The story of Jimmy Ellis, an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis, back from the grave.The story of Jimmy Ellis, an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis, back from the grave.The story of Jimmy Ellis, an unknown singer plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as part of a crazy scheme that had him masquerade as Elvis, back from the grave.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
Furniss Ellis
- Jimmy's Father
- (archive footage)
- (voice)
Jimmy Ellis
- Orion
- (archive footage)
Mildred Martin
- First Wife of Jimmy
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJimmy (Orion) Ellis was a caring individual when it came to kids with special needs and would often make arrangements to give them front row seats and free admission to his shows.
Featured review
Elvis is back in the building?
Greetings again from the darkness. "Believe it or not". That's the catchphrase that Ripley's used for its books, TV shows and museums, and it could just as easily describe this latest from award-winning documentarian Jeanie Finlay (The Great Hip Hop Hoax, 2013). When Elvis Presley died in 1977, legions of his emotionally distraught fans refused to believe he had truly left the building forever. This is the crazy story of how one music industry huckster cashed in on the opportunity by taking advantage of talented nice guy who just wanted to sing.
If you can play golf like (pre-scandal) Tiger Woods or throw a fastball like Nolan Ryan, then you have a chance to create a name for yourself. However, if you sing like Elvis (and even favor him physically), your music options are mostly relegated to being a sideshow act as an impersonator. That option was twisted a bit in 1979 by music producer Shelby Singleton, who had purchased Sun Records from Sam Phillips and relocated it to Nashville. Singleton contracted with Jimmy Ellis, a nice young man from rural Alabama whose singing voice was eerily similar to that of Elvis. But rather than impersonate Elvis, Ellis donned a bedazzled eye mask and assumed the public stage name of Orion – the title and character of Gail Brewer-Giorgo's novel that explored what might have happened if Elvis had faked his own death to escape the claws of celebrity. Orion became a fantasy experience for those Elvis fans who wanted to believe their King was still alive.
Ms. Finlay's film exposes yet another example of how cruel the music industry can be. Talent is no guarantee of success. Mr. Ellis definitely had talent, but his ambition and trusting nature allowed him to be exploited (along with Ms. Brewer-Giorgo) by Singleton, who paid him no royalties despite a hand full of charting singles, and some albums that found a market. To her credit, the filmmaker doesn't dwell on the ugliness, instead using archival audio interview from Ellis (and plenty of his songs) and numerous talking head interviews from his son and those who were associated with the time period, to create a biography of a man who just wanted to sing and live a good life. Ellis may not have been The King, but he was the kind of guy it seems we would all like to call a friend and listen to him sing as often as possible.
If you can play golf like (pre-scandal) Tiger Woods or throw a fastball like Nolan Ryan, then you have a chance to create a name for yourself. However, if you sing like Elvis (and even favor him physically), your music options are mostly relegated to being a sideshow act as an impersonator. That option was twisted a bit in 1979 by music producer Shelby Singleton, who had purchased Sun Records from Sam Phillips and relocated it to Nashville. Singleton contracted with Jimmy Ellis, a nice young man from rural Alabama whose singing voice was eerily similar to that of Elvis. But rather than impersonate Elvis, Ellis donned a bedazzled eye mask and assumed the public stage name of Orion – the title and character of Gail Brewer-Giorgo's novel that explored what might have happened if Elvis had faked his own death to escape the claws of celebrity. Orion became a fantasy experience for those Elvis fans who wanted to believe their King was still alive.
Ms. Finlay's film exposes yet another example of how cruel the music industry can be. Talent is no guarantee of success. Mr. Ellis definitely had talent, but his ambition and trusting nature allowed him to be exploited (along with Ms. Brewer-Giorgo) by Singleton, who paid him no royalties despite a hand full of charting singles, and some albums that found a market. To her credit, the filmmaker doesn't dwell on the ugliness, instead using archival audio interview from Ellis (and plenty of his songs) and numerous talking head interviews from his son and those who were associated with the time period, to create a biography of a man who just wanted to sing and live a good life. Ellis may not have been The King, but he was the kind of guy it seems we would all like to call a friend and listen to him sing as often as possible.
helpful•70
- ferguson-6
- Dec 2, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Orion: omul care putea fi Elvis
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
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Top Gap
By what name was Orion: The Man Who Would Be King (2015) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer