Queensland's Gold Coast has rolled out the red carpet to Hollywood's A-listers at the Australian premiere of the new Elvis biopic.
Oscar-Award-winning Australian director Baz Luhrmann joined the cast of heavyweight stars on the Gold Coast on Saturday night, including Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, and Australian actress Olivia DeJonge.
The long-awaited film drew global attention after premiering last month at the Cannes film festival.
Butler, who plays Elvis Presley, known as the King of Rock 'n' Roll, said depicting the American icon was "the privilege of my life".
"It was so much fun every day," he said.
"It was a lot of hard work, but every day you feel there's so much inspiration.
"It feels so good to be back [on the Gold Coast] where we made the film."
Hanks suffered COVID during filming
The movie made headlines in 2020 when, during filming, Hanks was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Despite its rocky beginnings, Luhrmann said the production went to plan.
"After the initial shock of Tom [Hanks getting COVID-19], it was a dream shoot," he said.
"We actually came in on schedule and on budget.
"So many people gave so much. I mean, the restaurateurs who stayed open just to feed us. It was magical."
Hanks did not stop to speak with fans or the media while on the red carpet, instead posing for photos with his co-stars and leaving before the film began.
Butler said working with Hanks — his "hero" — was a "dream", and playing Elvis made him nervous "every single day".
"I'd wake up every day around three or four in the morning with my heart pounding, just feeling the weight of it," he said.
"That's one of the greatest gifts it gave me as well, because Elvis talked a lot about his own stage fright and his own anxieties and stuff, and he achieved some pretty amazing things.
The film has as much glitz and glam as the Elvis era.
Designer Catherine Martin said she designed more than 9,000 costumes before she stopped counting.
"It was kind of a crazy quantity that I didn't imagine at first," she said.
"In terms of extras costumes alone, there were 9,000 complete costumes just for the background cast.
"Austin had over 90 costumes as Elvis, and then it just gets into numbers that I can't even think about."
Viva Las Gold Coast
The epic was filmed and produced entirely on Queensland's Glitter Strip, with Luhrmann relocating his production company headquarters to Miami.
It drew thousands to Pacific Fair for the premiere, with some lining up for hours.
Australian stars such as Lincoln Lewis, Troy Cassar-Daley, Lisa Curry and her Elvis impersonator husband Mark Tabone walked the red carpet alongside Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Governor Jeanette Young.
Ms Palaszczuk said she planned to make the Gold Coast the home of the stars.
"It says volumes about Queensland and what Queensland can do we now have Hollywood here on the Gold Coast," she said.
"I want to have a permanent film industry here on the Gold Coast for Queensland. And that's Queensland jobs … that's what it's all about."
Elvis fan street art has already started popping up around the city, with artist Matty Tapae painting a 12-metre mural in "dedication to the Elvis movie … just out of love."
"I just did this as a big thanks to Baz for bringing the premiere here and bringing the GC arts back alive," he said.
The movie is set to open in cinemas on June 23.
