Tom Hanks returns to Australia to continue filming on Elvis biopic

Filming on the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic Elvis may have been all shook up as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (not to mention star Tom Hanks contracting the virus), but after a six month break to flatten the curve and instill new safety protocols, the cameras will be ready to roll once more in the coming weeks.Director Baz Luhrmann confirmed in a statement that Hanks has flown back to Queensland, Australia to resume production on the film, and he is expecting things to officially kick off on September 23, after Hanks finishes a period of self-isolation. “We’re back to, as Elvis liked to say, ‘Taking care of business!’” he said. “It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global movement that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on Elvis…We are all excited to start working with Tom Hanks when he is out of quarantine in two weeks.”[video_embed id='1991285']RELATED: Tom Hanks has a blunt message for people who don't wear a mask[/video_embed]In Elvis, Butler stars as the legendary performer and Hanks plays his manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film is expected to delve into the 20-plus year relationship between the pair, from the time when Presley was an up-and-comer until he reached superstar status. The movie also looks at the social climate at the time, which included the civil rights movement and the overall loss of innocence in America.According to Australian media, Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson (who also contracted the disease when they were last there for filming on the production) returned to the Gold Coast on a private jet on September 8. They were immediately escorted by police to a hotel, and as per local guidelines they will be randomly checked by law enforcement to ensure that they are following self-isolating guidelines.As The Sydney Morning Herald points out, the hotel where the couple is staying is not one of Queensland Health’s designated quarantine hotels, which has caused some political strife between the country’s leaders. However, the Elvis production team has hired its own security so the cost of the quarantine will not be paid for by the Queensland government. Queensland is, however, offering certain incentives to the film, according to Variety. The publication reports that those incentives should translate into 900 jobs and inject roughly $75 million AUD (nearly $72 million Canadian) into the local economy. For now, production has taken over several floors of the hotel, but Hanks will not be allowed to roam about freely until his isolation is over and mandatory health checks are complete.Production on Elvis initially shut down on March 19 after Hanks was diagnosed with COVID-19. Filming was still in the rehearsal stages at the time, and everyone who had been present went into quarantine for 14 days and were tested. According to an interview Luhrmann gave shortly after the fact, Hanks wound up being the only one in the entire production to contract the virus. “Tom and Rita handled it all so well, and we were so fortunate we had this direct connection with the head of infectious diseases (Dr. Wattiaux, a Gold Coast public health physician), because it was an immediate shutdown,” he told Deadline. “Without getting into the Australia-U.S. comparison, when it comes to the health system, they are so robust here. They were right on it.”Hanks and Wilson were some of the first high-profile celebrities to contract the coronavirus when it became a pandemic earlier this year. Since then they have advocated for smart safety practices, such as wearing masks and isolating, they donated their plasma to research, and they have opened up about some of the awful symptoms that they personally suffered. “There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time,” Hanks updated fans in early March. “There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no? Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball.”[video_embed id='1967864']RELATED: Tom Hanks donating his plasma for COVID-19 research[/video_embed]