Rose Byrne is Elvis, and Krew Boylan is Dolly Parton in Deadline's new image for Seriously Red, a musical comedy about celebrity impersonators. Directed by Australian filmmaker Gracie Otto, Seriously Red is part of the Narrative Feature Competition at the SXSW Film Festival and will world premiere Sunday, March 13.
Byrne and Boylan are almost unrecognizable under their wigs and fancy costumes in their first image together for Seriously Red. That's excellent news, as both stars play celebrity impersonators, a special kind of artist that brings singers, actors, and public figures back to their glory days. The duo also has microphones in their hands, teasing the musical numbers their characters will perform in Seriously Red.
Seriously Red stars Boylan as Red, a redhead woman with low self-esteem who decides to drop her steady job in real state to pursue her dream of becoming a Dolly Parton impersonator. The story follows Red as she discovers a new world of messy artists and falls in love with a Kenny Rogers impersonator played by Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine). Red will also reflect on her own life choices and learn to trust herself, and win the stages through her crazy journey into an unexplored corner of stardom.
Commenting on Seriously Red's first look at Byrne as Elvis, director Otto said:
“Rose is a chameleon, she completely embodied Elvis. I didn’t even recognize her when she stepped on stage in character – it was magic! This was one of the first scenes we filmed with Rose and Krew Boylan as Dolly. Together they brought energy and charisma to the scene.”
Seriously Red also stars Daniel Webber (The Dirt). Otto directs from a script penned by Boylan, who had the full support of Parton. Seriously Red also features many of Parton's greatest hits. Otto has previously directed Under the Volcano, a documentary about a 1980s recording studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, built by The Beatles producer George Martin. So, her experience with the phonographic universe will definitely help turn Seriously Red into an enjoyable musical.
Boylan is mainly known for starring in the horror movie Primal and the period drama series Wild Boys. As for Byrne, the two-time Emmy nominee is currently part of Apple TV+'s series Physical and has recently reprised her Peter Rabbit role of Bea for Sony's Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. Byrne also appeared as Ellen Parsons in the legal thriller series Damages, for which she got two Golden Globe Awards nominations.
Seriously Red premieres at SXSW on March 13 and can be expected for wide release later this year. Check out the first look image below.
