RLF Victor Productions has hired John Scheinfeld to direct the Elvis biopic Fame & Fortune.  The King has been the subject of a couple of notable telepics: Kurt Russell played Elvis for director John Carpenter in 1979, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers assumed the role in 2005.  To my knowledge, this is the first big feature project to chronicle the musician's rise to prominence in the 1950s to his death by overdose in 1977.  I can't vouch for Scheinfeld's candidacy as a narrative director, but he has the ear for the job---his documentary subjects include John Lennon, Brian Wilson, and most recently Harry Nilsson.  The casting search begins this fall for a 2012 release.  God bless the actor brave enough to try on Elvis' mighty big blue suede shoes.

According to THR, Fame & Fortune is based on on the 2007 biography Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business, written by Presley's longtime bodyguard Sonny West and author Marshall Terrill.  Read the book synopsis after the jump.

In this unique and intimate volume, now in paperback for the first time, Sonny West, Elvis Presley's close friend and bodyguard for nearly two decades, provides a no-holds barred, first-hand depiction of 'The King.'"Elvis" is packed with previously unseen photographs and untold stories about Presley's personal and public life - learn why he refused the not-so-subtle advances of Ursula Andress on the set of "Fun in Acapulco", uncover amazing personal details from Presley's historic meeting with the Beatles, and discover the secrets behind the King's famous handshake with Richard Nixon in 1970.This will become a treasured addition to the collections of Elvis fans everywhere. [Amazon]