Well it looks like the world can’t get enough of Elvis and who can blame him. Those tender blue eyes and soulful voice took over millions of hearts worldwide. We got a first look into his life from this year’s movie “Elvis” which was a biographical music film from Warner Bros. The film starred Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley. Now we will be getting a first look into the life of Priscilla Presley. Sofia Coppola has set her sights on a new film venture set on Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s 1985 bestselling memoir “Elvis and Me”. Coppola will write and direct the feature film, which will be titled “Priscilla.”.
The film has just casted our leading lady which will be played by Cailee Spaeny, known from Mare of Easttown and Bad Times at the El Royale and starring as Elvis Presley will be Jacob Elordi, who we know as our favorite bad boy from Euphoria and Saltburn. Elvis and Me is a 1985 biography written by Priscilla Presley with Sandra Harmon. In the book, Priscilla talks about meeting Elvis Presley, their marriage, and the factors and issues that led to the couple’s divorce. The book rights were purchased in 1987, and in 1988 it was made into a television movie written by Joyce Eliason, directed by Larry Peerce, and starring Dale Midkiff as Elvis and Susan Walters as Priscilla. This will be the second adaptation of this story in a film.
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu Presley was born on May 24, 1945. She is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), the company that turned Graceland into one of the top tourist attractions in the United States. In her acting career, Presley co-starred with Leslie Nielsen in the three successful Naked Gun films and played the role of Jenna Wade on the long-running television series Dallas. On September 13, 1959, during Elvis Presley’s Army career, he met Priscilla at a party at his rented home in Bad Nauheim, Germany. Though only 14 years old, she made a huge impression on him. By the end of the evening, however, he managed to compose himself.
Thereafter, he and Priscilla were frequently together until his departure from West Germany in March, 1960. After Elvis left, Priscilla was inundated with requests for interviews from media outlets around the world. Shortly before Christmas 1966, Elvis proposed to Priscilla. Colonel Parker, Elvis’s manager, encouraged him to marry by reminding him about his RCA “morals clause” within his record contract. The couple married on May 1, 1967, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The wedding, arranged by Parker to maximize publicity, featured very few guests and was over in only eight minutes. It was followed by a quick press conference and a $10,000 breakfast reception, attended by friends, family, and business associates from MGM, RCA, and the William Morris Agency.
In her book, Elvis and Me, which this film will be closely following, Priscilla describes Presley as a very passionate man who was not overtly sexual towards her. According to her account, the singer told her that they had to wait until they were married before having intercourse. He said, “I’m not saying we can’t do other things. It’s just the actual encounter. I want to save it.” Priscilla says in her autobiography that she was a virgin and she and Elvis did not have sex until their wedding night.
Priscilla wrote in Elvis and Me that, around the time Elvis was filming Live a Little, Love a Little in 1968, where she began taking private dance lessons. She found herself deeply attracted to the instructor, known simply as Mark in the book, and she confesses to having a short affair. She implies regret, however, saying, “I came out of it realizing I needed much more out of my relationship with Elvis”.
For the film, Coppola will also be reteaming with her longtime collaborators, including cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd, costume designer Stacey Battat, editor Sarah Flack and production designer Tamara Deverell. In addition to writing and directing the film, Coppola will be producing the project alongside Youree Henley, Lorenzo Mieli of The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, and American Zoetrope. The film’s production will be financed by The Apartment and Sony’s Stage 6 Films. A24 will be the main distribute in North America, along with Vision Distribution handling distribution in Italy, where it will later become a Sky exclusive. Stage 6 Films/Sony Pictures International Releasing will distribute in the rest of the world. The film will start shooting in Toronto this fall.
