Lisa Marie Presley Pleaded With Sofia Coppola Not to Depict Elvis as a ‘Manipulative Predator’ in ‘Priscilla’

As Priscilla Presley prepares to bring her life's story to the big screen with director Sofia Coppola, her late daughter Lisa Marie's concerns about the film have come to light.

Before she died at age 54 in January, Lisa Marie reportedly sent emails to Coppola that were obtained by Variety, in which she urged the Academy Award winner not to further strain her relationship with her mother with the "shockingly vengeful and contemptuous" script for Priscilla.

"My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative," she wrote in an email sent in September 2022. "As his daughter, I don't read this and see any of my father in this character. I don't read this and see my mother's perspective of my father. I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don't understand why?"

In the emails, Lisa Marie threatened to "go against you, my mother and this film publicly," to which Coppola responded: "I hope that when you see the final film you will feel differently, and understand I’m taking great care in honoring your mother, while also presenting your father with sensitivity and complexity."

Based on Priscilla's 1985 memoir Elvis and Me (co-authored with Sandra Harmon), Priscilla tells the story of the eponymous woman behind the man, who was just 14 when the 24-year-old rock star began courting her. The pair was married from 1967 to 1973, before Elvis' untimely death in 1977. Lisa Marie was their only child.

"I am worried that my mother isn't seeing the nuance here or realizing the way in which Elvis will be perceived when this movie comes out," wrote Lisa Marie. "I feel protective over my mother who has spent her whole life elevating my father's legacy. I am worried she doesn’t understand the intentions behind this film or the outcome it will have."

Noting that her family had "been through so much" in past years with the 2020 death of her son Benjamin Keough, as well as her 2021 divorce from Michael Lockwood and ensuing custody battle, Lisa Marie appealed to Coppola: "We've all been drowning."

Coppola, per the report, responded with her "hope" that Lisa Marie's opinion would change once she saw the film: “I hope that when you see the final film you will feel differently, and understand I’m taking great care in honoring your mother, while also presenting your father with sensitivity and complexity."

Priscilla, who is credited as an executive producer on the film, previously opened up about her age difference with the late King of Rock and Roll.

"Even though I was 14, I was older in life than in years. And that was the attraction," she told The Hollywood Reporter in September. "People think 'Oh, it was sex, it was this.' Not at all. I never had sex with him. He was very kind, very soft, very loving. But he also respected the fact I was only 14 years old. We were more in mind and thought and that was our relationship."

Although officials connected to Elvis's estate reportedly slammed the film, and Elvis Presley Enterprises turned down Coppola's request to use his music, Priscilla has been supportive of the project.

"I am excited about the interpretation of my book by the masterful Sofia Coppola," wrote Priscilla on X (formerly Twitter) in June. "She has such an extraordinary perspective, and I have always been such an admirer of her work. I'm certain this movie will take everyone on an emotional journey."

Priscilla premieres Nov. 3 in theaters.