Sofia Coppola said she is “totally behind the unions” in the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in the US, as she promoted her independent US title Priscilla at Venice Film Festival.
Speaking at the press conference for her competition film, writer-director Coppola said, ”I’m here as a director and producer to support independent film and my crew.”
”I’m totally behind the unions’ hard work to fight for fair compensation. I hope it’s resolved soon – there’s so many people, we all want to get back to work.”
Coppola is the latest high-profile name in Venice to comment on the strikes, following Adam Driver on Thursday, and David Fincher yesterday.
Priscilla Presley herself was present at the Venice press conference in the front row rather than on stage. Answering a question about what moved her most about the film, she said “the ending”.
She then teared up, adding: “Sofia did her homework. We spoke a couple of times, and I really put everything out for her that I could. It was very difficult for my parents to understand that Elvis would be so interested in me, and why I was more of a listener, Elvis would pour his heart out to me in every way: his fears, his hopes, the loss of his mother which he never got over. I was the person who really sat there to listen and comfort him.
”That was really our connection even though I was 14, I was a little bit older in life than in numbers. That was the attraction - people think it was sex, not at all. I never had sex with him. He was very kind, very soft, very loving. He also respected the fact that I was 14 years old.
”I never told anyone that I was seeing him; that was another issue he loved, that I never gave him up in any way. I didn’t leave because I didn’t love him; he was the love of my life. It was the lifestyle that was so difficult to me - I think any woman can relate to that. I made sure that he saw our daughter all the time. It was like we never left each other.”
Coppola also detailed her motivation for taking on the project, which she adapted with Sandra Harmon from Priscilla Presley’s book Elvis And Me.
“The setting was so unusual,” said Coppola. “She talks with detail about her first kiss, and becoming a mother – all these moments I can relate to, but in this very unusual setting.
“It’s a human story,” continued the director. “It sheds light on the ups and downs of a relationship. Her evolution as a girl into this world and leaving to find her own point of view. I looked to Priscilla to tell her story as she expressed it. I wanted to show both sides – the reality of the romance and the illusion.”
Coppola was joined by actors Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi and producers Lorenzo di Mieli and Youree Henley.
Playing the title role, US actress Spaeny joked that she had never done a press conference before. She agreed with Coppola on the themes of the film, saying, ”It was important to see all those milestones that all of us women can relate to, from her being a young girl to finding her voice and autonomy. Sofia did that.”
Taking on the daunting role of Elvis, Euphoria star Elordi said, ”The most impressive thing to me about the story is the scale of this love. Even though he’s not here, you can still feel the love – that to me is beautiful. When he says another time, maybe another place – I absolutely believe in that. I don’t think it has to be physically in front of you. It’s this tether that ties two people together.
Priscilla premieres in competition this evening (Monday, September 4) in Venice. The festival continues until Saturday, September 9.
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