From a German army base to Graceland, the true story of “PRISCILLA” is one of love, fantasy and fame.
On October 7th, the 42nd Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) held the Canadian premiere of “PRISCILLA” as a special presentation which I had the opportunity and pleasure of watching at the Vancouver Playhouse.
This is the third worldwide screening of this film, based on the 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me” written by Priscilla Presley. Presley served as Executive Producer on this biographical drama (set for release in November) which is written, directed and co-produced by Sofia Coppola. In my opinion, Coppola’s best work since 2003’s “LOST IN TRANSLATION.”
This film premiered last month at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it received a seven-minute long standing ovation, and later screened as the Centerpiece Selection of the 2023 New York Film Festival on October 6th. Last night, October 7th, was the Canadian Premiere right here in Vancouver.
Some people cannot seem to get enough of Elvis even to this day; but this movie is all about Priscilla from her POV told through the lens from her first meeting with the superstar as a 14-year- old innocent girl while he was stationed at an army base in Germany, through a long courtship, to moving into Graceland with him at 17, a turbulent marriage (depicting news stories of alleged affairs with Elvis and stars like Nancy Sinatra & Ann-Margret), a baby, then divorce.
Many people think that they already know the story, but you will never know it quite so well as the eye opening way it’s told in this movie. Coppola did a wonderful job of portraying a coming-of-age true life docudrama. No wonder she got such a long standing ovation. There was one last night too but I didn’t count the minutes.
Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis did an amazingly convincing job of playing these iconic characters. The script was fluid and the story was both provocative and compelling. I would recommend this movie, especially if you love real life stories.
Side note:
I toured Graceland with my late husband when we were passing through Memphis about 20 years ago. There were very few people there at that time.
I spent a very enjoyable evening at a private party in Montreal with Priscilla’s after Elvis boyfriend Mike Stone (he was in town training another famous entertainer). There’s a scene in the movie with someone portraying him. I was not even 20 at the time, and Mike was a gentleman to make sure I got home okay.
If you want to know the backstory: Stone met Elvis and Priscilla Presley in 1968 at the Mainland vs. Hawaii Karate Championships promoted by Elvis’ longtime karate instructor Ed Parker. Stone had a young child and a pregnant wife, and working as a bodyguard for record producer Phil Spector.
After the show, Elvis invited Stone back to the couple’s penthouse suite where Elvis suggested that Priscilla train with Stone. Three weeks later Priscilla made the 45-minute drive to Stone’s school in Huntington Beach. Because of the distance Priscilla opted to train with Chuck Norris who had a school in West Los Angeles, which was closer to the Presley home. Stone would make occasional trips to Norris’s school to train Priscilla. The relationship soon turned romantic, contributing to Elvis and Priscilla’s split in February 1972 and divorce in 1973. Stone and Priscilla would eventually split up because he sold a story to the Globe tabloid entitled “How I Stole Elvis Presley’s Wife From Him“. Priscilla said she split with Stone then, “because he went to the press”.
Stone revealed in a 2020 podcast interview that he dated actress Michelle Pfeiffer when she took karate lessons from him to prepare for her role on the short-lived TV series B.A.D. Cats (1980).
While there were some scenes from Palm Springs, California; principal photography and filming took place in Toronto, Ontario – two places I’ve lived.
Filming Trivia:
The entity which owns the rights to Elvis’ music declined to give permission for any of his songs to be used in the film, so Coppola looked for creative alternatives in compiling the soundtrack, including the use of contemporary music by her husband Thomas Mars and his band Phoenix, in addition to cover versions of songs from the era in which the film is set.
According to an interview with The Guardian in March 2023, Sofia Coppola had to cut a week’s worth of scenes from the script after some of the film’s financing dropped out shortly before shooting was due to begin.
Trailer:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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