Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” is the second main biopic that the auteur has tackled. While her 2006 interval piece “Marie Antoinette” was a flop at the box office, it has been reappraised over time and is now considered by many as certainly one of her greatest works. So it’s not shocking that when it as time to search out an actress to play Priscilla Presley, she turned to “Marie Antoinette” star Kirsten Dunst for recommendation.
Coppola previously revealed that she determined to solid Cailee Spaeny within the function after Dunst, who labored with Spaeny on Alex Garland’s upcoming “Civil War,” instructed it. “Kirsten is like a sister to me, and when she recommended Cailee, I paid attention,” Coppola mentioned.
Speaking to IndieWire on the pink carpet of the film‘s North American premiere on the New York Film Festival, Cailee shared extra particulars about her relationship with Dunst. She confirmed that the “Marie Antoinette” star helped persuade Coppola to solid her in “Priscilla,” and mentioned that they bonded over starring in Coppola biopics at related ages.
“Kirsten’s amazing,” Spaeny mentioned. “She definitely put in a good word for me, which I don’t think hurt during the casting process. She also filmed ‘Marie Antoinette’ when she was 23 and I did ‘Priscilla’ when I was 24. So it was sort of two words colliding, very full circle. It was a really incredible way to get this role.”
Many critics have drawn parallels between “Priscilla” and “Marie Antoinette,” whereas additionally noting the important thing areas the place the movies differ from one another.
“Comparisons to the more opulent and electrifying ‘Marie Antoinette’ are inevitable, as both movies are about teenage girls who are trying to appease their kings,” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote in his Venice review of the movie. “But from a certain perspective, ‘Priscilla’ is also the polar opposite of Coppola’s 2006 masterpiece. While Marie Antoinette was forced to Versailles against her will, Priscilla Presley’s ultimate dream was — like many girls her age in 1963 — to live in Graceland as Elvis’ wife. And while Marie Antoinette spent the brunt of her short life struggling to reconcile a sense of personal identity with the one conferred upon her by the royal palace, Priscilla Presley, who’s still alive today (and an executive producer on this film), spent the brunt of her short marriage realizing that she didn’t have to.”
