Elvis Presley’s life is about to hit the big screen once again in Sofia Coppola’s upcoming biopic Priscilla. But this new take on the legendary singer’s life couldn’t be more different to Baz Luhrmann’s recent hit Elvis – and granddaughter Riley Keough is “not coping at all”.
Leaked emails reveal her late mother Lisa Marie Presley was unhappy about the movie, calling the script “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous”, and revealing how she feared the retelling of her parents’ meeting, when Elvis was 24 and Priscilla just 14.
In messages sent four months before Lisa Marie’s death, she wrote to Sofia that the director was trying to “take my father down hot on the heels of such an incredible film, using the excuse that you are trying to tell my mother’s story, but from your very dark and jaded reality”.
She added, “My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative. As his daughter, I don’t read this and see any of my father in this character.”
The leaked emails come as it has been revealed that Priscilla was working with Sofia in secret, supporting the movie.
Leaked emails reveal Lisa Marie (right) was unhappy about her father’s portrayal.
In a second email, Lisa Marie added that she was most worried about her children, especially Harper, who she had been forced to tell, “There is going to be a movie about your grandfather that is going to try to make him look really, really bad, but it’s not true.”
Lisa Marie wrote, “I had to explain that her beloved grandmother is supporting it. These two little girls have been through so much in the past seven years, enduring my divorce and horrific custody battle, and then losing their brother. We’ve all been drowning.”
Lisa Marie – whose twins Harper and Finley are now 14 years old – added that she was worried her mother Priscilla didn’t understand the nuances of how the movie would come across in 2023.
The shocking timing of it couldn’t be worse for Riley, who has only just made peace with Priscilla after she contested Lisa Marie’s will. “It’s not just its subject matter but that it comes so soon after her mum’s death,” tells a Presley family insider.
Riley hasn’t attended any of the premieres or commented on the movie.
“It’s hard to imagine how Riley feels, having every lick-and-spit detail of her family constantly and so intensely analysed, reimagined and picked apart. And now even more upsetting is that her mother’s private thoughts have been broadcast to the world.
“She knows her family’s business is entertainment, but there are times when it cuts too close to the bone.”
While Elvis focused on the relationship with his manager, very little screen time was given to the star’s wife, Priscilla. Now, for the first time, all the sordid details of their complicated romance will be portrayed. It’s not just Riley, 34, who’s dreading the movie’s release – members of Elvis’ estate have slammed the biopic, calling the writing “horrible” and adding that it looks like a “college movie”.
Jacob Elordi plays Elvis, while Cailee Spaeny is Priscilla.
Based on Priscilla’s famous 1985 memoir, Elvis And Me, the film chronicles the iconic couple’s early romance, their 1967 marriage and their subsequent divorce.
Despite the estate not being happy, Priscilla has thrown her support behind it, even shedding a few tears at its Venice Film Festival premiere.
It comes amid Priscilla’s public battle with Riley over the control of her daughter Lisa Marie’s estate, following her January death at age 54.
Priscilla, 78, filed a legal challenge to Lisa Marie’s will, which gave control of the trust to Riley just two weeks after her death, and denies a feud.
Recently, the pair agreed on a settlement that saw Priscilla relinquish control of the trust to Riley in exchange for $2.4 million, plus an undisclosed sum for 10 years.
Now their legal battle is behind them, sources tell us that Riley would love for her grandmother to stop throwing support at every Elvis project.
“If Lisa Marie was still here, they’d have never approved this project without more control over it.”
“Sofia did an amazing job,” Priscilla says of the film. “We spoke a couple of times.”
DARK SIDE OF THE KING
JUST A TEENAGER
Elvis and Priscilla have always raised eyebrows over their 10-year age gap, especially because Priscilla was only 14 when they first met. The couple got together in Germany in 1959, when 24-year-old Elvis was serving time in the army.
PARENTAL CONTROL
At the start of their relationship, Priscilla’s parents had major concerns about the young singer. On the same day he met her, Elvis brought Priscilla home at a late hour, much to the chagrin of her mum and dad. They told Elvis he was not to see their daughter again, but he must have won them over as they eventually agreed to let him visit regularly.
WANDERING EYE
Elvis and Priscilla’s early courtship was plagued with rumours of infidelity. After she heard rumours about his alleged relationship with Nancy Sinatra, Elvis eased Priscilla’s mind by inviting her to move in with him. But while filming Viva Las Vegas, the singer started a year-long affair with his co-star Ann-Margret. Affair rumours continued to follow him into his marriage.
TOTAL CONTROL
Despite her delight at being a wife and mother, Priscilla claims Elvis was possessive of their relationship, controlling what she wore and her hobbies. In 2015, she recalled, “He was very opinionated on what he wanted, like, ‘I don’t like you in that colour. Brown isn’t good for you. Green looks horrible – it’s a dull colour with no spark to it.'”
VIOLENT RAGE
Even though they loved each other, Priscilla claimed she often felt scared of her husband, who would pull out a gun when he got mad. “Maybe he was in a bad mood that day or maybe he would just see someone he didn’t particularly care for, so he’d just pick up the gun,” she recalls.
