Tom Hanks Skirts Question About His Polarizing ‘Elvis’ Accent at Cannes Press Conference

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International EditorThe “Elvis” team was on hand in Cannes for a little more conversation about Baz Luhrmann’s boisterous musical drama — but how Tom Hanks landed on his mysterious European-American accent as Colonel Tom Parker in the movie will remain a mystery for now.The Oscar-winning actor received the first question from journalists at the Thursday press conference, and was asked how he prepared for his role as Parker and whether he researched his Dutch background and accent.Hanks skirted any discussion of his accent work, and instead spoke at length about learning more about Elvis’ notorious manager, who “was a delightful guy” that could light up every room he came into.“Was he a cheap crook that played fast and loose?

Yeah, when it comes down to that, but I worked that all out to everyone’s satisfaction,” said Hanks, “He was a man who brought joy to everything he did — along with a bit of larceny.” “Elvis” marks Luhrmann’s first feature directorial effort since 2013’s “The Great Gatsby,” which also world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

Butler stars in the title role opposite Hanks as Elvis’ infamous manager.While critics have praised Butler’s tour de force performance, Hanks’ extremely thick and at times indecipherable accent for Parker, who was from the Netherlands, has been singled out as one of the movie’s weaker turns, and some have called Hanks’ prosthetic nose and padding to resemble the heavy-set Parker distracting.“I’m not interested in playing a bad guy just for the sake of, ‘Before I kill you Mr.

Bond would you like a tour of my installation?'” said Hanks to laughs from the assembled media. “That’s okay. I get it, but I think that’s for other stuff.