On Wednesday (June 21), fans got their first look at the upcoming Priscilla film – which tells the story of Priscilla Presley and her early romance with Elvis Presley. And while Priscilla took to Instagram to share her excitement over the film, it appears not everyone in Elvis’ corner shares that sentiment.
According to TMZ, several officials connected to Elvis’ estate are speaking out against the film – claiming it was filmed and produced without the knowledge or consent of Elvis’ estate. In fact, they’re describing the film as yet ‘another Priscilla money grab’ and criticized the film for its ‘horrible’ writing and directing.
“It feels like a college movie. The set designs are just horrific, it’s not what Graceland looks like,” one of the estate officials said upon watching the film. Those speaking out are remaining anonymous, but it’s clear they’re not fans of the Priscilla movie and are trying their best to deter some fans from supporting it.
The comments come just one day after the film’s first trailer was released to the public and hours before Priscilla Presley took to Instagram in support of the new film. She shared a photo of the movie’s poster, which shows Elvis’ character leaning in to kiss Priscilla’s character, who has her hand on Elvis’ cheek.
“I am excited about 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,” Priscilla wrote of the upcoming film in her Instagram caption.
The concept for the film was introduced in September 2022, when director Sofia Coppola announced she was creating an adaptation of Priscilla’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N’ Roll. Filming began in October and ended in December.
Cailee Spaeny is starring as Priscilla Presley, while Jacob Elordi is starring as Elvis Presley. They’ll be following in the footsteps of Austin Butler and Oliva DeJonge, who played Elvis and Priscilla in the 2022 biopic Elvis – a highly-acclaimed film that became the highest-grossing film by director Baz Luhrmann.
Priscilla Presley is an Executive Producer of the Film
Priscilla Presley isn’t just backing the film as the story’s original writer – from her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me – but director Sofia Coppola confirmed that the 78-year-old is also an executive producer of the film – hence why she’s speaking so highly of it ahead of its release, which is currently scheduled for October.
In an interview with Collider, Coppola spoke about her adaptation of the memoir and how the story differs from the 2022 film Elvis. She admitted she was a big fan of the way Baz approached the 2022 film, but feels she isn’t treading the same territory because Priscilla’s character played such a small role in his film.
“I think Baz is so unique and his take on that story was so creative. But Priscilla is such a minor character in that film, so I never felt like I was treading on the same territory,” she told the outlet – adding that she can now ‘really deep dive; into Priscilla’s story. That way, there’s a film dedicated to Elvis and Priscilla.
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The movie’s first trailer comes just a few days after Priscilla Presley posted a photo of her and her three granddaughters as they celebrated Harper and Finley Lockwood (her twin granddaughters) graduating middle school. The family just ended a legal battle over Lisa Marie’s trust and is ready to move forward.