As Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” goes expands nationwide, a Variety story is making some waves.
Supposedly, before her death earlier this year, Lisa Marie Presley had “expressed shock and horror” over the depiction of her father, Elvis Presley, after reading the script for “Priscilla.”
Variety was given two emails in which the late Presley asked Coppola to “reconsider her vision” of Elvis and to spare her family public embarrassment. The messages were sent a mere four months before she died.
Presley’s messages called the script “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous,” and had her pleading to Coppola to prevent more scrutiny on Elvis’ living grandchildren as they were grieving the loss of Lisa Marie Presley’s son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020.
Sent in September of last year, here’s what Presley wrote in one of her messages:
My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don’t read this and see any of my father in this character. I don’t read this and see my mother’s perspective of my father. I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don’t understand why?”
Coppola replied back:
I hope that when you see the final film you will feel differently, and understand I’m taking great care in honoring your mother, while also presenting your father with sensitivity and complexity.
“Priscilla” was still in pre-production mode at the time, so it hadn’t even been shot yet, but, judging by the film that was released, I don’t believe Coppola changed much from her script. The film portrays Elvis as this very toxic figure in Priscilla’s life.
“Priscilla” is very different from Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” which was a glitter and glam depiction of the rock and roll legend. I have to say that I was fairly surprised at how Coppola’s film depicted Elvis. Whether this was a truthful depiction, I wouldn’t know, but it’s definitely an Elvis we haven’t seen before on-screen.
In “Priscilla,” the singer is portrayed as an arrogant womanizer; soft at one moment, turbulent hound dog the next. The film is all about Priscilla’s attempt to detach herself from her marriage with this toxic, cheating and drug-addicted husband.
I can understand why Lisa Marie would have been angry by what she had read. It’s a warts and all portrayal. As mentioned, I don’t know enough about Elvis’ backstory to really know if what I saw onscreen was accurate. Then again, the film is based on Priscilla’s 1985 memoir, so there’s that.