For her upcoming film Priscilla, writer-director Sofia Coppola was working with a pinched budget, meaning she had to get creative if she wanted more money for the film. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Coppola shared she considered capitalizing on the rise of pickleball by raffling off a game with one of Priscilla’s stars, Jacob Elordi.
“Our budget was always strained, low budget, and I was like, ‘I wonder if I could raffle off a pickleball game with Jacob to raise money to get one more day of shooting,'” Coppola said. “We didn’t, but he was a good sport. He indulged me, even though he’s not an enthusiast. I think he associates it with, like, Malibu moms.”
Coppola acknowledged that Elordi can “play pickleball” and listened to the idea “even though he’s not an enthusiast.” However, Coppola finished the film without sending Elordi on a pickleball date.
What to Expect in Priscilla?
“When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a gentle best friend,” the official synopsis reads. “Through Priscilla’s eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla’s long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.”
Cailee Spaeny stars as Priscilla Presley, with Elordi playing her rockstar husband, Elvis Presley. The cast also features Dagmara Domińczyk as Ann Beaulieu, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll as Alan “Hog Ears,” Luke Humphrey as Terry West, Dan Beirne as Joe Esposito, and Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell as Lisa Marie Presley.
Priscilla is written and directed by Coppola based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon. Priscilla will be released by A24 in theaters on November 3, 2023.
