Emmy and Peabody award-winning director Eugene Jarecki is interested in American justice, poetry in film, journalism, and Elvis Presley.

In his latest documentary, 'The King,' Jarecki jumped behind the wheel of Elvis’ Rolls Royce to drive cross-country on a musical road trip in an effort to explore the loss of authenticity in America.

“We’re at a time where we’re looking very closely at what the American dream really means. Who is there that any of us can think of who more poetically represents the American dream than Elvis Presley?”

As a musician, Elvis began from humble roots but soon had a meteor-like career and the film is meant to highlight these parallels with America. The director added, “I think Elvis is a person who got lost and he got lost at the height of his power. Isn’t that America, too?”

In addition to this audio format, the print interview for this conversation is available on Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s website.

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