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Orion: The Man Who Would Be King @ SLIFF

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
Jeanie Finlay, U.K./U.S., 2015, 86 min.
Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., Webster U./Moore
Who was that masked man? "Orion" tells the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story of Jimmy Ellis. An unknown singer plucked from obscurity, Ellis was thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme in which he masqueraded as Elvis back from the grave. Concocted in the months after Presley's death as a means of exploiting the "Elvis is alive" mythology of never-say-die fans, the plan had its outlandish roots in the pages of the novel "Orion" by Gail Brewer-Giorgio. Using the book as a template, the disreputable new owner of Sun Records -- the legendary birthplace of rock 'n' roll and Elvis' first recording home -- recruited Ellis, whose voice seemed to be the very twin of Presley's, to play the masked and rhinestoned Orion. Could this be Elvis back from the grave? Incredibly, the strategy worked, and Ellis (albeit anonymously) gained the success he'd always craved and the women he'd always desired. In the end, however, the adoration of screaming masses wasn't enough. The Guardian says director Jeanie Finlay "picks apart this real-life 'Bubba Ho-Tep' tale, offering a dizzying analysis of the madness of the Orion myth alongside a movingly sympathetic account of Ellis's unsung talent."
Sponsored by Nancy & Ken Kranzberg