Elvis (2022)
Tom Hanks: Colonel Tom Parker
Photos
Quotes
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Colonel Tom Parker : [on Robert Kennedy's shooting; halfheartedly] Poor Mrs. Kennedy. A tragedy. Tragedy, but it has nothing to do with us.
Elvis Presley : It has everything to do with us! Martin Luther King was killed 8 miles from Graceland!
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[sees an excited girl at Elvis's first performance]
Colonel Tom Parker : [narrates] Now, I don't know nothing about music. But I could see in that girl's eyes, he was a taste of forbidden fruit. She could have eaten him alive!
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Colonel Tom Parker : [to Elvis] We are the same, you and I! We are two odd, lonely children, reaching for eternity.
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Colonel Tom Parker : I wish to promote you, Mr Presley. Are you ready to fly?
Elvis Presley : I'm ready. Ready to fly.
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Colonel Tom Parker : It was at the moment that Elvis the Man was sacrificed and Elvis the God was born. He had no idea what he had just done.
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[seeing Col. Parker waiting on him after learning he owes him $8 million dollars]
Elvis Presley : Eight million? Oh, you blood-sucking old vampire! You bled me dry and you still want more?
Colonel Tom Parker : I'm not an uncaring man, Mr. Presley.
Elvis Presley : Don't you "Mr. Presley" me, you toad!
Colonel Tom Parker : If you are so determined to get out of our contract...
Elvis Presley : You're goddamn right I want out!
Colonel Tom Parker : Well, I will personally loan you the money that you owe to Jamboree Attractions.
Elvis Presley : Yeah, and you'll still have your claws in me. You'll still have me working here like a goddamn slave in a salt mine, you phony, no-good piece of trash! I oughta shoot you in your fat, goddamn face. Who are you? Who are you really?
Colonel Tom Parker : I am you. And you are me.
Elvis Presley : Cut the horseshit! Colonel Tom Parker... or whatever your real name is. Everything I've ever known about you is a lie!
Colonel Tom Parker : [chuckles; stands up in front of Elvis] My past is the least of your problems, my boy. Everyone else you associate with lives from you, Mr. Presley. Even Vernon. That's right, even your own daddy has looked after himself before he's looked after you. Yes. I have lived off from you too, but the difference is you have also lived off from me. We have supported each other. Because we shared a dream. We are the same, you and I. We are two odd, lonely children reaching for eternity. Maybe you should fly away, my boy. Away from all of this. But if you do choose to leave... I, for one, would be very lonely. So would your father.
[Colonel leaves towards an elevator]
Colonel Tom Parker : But I think you may be lonely, too.
[He calls the elevator down]
Colonel Tom Parker : Oh, you see, my boy, the... truth about the Rock of Eternity...
[the elevator opens and Colonel enters]
Colonel Tom Parker : ...it is forever just beyond our reach.
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Elvis Presley : [to Gladys] I promise I will never leave you.
Colonel Tom Parker : [breaking fourth wall] Wanna bet?
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Colonel Tom Parker : You can do ten stupid things if you do one smart thing.
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[first lines; over a Christmas card featuring Elvis and Col. Tom Parker dressed as a snowman]
Colonel Tom Parker : For those of you who are wondering who this fella here is, I am the legendary Colonel Tom Parker. I am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley. Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley. And yet, there are some who'd make me out to be the villain of this here story.
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[Backstage, Elvis has learned the truth about Colonel Tom Parker and exposes him live on stage; Parker himself is sitting in the audience with the owner of the International Hotel]
Elvis Presley : I'd like to turn the house lights up, ladies and gentlemen. 'Cause now that you've seen me, I'd like to take a look at you.
[the audience cheers and applauds as the house lights come up]
Elvis Presley : Oh, you're beautiful. Thank you. Oh, boy!
Colonel Tom Parker : He'll mention the VIPs that are here.
Elvis Presley : We got some high-rollers in here tonight.
Colonel Tom Parker : Get ready for the spotlight.
Elvis Presley : Mr. International Hotel himself.
[the spotlight falls on him]
Colonel Tom Parker : Ah, there you go!
Elvis Presley : And right next to him, is my so-called manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
[the spotlight turns to Parker, who playfully acts bashful]
Elvis Presley : But I hear rumors that Colonel... is an alien.
[Audience laughs]
Colonel Tom Parker : [Playing along] Got here on my rocket ship.
[Elvis grabs a wine glass from someone in the audience and downs it one gulp]
Elvis Presley : Somebody call the FBI and tell 'em that he has abducted me...
[his voice becoming aggressive]
Elvis Presley : that he has locked me in this *golden cage* to keep me here forever with you, ladies and gentlemen.
[Audience applauds again]
Elvis Presley : [singing] So, I'm caught in a trap / I can't get out / 'Cause Colonel's got some big debts, baby!
[the Colonel realizes what Elvis is saying. Elvis gives him a mean look from the stage]
Colonel Tom Parker : Excuse me.
[Colonel leaves]
Elvis Presley : Well, this is the last show I'm ever playing here.
[Audience groans]
Elvis Presley : I'm gonna get on my jet plane, the "Lisa Marie". It's named after, uh... my beautiful daughter. And I'm gonna fly away.
[the Colonel has arrived backstage in a hurry]
Elvis Presley : No, no, no... You know I'm going to fly away.
Colonel Tom Parker : [angrily whispering to the stagehands] Stop the show. Stop this show! Come on, get this curtain down!
Elvis Presley : Fuck the International.
[Audience gasps]
Colonel Tom Parker : [to Jerry] Mr. Schilling, what the devil is happening here?
Elvis Presley : And Las Vegas.
Jerry Schilling : That's what he wants to know.
Elvis Presley : Ain't no one gonna stop me, man.
[spots Parker from the wings]
Elvis Presley : Oh! Security! Security!
[begins babbling nonsensically, grabs another microphone from a band member]
Elvis Presley : Security, security, security!
[to Parker, shouting]
Elvis Presley : 800 shows! You don't have a goddamn passport, you son of a bitch! You are fired!
[even louder, even angrier]
Elvis Presley : You are fired!
[Parker has now walked up to him face-to-face; Presley screams]
Elvis Presley : YOU'RE FIRED!... You're fired.
[as the curtains close, he drops the microphones and storms off]
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Colonel Tom Parker : [narrates] Are you born with destiny? Or does it just come knocking at your door?
[sees Elvis sing for the first time]
Colonel Tom Parker : In that moment, I watched that skinny boy transform into a superhero. He was my destiny.
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[as Parker is introducing the Presley family to the merchandising options, Gladys is perturbed by one item]
Gladys Presley : "I Hate Elvis".
[Parker and Elvis look up in surprise and find that written on a button Gladys is holding]
Colonel Tom Parker : Yes. "I Hate Elvis". In my way of thinking, "I Love Elvis," that's an easy sell. Those who hate your son will do so whether we profit from it or not.
[to Elvis]
Colonel Tom Parker : After all, what is hate worth if it's free?
Vernon Presley : Oh, yeah. I get it.
[Elvis then breaks into a smile]
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[the afternoon before the Louisiana Hayride, Jimmie Snow has brought a record with him and plays it on a turntable]
Hank Snow : Hey, Jimmie, turn that record off.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow : Y'all have to hear this. Kids all over town are playing it everywhere I go.
[Jimmie turns up the volume - it's Elvis Presley covering Big Boy Crudup's song That's All Right]
Hank Snow : I hear Negro rhythms.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow : But with a country flavor.
Hank Snow : Sun Records? That's Sam Phillips' label.
Colonel Tom Parker : Oh, yeah, Phillips. He makes all those race records with the colored singers.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow : Well, this fella's on the Hayride tonight, after me in the newcomer spot.
Colonel Tom Parker : In Shreveport? No, they are not putting a colored boy on the Hayride.
Jimmie Rodgers Snow : [smiling from ear to ear] That's the thing.
[beat]
Jimmie Rodgers Snow : He's white.
Colonel Tom Parker : [stunned] He's... He's white?
[to himself]
Colonel Tom Parker : He's white?
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Colonel Tom Parker : [narrating] Since the day he was born, she had feared losing her second son. While he was in basic training, she worried and drank. Worried and drank.
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[after being asked if a clearly ill Elvis should go on with a concert]
Colonel Tom Parker : Now you listen to me. The only thing that matters is if that man is on that stage tonight!
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[Binder speaks to the crew of the '68 Special in the aftermath of Bobby Kennedy's assassination]
Steve Binder : Listen, I, uh... I just wanna say that... that this nation is hurting. It's lost. You know? It... it needs a voice right now to help it heal. We have to say something.
[turns to Elvis]
Steve Binder : You... have to make a statement, E.P.
[the Colonel barges his way into the room]
Colonel Tom Parker : Mr. Presley does not make statements. He sings "Here Comes Santa Claus" and wishes everyone "Merry Christmas and good night".
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[after the death of his beloved mother, Elvis is grieving alone in her closet, sobbing quietly. Colonel Parker enters]
Colonel Tom Parker : [gently] Your daddy is doing the best he knows how, but he is overwhelmed. He needs your help.
Elvis Presley : [crying] I can't go out there. I just wanna stay here forever.
Colonel Tom Parker : Oh, my boy. No one could never replace her. But you listen to me. From this moment on, everything she would have done, I will carry out, in her name. When you are overseas, I will stay here at home. And I will work and I will worry. Trust me. Now you go and you stand by your papa. You comfort him.
[helps Elvis to his feet]
Colonel Tom Parker : You comfort him. Comfort your friends and your family and even your fans. Hmm? Because if you don't do that, all that your mama has sacrificed for you will be for nothing.
[Still crying, Elvis embraces Colonel Parker]
Elvis Presley : No matter what happens, you stay with me through thick and thin, okay? You're like a... like a father to me.
[the Colonel pats him on the back, comfortingly]
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[after having written out a makeshift contract on a cocktail table setting for Elvis to earn $1 million for five years playing the International, without discussing it with him first]
Colonel Tom Parker : That is what my boy would expect. Now...
[chuckles gleefully]
Colonel Tom Parker : What are you going to pay me?
[the owner of the International takes a cocktail napkin and writes: All Previous Debts Canceled, Unlimited Line of Credit, As Long as Elvis Presley is on stage at the International]
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[In 1968, the Colonel is pitching Elvis a Christmas special on TV sponsored by the Singer sewing machine company]
Elvis Presley : Christmas special. Is this the best we can do, Admiral?
Colonel Tom Parker : Well, we took the Hollywood phonies for every nickel they had and now it is time to pack up our tents and move on to even greener pastures. We've seen "Elvis the Rebel". We've seen "Elvis the Movie Star". Now we will see "Elvis the Family Entertainer".
Jerry Schilling : [sarcastically] And appliance salesman.
Elvis Presley : [turning to Jerry] What did you say?
[walks over angrily]
Elvis Presley : Listen, Jerry, I don't need you to question me about how I support my family and every *goddamn* person here! You understand me? If you don't like it, you can go back to Memphis.
[entering his trailer]
Elvis Presley : Laugh it up, assholes.
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Colonel Tom Parker : [narrating] No, no, I didn't kill him. I made Elvis Presley. Nothing all those muckrakers said in their books was true. Me and Elvis, we was partners. It was Elvis the Showman and the Colonel the Snowman. I always knew I was destined for greatness. As an orphan, I ran away to the carnival, where I learned the art of the "snow job," of emptying a rube's wallet while leaving them with nothing but a smile on their face. But a carnival act that would get you the most money, the most snow, had great costumes and a unique trick, that gave the audience feelings they weren't sure they should enjoy. But they do. And I knew if I could find such an act, I could create the greatest... show... on... Earth.
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[Parker has found an advantageous opportunity to speak to Elvis alone in a hall of mirrors at a carnival]
Colonel Tom Parker : Lost, my boy?
Elvis Presley : Colonel Parker, sir.
Colonel Tom Parker : You look lost.
Elvis Presley : I guess I am.
Colonel Tom Parker : Ah, yes. The roar of the crowd. The life on the road. And then calling home to your loved ones, pretending nothing has changed when everything has.
Elvis Presley : Yeah. Lost. I'm sorry, sir. I... I meant I don't know the way out.
Colonel Tom Parker : Yes, that is precisely what I am saying. I... I saw you. Apart from the others. Burdened. Like you don't know how to get out of this. But I do.
[the Colonel pushes open a secret door allowing the two to exit the hall of mirrors]
Colonel Tom Parker : Allow me to show you.
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Colonel Tom Parker : It's just business. Show business. To achieve truly great things, one must make truly great sacrifices. You will have to be free of any entanglements. You see, my boy, show business is snow business.
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Colonel Tom Parker : [narrating] Those know-it-all hippies had brainwashed Elvis, acting like he was one of them radicals, throwing his career away to sing spirituals with a bunch of longhairs.
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[narrating as he's being shown fuming over Elvis' choice to record "If I Can Dream" over a traditional Christmas song]
Colonel Tom Parker : I always said, when it came to music, my boy knows best. But the special was *my* idea. It was a tremendous hit. We was back on top. But some people were putting ideas in his head that he didn't need me no more.
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Colonel Tom Parker : All showmen are snowmen.
