THE ELVIS CONSPIRACY Scribe Rikki Lee Travolta Wins 8th Best Screenplay Award of the Season
The screenplay won in the Golden Fern Film Awards, now in its 14th season.
By: Michael Major Mar. 01, 2023
Chicago-based entertainment personality Rikki Lee Travolta has put another feather in his cap, landing Best Screenplay honors for his dramatic thriller 'The Elvis Conspiracy' in the Golden Fern Film Awards, now in its 14th season. This is the eighth major awards win in the last five months for the Travolta script.
'The Elvis Conspiracy' has also won recent top prizes in the Virgin Spring Cinefest Film Festival, Indo French International Film Festival, Mojo International Film Awards, MoviePlay International Film Festival, Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival, and the Rome Prisma Film Awards.
Travolta credits the swelling popularity of the script to the public's recent interest in the alternate history genre and the surge in attention on Elvis-related projects including Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated 'Elvis' and the upcoming 'Priscilla' from writer/director Sofia Coppola.
Alternative history, also known as speculative fiction, is a genre in which real historical events are given a "what if" twist. Recent popular examples of the genre include 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' from writer/director Quintan Tarantino and Roku's 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.'
"If you really listen to people, you hear them refer to Elvis as if he was different people like Young Elvis, GI Elvis, Hollywood Elvis, or Vegas Elvis. I decided to imagine a world in which that was true, and also incorporate actual conspiracy theories into the mix," explains Travolta. "It takes something popular and gives it a fresh twist kind of like what Tim Burton did with Batman and Wednesday."
The result is a story that shifts the focus of the main character to Col. Tom Parker - who in this version of history creates Elvis using multiple young men over the years thanks to plastic surgery, lip syncing, and an elaborate deception of the press.
It's a story that Travolta started a number of years ago, long before Luhrmann's 'Elvis' feature.
"I had originally envisioned Tom Hanks playing Col. Parker and Baz Luhrmann directing. That's probably not going to happen now," laughs Travolta. Hanks and Luhrmann, of course, collaborated on the 2022 feature that earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
Elvis has historically been a plum role for actors. Austin Butler has gone from relatively unknown to A-list star for his award-winning turn as the title character in Luhrmann's epic. Butler won a Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) for his performance and is a frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
"I remember reading about Austin Butler and Ansel Elgort auditioning for Baz Luhrmann. I had been very impressed with Austin's performance in THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES and was thrilled when I heard he landed the part of Elvis," reflects Travolta.
The actor playing Elvis in 'The Elvis Conspiracy' could find themselves in contention for some awards themselves in supporting performer categories. The script requires the actor to play four different versions of Elvis. They are aided by subtle changes in prosthetic makeup, but much of the differences will come from the actor.
The figurative feathers in Travolta's cap span a wide range of interests. He originally came to Chicago to star in 'Tony n' Tina's Wedding.' He then appeared around the country as a theatrical headliner before stepping away from the spotlight to serve as THE HEAD of public relations for companies like Empire TODAY and Other World Computing. He also gained notoriety as a journalist and author.
In 2016, Travolta returned to acting, earning a Best Actor nomination in the Broadway World Regional Theatre Awards for his portrayal of McMurphy in a Midwest revival of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'.
He now writes and produces a series for PBS, hosts the radio program It's Showtime with Rikki Lee, serves as a theatre critic for both Shaw Media and LifeandTImes.biz, and handles PR for celebrity clientele including Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses fame. He continues to make select, critically acclaimed appearances in film, television, and stage roles as time permits and serves on the board of directors for Steel Beam Theatre.
As Travolta notes in his online biography, "I've played some parts. I've sung some songs. I've written a few words. And although I've won some awards, the real reason I do it is because it's fun."
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