#e in my head isn't that famous btw. who??? only we have ever heard of him. gaslighting gatekeeping girlbossing

[septembersghost]

As our Austin and Andrew girl, why do you think Austin has been treated badly for Elvis when I don't remember Andrew getting that criticism for tick tick boom?

i understand why you draw the parallel, both of them are such talented, empathetic actors, both of them really dedicated themselves to those roles, but it's still very apples and oranges, in the end there are a lot of reasons. ttb is a beautiful film, while it doesn't bear the burden of being as grand in scale, nor about someone world famous. i wouldn't expect the average, non-broadway aficionado, audience to know who jonathan was, but most people at the very least have an image of elvis, if not a litany of stereotypes to also go with it. ttb is a musical in the truest sense of the term, and not a biopic, really - it's part autobiographical, but jonathan was telling a story through his writing too. andrew and austin both took various lessons to prepare and sang (amazingly!), but austin had a far more overwhelming mountain to climb there because of who he was playing. the fact that he surpassed that expectation is astonishing. baz and other creatives who worked on elvis have said a true biopic was not their goal (that the word itself was even verboten on set), and i'd actually hesitate to categorize it as one in some ways, i think it somewhat simplifies what the film is and its purpose, but the...stigma? that goes along with that was attached to it anyway. what's particularly odd is this seems to only accompany biopics of musicians - will's oscar last year was literally for a sports biopic? anyway -

in their unique ways and approaches to their crafts, andrew immersed himself in jonathan, austin immersed himself in elvis, but only one of those comes with both an icon and a joke connotation in pop culture. austin also, to most people, seemingly came out of nowhere, whereas andrew is already established, so people saw this "kid" (he is 31! but i've seen him referred to in this way a lot) playing this unthinkably famous man (trying to comprehend his level of fame and the sheer amount of stuff - true, false, idolizing, spurious, out there - is too much to wrap my mind around, in awed and heartbreaking ways) and were making a lot of judgments and preconceptions. there was that snide, ridiculous attitude towards austin's voice (andrew had to drop his own accent and speak like jonathan! but the judgment here stems particularly from the baggage surrounding elvis' "southern drawl"), there seemed to be this idea that he was too genuine and therefore ~cringey~ (or so genuine, in fact, that it must've been disingenuous! make it make sense), and that the level of care he took and felt was weird/extra. almost all of this has to do, ultimately, with the way elvis himself is perceived, despite the film doing its utmost to dispel that and reach for his humanity. *we* know that, but the overriding noise of social media and the press cycle was starkly different for a long list of reasons.

jonathan's sister speaking about ttb and andrew, and how true and moving his performance is, giving some measure of her brother back to her, being like seeing his light and life again, makes me think so strongly of lisa marie and her response and pride in elvis and the way austin captured the heart and soul of her father - both of which are the most important responses and amongst the greatest gifts those films provided. they were both crafted with respect, reverence, and love.

they should feel nothing but proud of their extraordinary performances and the films they made, which truly touched people and introduced them to other music and art they might not have experienced. the press fades, and what remains is the work. what also remains is who they've proven themselves to be as human beings. i love that both of them are such passionate, introspective humans and provide such insight, into their art but also their perspectives. andrew is well-regarded for a reason. austin, this entire awards season, established himself with graciousness and humility and kindness, and that impacted a lot of people (not only fans, but those across the entire industry, including other, more famous, actors, which is why we saw so many of them take him under their wings or gravitate towards him, and he mentioned himself how much that newfound camaraderie meant to him). his next project will shift the narrative and hopefully no one will focus on the superfluous things. what will stick is the compassion and the meaning of what was created.