The Army & Air Force Exchange Service has teamed up with Warner Bros. to offer military-exclusive screenings of “Elvis,” the new movie about the most famous entertainer to abandon his career to answer the call of duty.
Baz Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge”) directed the movie, which stars Austin Butler (“Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood”) as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks (“Saving Private Ryan”) as the King’s manager, Col. Tom Parker.
Presley was inducted into the Army on March 24, 1958, after the service granted him an extension to film the movie, “King Creole.” He completed basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, and was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor, 3rd Armored Division, in West Germany. Presley was discharged and returned to his music career in March 1960.
Related: Why Elvis Presley Showed Up Two Months Late for Boot Camp
Some might think that this brief, two-year period would be glossed over in a movie about Elvis’ life, but his time in Germany is crucial because that’s where he met his future wife. Priscilla Beaulieu was the 14-year-old daughter of an Air Force officer. Presley immediately began a 7 1/2-year courtship that ended with their Las Vegas marriage in 1967.
Luhrmann loves a good love story, and the trailer shows Elvis in uniform, so we’ll definitely see some Army service scenes in “Elvis.”
The screenings will take place on Saturday, June 11, at military installations around the world. If your base is on the list, check with your local theater for exact times.
The free showings will take place at the following Exchange Reel Time Theater locations:
- Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
- Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait
- Aviano Air Base, Italy
- F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
- Fort Huachuca, Arizona
- Fort Irwin, California
- Fort Jackson, South Carolina
- Fort Knox, Kentucky
- Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
- Fort Polk, Louisiana
- Fort Rucker, Alabama
- Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas
- Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota
- Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan
- Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany
- West Point U.S. Military Academy
- Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
- Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana
- Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Belgium
- U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys Family and Troop locations, South Korea
- U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Germany
- Vilseck (Rose Barracks), Germany
- Yokota, Japan
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Source: Military News
