The New Gladiators (film)

Production

In 1974, George Waite presented the idea of the film to Ed Parker, Presley's karate instructor. In the film, Presley was playing the main role, introducing Karate arts divided in narration and demonstrations. Parker presented the idea to Presley, who subsequently liked the idea. There was a meeting organized at Graceland, but no major details were arranged due the fact that Presley had to leave for travel to Las Vegas to perform on a show. The next morning Presley called Waite and sent his private plane to fly Waite and his wife to Vegas to complete the meeting. During the show, Presley extended a $50,000 check for beginning the production of the film. In 1977, after Presley's death, the movie was stored in a garage in West Hollywood inside the bed of a truck, along with other memorabilia objects. In 2001, the footage was found, restored, and later released on August 17, 2002. On August 16, 2009, Elvis Presley Enterprises released a new version of the film with extra footage of Presley in Karate training sessions.