Baz Luhrmann has shut down the Australia production of his upcoming Elvis Presley biopic after one of the film’s stars, Tom Hanks, was diagnosed with coronavirus while in the country for pre-production. “I’m sure it will come as no surprise that this is not the moment to be resuming production on the film,” Luhrmann, 57, …
Baz Luhrmann has shut down the Australia production of his upcoming Elvis Presley biopic after one of the film’s stars, Tom Hanks, was diagnosed with coronavirus while in the country for pre-production.
“I’m sure it will come as no surprise that this is not the moment to be resuming production on the film,” Luhrmann, 57, tweeted on Friday. “Please know this is in no way a reflection of our commitment to make this movie here in Queensland. In fact, we are not even taking our sets down, simply locking up the creative space over the next few days.”
The director said he came to this decision after speaking with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who agreed that now is the time for people all over the world to “be at home, indoors, with their loved ones (washing our hands five times a day.”
Luhrmann said he plans to resume filming “as soon as the time is right.”
Austin Butler was cast to play Presley, while Hanks, 63, nabbed the role of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, are one of a number of celebrities who have tested positive for coronavirus.
They announced on March 11, while in Australia for pre-production on Luhrmann’s biopic, that they’d been diagnosed. As of earlier this week, they were isolated at a home in Australia after leaving the hospital.
Hanks’ sister Sandra Hanks Benoiton told The Daily Mail on Thursday that her brother is “not great, but still OK,” adding, “He’s an actor, not a god [but] medical care in Australia is good.”
As of Friday morning, there are 709 confirmed cases in Australia.
