Before her unfortunate demise earlier this year, Lisa Marie Presley was shocked and appalled by the way her father, Elvis Presley, was portrayed in Sofia Coppola’s new film “Priscilla.” Exclusive emails obtained by Variety reveal that Presley pleaded with Coppola to reconsider her vision for the character to spare her family from public embarrassment. These messages were sent four months before Presley suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in January. In the emails, Presley described the script as “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous” and expressed concern about the strain it would put on her fragile relationship with her mother, Priscilla Presley, who is the subject of the film. Presley also worried about the scrutiny that Elvis’ living grandchildren would face as they continued to mourn the loss of Lisa Marie’s son, Benjamin Keough, who passed away in 2020.
“Priscilla” is a biopic based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir “Elvis and Me,” published in 1985. The film has generated discussions among critics and audiences due to its portrayal of Elvis and Priscilla’s courtship, which began when Priscilla was 14 and Elvis was 24 in Germany in 1959. In one of her messages, Presley wrote, “My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don’t see any of my father in this character. I don’t see my mother’s perspective of my father. Instead, I see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective, and I can’t understand why.”
Presley sent these emails to Coppola in September of the previous year, just a few hours apart. Despite the fact that Coppola had not yet started filming “Priscilla” when Presley reached out, Presley made it clear that she would openly voice her objections to the project and her mother’s involvement. Priscilla Presley is credited as an executive producer and has been involved in the film’s publicity. “I will have to publicly express my feelings about the film and go against you, my mother, and this film,” Presley wrote.
When asked for a comment on the exchange, Coppola responded through her representative with a statement she had previously expressed to Presley in response to her September emails. She stated that she hopes Presley will have a different perspective after seeing the final film and that she is taking great care to honor her mother while presenting her father with sensitivity and complexity.
Priscilla Presley was unavailable for immediate comment, and A24, the film’s distributor who did not produce the project, declined to comment. An insider close to the film revealed that the emails were exchanged on September 2, 2022, while Coppola was attending the Telluride Film Festival, just weeks before production on “Priscilla” began. The source emphasized that the film is solely based on “Elvis and Me” and efforts were made to tone down certain aspects of the book’s depiction of the couple’s courtship that would be considered shocking by today’s standards. The insider added that Coppola’s goal was to tell a love story, with the main tension revolving around Priscilla’s adjustment to life with a global superstar. Lisa Marie Presley is believed to have seen an early draft of the script, which was subsequently trimmed by approximately ten pages when principal photography started on October 24, 2022. “Priscilla” was showcased at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where it received glowing reviews and earned Cailee Spaeny, the lead actress, a best actress prize. Critics and viewers have taken note of the age gap and power dynamics between the on-screen Elvis, portrayed by “Euphoria” star Jacob Elordi, and Priscilla.
The film explores “the erosion caused by psychological abuse in relationships,” according to one critic. Social media users have accused Elvis of “grooming” his future wife. Most reviews find the film in line with Coppola’s esteemed filmography, focusing on a young woman’s life in a gilded cage. Rolling Stone published an interview with Coppola titled “Is Elvis Presley a Monster in ‘Priscilla’? Sofia Coppola Wants You to Judge for Yourself.” In her emails to Coppola, Lisa Marie Presley doubted that her mother, Priscilla, would fully grasp the modern interpretation of her experiences. She wrote, “I am concerned that my mother doesn’t understand the subtleties here or realize how Elvis will be perceived when this movie is released. I feel protective of my mother, who has spent her entire life preserving my father’s legacy. I worry that she doesn’t comprehend the intentions behind this film or the consequences it will have.” Presley also appealed to Coppola’s own Hollywood background, implying that she, of all people, should understand how this would feel, referring to Coppola’s renowned family, which includes her father, director Francis Ford Coppola. Presley asked, “Why are you coming after my dad and my family?”
An insider familiar with Lisa Marie Presley’s situation revealed that her communications with Coppola were shared with both Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie’s daughter, the actress Riley Keough. When questioned about the age difference between Elvis and Priscilla, Coppola expressed her attempts to approach the characters without judgment and to be as sympathetic as possible to each of them. She highlighted her focus on Priscilla’s perspective but also acknowledged the difficulty of understanding how any parent could allow their child to live with Elvis at such a young age. Priscilla Presley, during press interviews in Venice and afterwards, clarified that she and Elvis were not sexually involved when she was 14. She has also repeatedly expressed her love for the film.
These emails demonstrate the challenges that Hollywood faces when creating artistic works centered around the legacies of iconic figures like Elvis. Estates representing deceased stars often become embroiled in disputes over adapted content. Elvis Presley Enterprises, which represents the trust and physical estate of the late star, Graceland, denied the use of his music catalog for the film. The emails also highlight the personal stakes for Lisa Marie Presley. In her second email to Coppola, she shared a story about one of her young twins, Harper Lockwood, who received a trade announcement about the production of “Priscilla.” Presley had to explain to her daughter that they would have to endure another blow in their lives and that the movie would try to portray her grandfather in a negative light, which she believed to be untrue. She described the hardships her family had endured, including her divorce, a custody battle, and the loss of her son. Presley praised the 2022 film “Elvis,” directed by Baz Luhrmann, as a respite from their suffering and a ray of light. She stated that it made her daughters proud to be Elvis’ granddaughters, giving them a sense of honor and blessing. According to Presley, the film depicted the true essence of herfather. She questioned Coppola’s need to tarnish her father’s image after the remarkable film by creating a “dark and jaded reality” and urged Coppola to consider her family’s perspective.
