Elvis Presley's estate is none too pleased with Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla, premiering in October. According to a new report by TMZ, officials of the Elvis estate have come out swinging against the Oscar-winning auteur, who made the film without the estate's consent: "It feels like a college movie."
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Based on Priscilla Presley's best-selling 1986 memoir Elvis and Me, Priscilla is the story of the young couple's early romance. Euphoria heartthrob Jacob Elordi will star as The King, with Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown) stepping in as the beehive-wearing Priscilla, who was just 21 years old when the pair married in 1967.
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola (renowned for her uniquely feminine sensibility in such lauded films as The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette), Priscilla was produced without the knowledge, consent or cooperation of Elvis Presley's estate, say multiple estate officials. (By contrast, Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated 2022 biopic Elvis was made with the estate's consent.)
According to one estate official who saw the film, Coppola's biopic is "horrible."
"It feels like a college movie," the official said, per TMZ. "The set designs are just horrific. It's not what Graceland looks like."
TMZ also reports that officials are calling the biopic a money-grab by Priscilla Presley, who serves an an executive producer on the film. But Priscilla, 78, defended the film on Instagram, writing:
"I am 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."
Priscilla will chronicle the "unseen side" of the pair's courtship and 1973 divorce through Priscilla's eyes. A24's official logline refers to Elvis as "a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a gentle best friend."
The "ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame" comes just months after Lisa Marie Presley's death at age 54. Priscilla contested her daughter's will, which entrusted Lisa Marie Presley's estate to her daughter Riley Keough. (Keough and her 14-year-old twin sisters stand to inherit Graceland.)
After much back-and-forth, Us Weekly reported in May that Priscilla and her granddaughter Keough had "reached a middle ground that makes them both happy."
It has since been reported that Priscilla Presley received a one-time, lump sum payment per the terms of the deal. Additionally, Priscilla's son Navarone Garibaldi Garcia (Lisa Marie's half-brother) will receive a portion of Lisa Marie's trust.
