Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla comes just a year after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis – but tells a very different story
A year after the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Sofia Coppola is telling Presley’s side of her story with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
A 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu first met 24-year-old Elvis at a party in West Germany in 1959.
She was in school but Elvis had already become a superstar and was stationed in Germany for his military service.
Adapted from Priscilla’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the film showcases the unseen story of their relationship.
Sofia Coppola met with Priscilla – who is credited as an executive producer for the film – at her home to speak about her life with her ex-husband.
“All the details really kind of suck you in,” Coppola said but added that bringing a film based on real events to the screen has certain challenges.
“Because the story is so personal, I don’t want to pry too much, but I have to ask personal questions. So it’s always a balance of trying to respect her privacy and kind of go by her guide.”
Priscilla stars Cailee Spaeny and Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi. Spaeny has already been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.
Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Pic: Sabrina Lantos
The 25-year-old actress says she grew up going to Graceland – the home of Elvis – so meeting Priscilla was “magic” but there was pressure taking on a role based on her life.
“There’s a moral component to it and before anything, before the movie itself, you want to make sure they [Priscilla and her family] feel safe and that we’re representing them and their life and their journey,” she said.
“It was really something that I’ll take with me forever.”
Spaeny watched the film for the first time alongside Priscilla at the Venice Film Festival – describing the moment as “terrifying but rewarding”.
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Cailee Spaeny on portraying Priscilla
The actress won the Volpi Cup for best actress at the festival and says Priscilla “was really moved and was really happy with how the film turned out”.
The film had faced some criticism from Priscilla and Elvis’s daughter Lisa-Marie before her death in January 2023.
Variety reported that Lisa-Marie had written to Sofia Coppola about the film complaining that the script made her father out to be “a predator and manipulative”.
Pic: Philippe Le Sourd
Coppola told Presley that her father is depicted with “sensitivity and complexity”.
Priscilla had a relatively low budget of $20m (£15.7m) – a fraction of the $85m (£66m) budget for Luhrmann‘s Elvis.
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Coppola says there’s so much love for independent films but they’re “fragile and they need all the support that we can give them”.
“There’s algorithms and companies, and you know, it’s safer to do stories we’ve already seen. And so I think films that have new perspectives and are unique stories need all the support,” she said.
Priscilla is in cinemas on 1 January.
Entertainment
Gregg Wallace: Over half of allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact
An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.
MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.
The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.
The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.
There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.
While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.
One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.
Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.
Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.
The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.
Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.
While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.
Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.
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