Simple Secret That Helped Sofia Coppola Gain Priscilla Presley's Trust
There’s no other right way to tell a story like this.
In the ever-growing world of biopics, it is almost impossible to create one without controversy. Especially when the story is as scandalous and full of sensitive issues as the story of Priscilla Presley and the tragedies she faced.
When Sofia Coppola accepted the script for Priscilla, she knew she had to do the story justice. Although it was very nostalgic, glamorous, and glossy on the outside, it carried a lot of weight, and a good half of it the director would find out only after she started working on it. Priscilla Presley, however, put her trust in Coppola and didn't disappoint.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she recalled her thoughts about working with Sofia Coppola:
“I just got who she was and I felt that she could get me. I thought, we have different stories, but she could understand this better than any writer because she kind of lived it in her own way,” Presley said.
The director agrees. The story she was entrusted with was different from her own but still felt very personal. Not only did she experience the attention of the public and the scrutiny of the media at a very young age, but she also had to watch her mother go through the hardships of living alongside the great creator.
As Coppola mentioned herself, she was "struck by how much she connected with it emotionally."
Not everyone is as excited about the world watching Priscilla's story unfold before their eyes.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, which owns the rights to all of the King's music, disapproved of the movie so much that they banned the production from using any of it. A decision like that speaks louder than any words.
Whether this will affect the quality of the movie or whether Priscilla will stand strong without any Elvis soundtracks, we'll have to wait and see. Sofia Coppola's film will premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter