Unless you lived under a rock in 2022, you probably heard of or watched Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis starring Austin Butler. The box-office hit detailed Elvis Presley’s rise to fame and the highs and lows he encountered along the way, including his relationship with his ex-wife Priscilla Presley. While Elvis Presley’s reputation as “The King” was still relatively positive prior to Elvis coming out last year, during the film’s peak, many people on the internet wondered why Hollywood was praising the singer when there was an obvious age gap and power imbalance in his relationship with Priscilla. For those of you who don’t know, Priscilla Presley was 14 when she met Elvis, then 24, and they got married when she was 21. Even though Priscilla Presley has denied many negative comments and assumptions about her relationship with the late singer throughout the years, most recently, she has been supporting Sofia Coppola’s newest flick, Priscilla, which paints Elvis in a rather unsavory light.
Who stars in Priscilla?
The movie, which came out on Nov. 3, stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, and based on the trailer, these two give a performance that changes the narrative that Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis tried so hard to enforce.
What is Priscilla about?
Coppola’s film, which is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, focuses on Priscilla’s point of view during her relationship with the singer. The trailer is quick to point out how the trajectory of Priscilla’s life changed after meeting Elvis in the 1950s, morphing her world from a student and daughter of an Air Force Captain to a child bride and Elvis Presley’s real-life doll. In true Sofia Coppola fashion, she focuses on the experiences of Priscilla as a young woman trying to navigate life in the male-dominated 1960s and 70s, and the control that Elvis had over the choices in her life.
What are Priscilla Presley’s thoughts about the movie?
As previously mentioned, Priscilla Presley has spent decades portraying a positive image of her relationship with her late ex-husband and has devoted her life to keeping his legacy alive. In an interview with TMZ over the Summer, Priscilla said that she is “very excited to see the interpretation of my book by the masterful Sofia Coppola. She has such an extraordinary perspective and I have always been such an admirer of her work. I’m certain this movie will take everyone on an emotional journey.”
Will there be any of Elvis’ music in Priscilla?
Elvis Presley’s estate has not approved the making of Coppola’s film and is upset with the way the singer is portrayed in the film. The owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Joel Weinshanker, has stated that Priscilla is not something “that Elvis would be proud of.” In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sofia Coppola shared that she asked Elvis Presley Enterprises for permission to use the singer’s music in her film, but was denied the rights to it.