Due to her father Elvis Presley’s “problematic” portrayal of Priscilla, Lisa Marie Presley expressed “concerns” about the character. She even accused Sofia Coppola, the director of the biography, of having “something against” the late rock icon in a few letters that she had sent her. She made the decision to email the director to voice her dissatisfaction with her plot. In a letter that Presley sent, Variety revealed: “My father only strikes me as manipulative and predatory. I don’t read this and see my father in this persona, even if I am his daughter. I see my mother’s perspective of my father without having read this. When I read this, your incredibly spiteful and disdainful viewpoint struck me, and I’m not sure why.
She then vowed to publicly criticize Coppola for the film if the director released it, portraying Elvis as a “manipulative” figure. “I’ll be compelled to put myself in a situation where I have to express my feelings about the movie honestly.” Coppola appeared to be a little dismissive in her response to Lisa’s email, declining to alter the film and expressing the hope that Presley would rethink his opinion of it. The filmmaker penned: “I hope that after watching the finished product, you will feel differently and realize that I’ve taken great care to honor your mother while also sensitively and nuancedly presenting your father.” Regretfully, Lisa Marie passed away this year before she could view the finished result, and we’ll never know if Coppola’s final edit allayed her worries about Elvis’ role in the film.
