Earlier than there was Priscilla, Cailee Spaeny revealed that her first collaboration with Sofia Coppola was an finally scrapped model of The Little Mermaid.
“My first-ever callback was by Sofia,” the Alien: Romulus star instructed Empire. “It was for [Coppola’s] The Little Mermaid, [which] ended up not getting made. I despatched this bizarre self-tape, taking part in a mermaid with no dialogue.”
In true Coppola trend, Spaeny stated it was “very unusual and avant-garde.”
In 2017, Spaeny and Coppola crossed paths once more, when the actress auditioned for The Beguiled, a interval drama starring Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell and Elle Fanning.
“That didn’t find yourself understanding,” Spaeny recalled. “I used to be crushed, as a result of Sofia is the director that I zeroed in on as a younger teenage woman, particularly residing within the Bible Belt. There’s one thing so releasing [in her work] and one thing that wasn’t actually talked about for younger girls the place I grew up. She took younger ladies significantly. It actually spoke to me on a private degree.”
However it was by the earlier two experiences that Spaeny landed her breakout function as Priscilla Presley within the eponymous 2023 movie co-starring Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley.
“Then I acquired a name that [Coppola] wished to satisfy me in New York. We had espresso, after which she pulled out her iPad and began exhibiting me pictures of Priscilla Presley,” Spaeny stated.
Spaeny, who might be within the second season of Netflix’s Beef, was filming Civil Struggle alongside frequent Coppola collaborator Dunst on the time she acquired the decision.
“I feel [Dunst] was watching me to see what she considered me,” she stated. “I don’t know what she stated to Sofia, however she stated one thing, however then by the top of filming Civil Struggle, I discovered that I acquired the function of Priscilla.”
In reality, Dunst gave her some tips about the right way to acclimate to a set run by Coppola, after having endured the grotesque, dystopian world of Civil Struggle: “We’d simply performed this extremely intense warfare movie, with tons of explosions. It was very disorientating, and Kirsten was like, ‘[Priscilla] would be the reverse. It’s simply so relaxed and chill, and also you’re simply going to have one of the best time and Sofia goes to be taking part in music and also you’re going to be unhappy within the bathtub.’ And all these issues had been proper!”
In 2014, Coppola was growing a live-action Little Mermaid with Common and Working Title, with the challenge being based mostly on the “a lot darker” authentic fairy story, versus the light-hearted Disney model. The pic fell by when a studio govt questioned how the movie would attraction to older males: “Sure, there was [a breaking point]. I used to be in a boardroom and a few improvement man stated, ‘What’s gonna get the 35-year-old man within the viewers?’ Coppola later stated. “And I simply didn’t know what to say. I simply was not in my aspect.”
