24 Films Include WHV's New Editions of Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas, Elvis: That's the Way it Is, along with the DVD debut of This is Elvis, and the Elvis Hollywood Collection with Six New-to-DVD titles Plus PHE's The Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection
Burbank, Calif. May 14, 2007 - On August 7, Warner Home Video (WHV) and Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) will again join forces, this time to celebrate the life of Elvis Presley, and commemorate the 30th anniversary of "The King's" passing. The man who made blue suede shoes, hound dogs and hip swivels an indelible part of America's pop culture will come alive again as the two studios pool their DVD sales and marketing resources to release a total of 24 Elvis Presley films. The lead WHV titles in the promotion are Deluxe Editions of Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock and 2 Disc Special Editions of Elvis: That's the Way It Is and This is Elvis (making its DVD debut). The lead Paramount offering is The Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection presented in a collectible blue suede case.
A series of major events honoring this rock 'n' roll icon are being planned throughout this year, the highlight of which is 'Elvis Week 2007,' taking place in Memphis from August 11 through August 18. As part of the festivities, Warner Home Video will be collaborating with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) on two "Elvis Music and Movies" nights on the grounds of Graceland Mansion, with outdoor screenings of Viva Las Vegas on August 13 and Elvis: That's the Way It Is on August 14. WHV will also have a promotional presence at other Elvis Week events presented by EPE, including the Elvis Insiders Conference, "Elvis: The 30th Anniversary Concert" and the "Elvis: Midnight in Vegas Concert." This year's Elvis Week, which commemorates the 30th anniversary of Elvis' passing, is expected to be the biggest edition of the annual celebration of Elvis' life and legacy to date. For all the details visit www.ElvisWeek.com.
WHV also will debut Elvis: The Hollywood Collection, containing six Elvis films never before on DVD - Charro, Girl Happy, Kissin' Cousins, Stay Away, Joe, Tickle Me and Live A Little, Love A Little. The films will be available as a set, as well as individually.
PHE is packaging eight classic Presley titles in a collectible blue suede case. The Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection will include King Creole, G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii, Roustabout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Fun In Acapulco, Paradise, Hawaiian Style and Easy Come, Easy Go. Considered by many to be Elvis' finest acting performance, King Creole was also Elvis' personal favorite of all his films and was directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). G.I. Blues was the first film that Elvis made after returning from his stint in the army and features the all-time classic song "Blue Suede Shoes". Elvis' highest grossing film, Blue Hawaii, was filmed in part on location in the Hawaiian Islands, as were Girls! Girls! Girls!, which was nominated for a Golden Globe? for Best Motion Picture―Musical, and Paradise, Hawaiian Style. Elvis co-starred with a string of notable actresses including Ursula Andress in Fun In Acapulco, Barbara Stanwyck in Roustabout and Elsa Lanchester (best known for her role in Bride of Frankenstein) in Easy Come, Easy Go. All eight must-own titles are packaged together for the first time and feature sensational musical performances of beloved songs including "Hard Headed Woman", "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Return To Sender".
Please see end of release for complete pricing and list of titles from both studios. PHE orders are due June 26; WHV's order due date is July 3.
Said George Feltenstein, WHV's Senior Vice President Theatrical Catalog Marketing, "With a talent as big as Elvis' it's only fitting to join forces again with Paramount. Doubling the marketing and sales effort focuses more attention on the 30th anniversary celebration and will ultimately benefit retailers and consumers alike. We're particularly thrilled to be meeting consumer demand by releasing seven Elvis features to DVD for the very first time!"
"Elvis Presley lives on as an American icon and we're very pleased to be teaming with Warner Home Video to celebrate his film legacy in a way that is befitting of 'The King'," said Michael Arkin, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment.
Voted the Third Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine (after the Beatles and Bob Dylan), Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) was also one of Hollywood’s top box-office draws, starring in 31 feature films and two theatrically released concert documentaries over the course of his career. 'The King's' music was as much a part of his box-office success as his good looks and charisma. In fact, some of his top-selling songs were from the movie soundtracks. Eleven of his soundtrack albums made it into the top ten on the Billboard Album charts and of those, four became number one hits.
It is estimated that Elvis has sold over a billion records worldwide, more records than any other artist in record industry history, and even 30 years after his death, Elvis still conquers new legions of fans as recent compilations of his RCA recordings, "Elvis 30 #1 Hits" and "Elvis 2nd to None," both topped the Billboard charts of best selling albums.
