Following the smash hit Elvis, Sofia Coppola has announced that she will be making a separate biopic film about Elvis' wife Priscilla Presley, with Jacob Elordi to play Elvis.
Earlier this summer, Baz Luhrmann's Elvis inspired audiences to shake, rattle, and empty their wallets into Warner Bros.' coffers. The film was a financial and critical success, and many expect Austin Butler to sway his way to a Best Actor win at next year's Academy Awards. Now, the biopic craze will continue with another Presley pic.
Coppola is working on a film about Priscilla Presley, Elvis' long-time wife, which is to be distributed by A24, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed. Coppola will both write and direct the project, as she usually does, while Priscilla will be played by Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown) and Elvis by Elordi (The Kissing Booth, HBO's hit series Euphoria). The film will be based on Priscilla's autobiography Elvis and Me, which describes her life with the star. Controversially, they started dating in 1959 when she was 14 and he was 23, getting married almost ten years later. Elvis was notoriously unfaithful to her, having multiple high-profile affairs, including one with his Viva Las Vegas co-star Ann-Margret Olsson. Furthermore, he was reportedly highly controlling of Priscilla's life and forbade her from pursuing her own career ambitions.
From what we know so far, it appears likely that this new film will fill a void that left some dissatisfied with Elvis. The King's biopic painted him for the most part as a victim, a hero, and someone who was robbed of what he deserved. Although there was discussion of his infidelity (which, the movie claimed, Priscilla did not mind), it was his drug addiction that apparently made everything fall apart, in addition to his manipulative manager. Many online criticized the film for its depiction of Priscilla, in particular for leaving out how poorly he treated his girlfriend and later wife. Ignored also is the fact that she took over the Presley estate after his death and established the Graceland tourist attraction we know today. According to Elvis, it was manager Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks) who was to thank for this.
Elordi is in for a Herculean task in following up Butler's phenomenal and universally lauded performance as Elvis. Best known for playing high schoolers in Euphoria and The Kissing Booth, it will be a change of pace for Elordi.
For Coppola, meanwhile, this should be well within her comfort zone. The writer-director is known for films that explore the personal and often troubled lives of women, as well as relationship issues and infidelity, such as The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and On the Rocks.
The untitled Priscilla Presley biopic is set to begin filming this fall.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter