‘Priscilla’ Star Cailee Spaeny Said It Got ‘Too Overwhelming’ to Speak to Priscilla Presley While Filming

In 2023, actor Cailee Spaeny will portray Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla. To prepare for the role, Spaeny spent time with Priscilla herself. Coppola based the film on her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, so she played an active role in the filmmaking process. Spaeny said she had to stop speaking to Priscilla once she actually began shooting the film, though. She shared why she thought this was for the best.

Cailee Spaeny shared why she didn’t speak to Priscilla Presley while filming

Coppola consulted Priscilla while she worked on the script. The film’s subject had much to say about the screenplay, and Coppola tried to take her opinions into consideration. Still, she had a specific vision for the film.

“She was open and complimentary of my work, but she was a bit tentative,” Coppola told W Magazine. “I sent Priscilla the script, and she went through it page by page and gave me specific details, like ‘I didn’t have a teddy bear on my bed.’ But, in the end, I did reinvent some things, like Elvis’s bedroom. I wanted him to have a man cave — very dark and mysterious.”

Spaeny also spoke with Priscilla, finding her guidance insightful and necessary. 

“[The role] was very daunting, but I got very lucky to have some time with Priscilla and she was very generous with her time,” she said, per People. “She was very kind to me and supportive and I think if I didn’t have that, I would have had a much harder time. That was my main source and obviously the book, but I got really lucky that the person I was playing was also very supportive.”

Still, the film was Coppola’s, and Spaeny wanted to stay true to her director’s vision. As a result, she stopped speaking to Priscilla once she started filming.

“We had many phone calls, but once I started filming, I stopped speaking to Priscilla because it became too overwhelming,” Spaeny said. “In the end, it had to be Sofia’s vision.”

Cailee Spaeny shared what it was like to watch ‘Priscilla’ with Priscilla Presley

While there are some differences between Coppola’s film and Priscilla’s actual life, the latter is happy with the film. She wiped away tears as the audience at the Venice Film Festival applauded the movie. She also told an overwhelmed and grateful Spaeny that she loved her performance.

“I think the thing that was most touching to me, also terrifying [was] to be watching the movie with Priscilla Presley right next to me,” Spaeny said. “But at the end, I think she felt really moved by it. She looked at me and she said, ‘That was a great performance,’ and that was the first time hearing that, which was — it’s just been absolutely surreal.”

When does Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ come to theaters?

Coppola’s Priscilla will hit theaters one year after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a seven-minute standing ovation. This fall, audiences worldwide will have the chance to see Priscilla in theaters.

On Oct. 27, 2023, Priscilla will be released at a limited number of theaters. The film will be widely released one week later, on Nov. 3, 2023.