Where Was Elvis Filmed? The 2022 Film’s Location Is Far From Graceland

Even if you’re not that familiar with Elvis’ backstory, you know that his iconic home — Graceland — is located in Memphis, Tennessee. The singer was also born in Mississippi, and spent most of his younger years in the south, so you would think that’s where the 2022 Elvis film was shot. If you’re wondering where was Elvis filmed, you may be surprised it’s pretty far away from the “Hound Dog” singer’s home IRL.

If you remember way back in March 2020 when Tom Hanks and his wife had to isolate during lockdown, you may also remember that it happened while the actor was in Australia. The reason Hanks was overseas was because of the Elvis movie. Elvis was directed by Australian film director Baz Luhrmann, who is also responsible for 2013’s The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge! in 2001. Since it was Luhrmann’s production, it makes sense that the Australian director would want to keep things close to home in Australia. However, you may be wondering how the production was able to pull off replicating places like Memphis and even Las Vegas, where Elvis spent much of his later years, all the way in Australia.

Where Was Elvis Filmed?

With a little movie magic, Luhrmann was able to create these U.S. cities in Queensland, ­Australia. The northeast state in Australia was where the entire Elvis movie was filmed. Of course, that wasn’t the OG plan for the production. Before lockdown was a factor, Elvis was set to partly film in the south as well. However, staying in Australia was the easier route. This also gave production a bit of a tax break.

Many productions actually shoot in different locations for this money-saving reason. It’s why Marvel often chooses to film in Atlanta, and quite a few Stranger Things filming locations are in Georgia as well. With a massive film like Elvis, it makes sense that they’d want to make a few cuts here and there. And the film ended up shooting most of its scenes at the Village Roadshow Studios, which is also where Aquaman and Thor: Ragnarok shot some of their scenes as well.

It definitely wasn’t easy for the production team to recreate some iconic locations like Graceland. However, production and costume designer Catherine Martin revealed that she was able to tour Graceland with its head archivist and take meticulous notes. Martin also shared that she snagged some paint chips from inside the home to match the same blue shade for their recreation back in Australia. The Graceland you see in the film was actually built on a former horse paddock, and filled with recreated props and furniture to look as authentic as possible to the time.

What Elvis Filming Locations Were Recreated For The 2022 Film?

Along with Graceland, there were other iconic Elvis locations recreated for the film. Two of those were Club Handy and Lauderdale Courts, which was Elvis’ apartment complex in Memphis before Graceland. These are all locations you can visit in Memphis for an Elvis-themed tour. However, if you’re looking to visit the places where Austin Butler and Hanks stood in the Elvis film, you’ve got to get a passport for that.