talked him out of that saying, 'Oh, it's not going to be good. She's going to be in charge, not you. Her movie, not yours.' Elvis regretted that because he felt he could have played that part," Priscilla shares.
Bad Advice From His Manager Causes Elvis to Miss Out on Huge Role in A Star is Born
Currently, there's a Netflix documentary titled Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley. The film dives into more detail as to how much pull Colonel Tom Parker had with Presley's career. Priscilla and Elvis' close friend Jerry Schilling reveal how the Jailhouse Rock star grew increasingly frustrated with the kinds of movies he would work on. "Colonel did not get him really at all," she says. "That was hard for both Jerry and I, but you couldn't say anything to Colonel. You just had to keep quiet."
Eventually, Colonel relents and pesters producer Hal Wallis and director Michael Curtiz for their film King Creole. Initially, they weren't buying it but one meeting changes their tune and it gives Presley the clarity as an actor he was searching for all along. Schilling recalls, "Michael fell in love with Elvis as an actor. At the end of that picture, it was his fourth, Elvis walked over to Michael and said, 'Thank you, Mr. Curtiz. Now I understand what a director is.'"
