Why Priscilla Presley Trusted Sofia Coppola to Tell Her Story in 'Priscilla' | THR Video - video Dailymotion

The Hollywood Reporter

Priscilla Presley and Director Sofia Coppola sit down with THR and discuss creating the A24 film Priscilla, where audiences will get a rare look at her and Elvis Presley's story from Priscilla's point of view.

Transcript

00:00 And I never discussed it.

00:02 - You never told a girlfriend, like,

00:03 "Oh my God, I met Elvis."

00:05 Can you imagine keeping that to yourself?

00:07 - No, no.

00:08 - Such an unbelievable story.

00:09 (upbeat music)

00:12 Hi, I'm Sophia Copeland.

00:13 - Hi, and I'm Priscilla Presley.

00:15 - And we're here talking with The Hollywood Reporter.

00:17 (upbeat music)

00:20 When I read Priscilla's book,

00:24 I was really struck by,

00:26 it's this, you know, this world that seems so exotic,

00:31 growing up at Graceland with Elvis,

00:33 but then she wrote it in such a way

00:35 that was really relatable,

00:36 and with, you know, her sensitivity and struggles

00:40 and what it was really like.

00:41 So I just thought it was so interesting

00:42 to have her perspective on this unique setting,

00:46 but it was so relatable,

00:47 and that she goes through things

00:48 that all young women go through.

00:50 - You called and told me what you wanted to do,

00:52 and of course I was never gonna say no,

00:55 because I admire her and her family, I think, too.

00:58 I can relate to,

00:59 and I felt that she, because of her father

01:02 and your whole family, actually,

01:04 so talented and knows, you know,

01:06 knows how to tell a story.

01:08 - Thank you.

01:09 I just remember as a young woman starting making films

01:12 that I didn't always see how I felt teenage girls

01:15 were represented in a way that was relatable,

01:17 and I always felt like the actors were much older,

01:20 and when I read the book "Aversion Suicides,"

01:23 I really felt that I wanted to make that film

01:26 and kind of show an interior life of teenage girls

01:29 in a way that I felt was relatable.

01:31 So I guess that was something

01:32 that I just felt like I didn't see very often

01:34 and wanted to express.

01:36 And yeah, I've always been interested in these stories

01:39 and connected with that side,

01:41 and I think it's always interesting

01:43 how life throws such situations you would never see at you,

01:47 and then how it helps shape who you are

01:51 and how you deal with them.

01:53 - What about boys at school?

01:54 Must be some handsome ones.

01:56 - You look back and you go, "Why me?

02:00 "You know, why am I here?

02:01 "Why am I driving, you know, in a limo

02:06 "going through the gates of Graceland

02:09 "and being with Elvis?"

02:12 I think, you know, he had a lot of trust in me.

02:15 He confided a lot of things to me when we were in Germany.

02:20 His fears, his loves, his concerns about his father.

02:25 He just trusted me,

02:28 and I never ever said anything to anyone.

02:32 I never exposed him in any way

02:34 that I would even share with anyone.

02:38 I think how that started was I never told anyone in Germany

02:43 when I went back to school that I was seeing him.

02:46 They didn't know until when he left Germany

02:49 and I was in the press did they know?

02:52 And I never discussed it.

02:54 - You never told a girlfriend, like,

02:55 "Oh my God, I met Elvis."

02:58 Can you imagine keeping that to yourself?

03:00 - No, I didn't, I didn't.

03:02 I would never, you know.

03:03 - That was your first kiss?

03:04 Like, I mean, like all those things that you tell.

03:05 - No, I didn't, no.

03:07 - That's so wild, and it's so hard to believe.

03:09 It's such an unbelievable story.

03:10 I just remember the detail of, like,

03:12 you putting on your eyelashes as you're going into labor,

03:15 and imagine, like, trying to wake up Elvis in the morning

03:17 'cause he never woke up before 4 p.m.

03:19 And just, I think all the details of the reality

03:21 of her life is so fun to know about,

03:25 and also kind of really puts you in the story

03:28 through her eyes.

03:30 - I have to say, when I saw the movie,

03:34 I was truly engrossed in it,

03:37 and tried to separate myself from, you know,

03:42 that it's my story.

03:44 At the end, I actually, I was quite emotional.

03:48 It was done just so really sensitively,

03:53 with a lot of care, and I had tears in my eyes, for sure.

03:58 (upbeat music)

04:01 (upbeat music)

Why Priscilla Presley Trusted Sofia Coppola to Tell Her Story in 'Priscilla' | THR Video

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