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RF: The whole aspect of it - researching then lining up the interviews. Filming, especially the first interview at the NH State Prison and then following it up right away in Memphis during Elvis week. Last but not least, writing and recording my original songs about Elvis. I also came away with so much more respect and admiration for Elvis Presley, the person. SG: For me it was meeting so many of Elvis' closest friends and colleagues. Also the satisfaction of finishing the project and getting it out the door. It was fun to go to some film festivals where we were well received. RF: There is a lot of material that didn’t make it in this film that was quite hilarious, especially some of the Elvis impersonators interviewed in Memphis. Suffice it to say they all owe their post show social life almost exclusively to The King. SG: We sure had fun with the interviewees, but the sessions seem so long ago that I can't think of anything off the top of my head. RF: I think all of the interviewees spoke most eloquently with regard to this question, especially Linda Thompson. SG: You can see in the movie how -one after the other - they all talked about the joy they saw in Elvis' face and eyes when he was giving things away. He loved to see the recipient's surprised reaction. SG: Well I'm not sure when Rex started his research and wrote some of his songs. I got involved in May of 2002. The filming started at the 25th Anniversary Elvis week. We all went. Filming continued sporadically for another year, although we started to edit before it was all filmed. Another song or two came during this time period, too. Finding a distributor took about a year. We preferred this to a "self-release" - and we've been very happy working with Image Entertainment. SG: It was funded with personal funds from me and some friends of mine. And you are correct - it wasn't cheap. As Rex says, we learned as we went along, making mistakes, moving on. RF: We started with the songs in the film and then branched out to favorites of all of ours by other artists having to do with or about Elvis. This could easily have been a double CD. RF: Hmmm, never heard this song or was aware of the group. It would be fun to check them out though. I’m a big fan of songs about Elvis and am amazed at how many great ones there are floating around out there. RF: Hmmmm, this is harder than it sounds. We’re a pretty good acoustic duo that’s been kicking around for over 30 years now. My partner Neal Shulman and I debuted on Elektra Records in 1972 then recorded three more on RCA to finish out the 70’s. Somehow we’ve managed to hang together all these years and have just finished what is perhaps our best recording yet entitled “Days of Horses” that hopefully will be coming out in Spring ' 04. One of my songs, “Scotty Moore, Bill Black & Elvis” that didn’t make the soundtrack is featured on this recording. Anyone interested can check our website, www.aztectwostep.com RF: First and foremost I think all the songs and performances on this CD are fantastic, really! If I had to choose one absolute favorite it would be “Too Tired To Be Elvis Tonight” by Heather Eatman. Personally, recording at Sun Studio where Elvis first began his career was a major highlight. Performing live, in the studio versions of “Shine a Little Light on Elvis” and “Velvet Elvis” with my dear friends Devonsquare in Portland, Maine was huge for me. They’re such amazing singers. Also, recording the title track "200 Cadillacs" and “Tough & Tender” with those great studio musicians in NYC was a gas too. RF: I think reading the Peter Guralnick books inspired me the most, especially “Last Train To Memphis”. Brilliant, inspirational writing! Both books gave such poignant insights to Elvis the human being, that’s what touched me the most. I wanted to strip away all the BS you hear on all the talk shows and what is written about him in the tabloids and just write a song about this guy named Elvis Presley, his family and his contributions before he passed on. RF: I would love to extend this film or even make another one to follow it up, especially knowing a bit more about the film making process and some of the leads acquired while researching this one. There's lots more stories and some interesting side bars that would make for a very intriguing follow up footage. SG: The editing was critical because we needed creative integration of the "talking heads" and the music. We were very fortunate to have the editors we had (Mike Balabuch and Ron Patane). They really put it together for us. I think they did a brilliant job on the music videos. RF: It was usually just a few degrees of separation to actually track down most of the interviewees that took place in Memphis. I met Myrna Smith in the airplane leaving Memphis and asked her for an interview which later took place in California. Gordan Stoker came about by just being tenacious once we were there, literally following him outside of a hotel to get a that quote. After trying to contact the Denver guys - Mr’s Kinny, Pietrafuso and Kennedy for days on end and to no avail by contacting various news media and the local police department, I simply called information and got their information in the phone book! To me, getting these guys really made the difference for this film. SG: Dan Griffin, our director, worked with Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana for a number of years, so he was our first contact with the "Elvis world". And in the small-world department, Dan was having dinner with some friends of his in Connecticut one day. Coincidentally, their daughter's boyfriend worked with David Foster in California. We got the daughter to ask her friend to ask Linda for the interview. We were thrilled that she thought the concept was a great idea. RF: It took years of pitching the idea before finally meeting Dan. After that things went relatively fast thanks to Susan’s involvement. The hardest part for me was getting the three of us on the same page creatively. None of us had much, if any real experience in making a film before, so we were all flying by the seat of our pants. It was the most difficult and frustrating project I’ve ever worked on but now that it’s done, I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been involved. SG: Sandi Miller was my first contact. What fun it was to sit in her living room and go through her boxes of pictures! She put me in touch with Russ Howe and Tom Salva. Seeing their collections in person was also a mind-boggling experience. When Mike and Ron would ask for more pictures, Russ, Tom, and Sandi would provide additional stunning shots. When the guys came back with the Denver interviews - with the story of Elvis and the bandages he'd use to prevent fans from pulling the rings off his fingers at concerts - Russ had the photo of Elvis' hand with Band-Aids on his fingers in my email box the next day! SG: I have no idea how many more unreleased photos there are out there. But Sandi and Russ have been working with Bud Glass on the Behind the Image books and Russ just released a book with his photos of a New York concert. SG: It's been all positive, for both the DVD and the soundtrack. We are thrilled! RF: No plans yet but if EIN wants to back it, I’d love to write and direct it. Go here for EIN's review of the 200 Cadillacs DVD and soundtrack CD Go here for Susan Graham's exclusive look at Elvis Week 2008
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