Earlier than there was Priscilla, Cailee Spaeny revealed that her first collaboration with Sofia Coppola was an ultimately scrapped model of The Little Mermaid.
“My first-ever callback was by way of Sofia,” the Alien: Romulus star informed Empire. “It was for [Coppola’s] The Little Mermaid, [which] ended up not getting made. I despatched this bizarre self-tape, enjoying 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 figuring out,” Spaeny recalled. “I used to be crushed, as a result of Sofia is the director that I zeroed in on as a younger teenage lady, particularly residing within the Bible Belt. There’s one thing so liberating [in her work] and one thing that wasn’t actually talked about for younger ladies the place I grew up. She took younger ladies critically. It actually spoke to me on a private stage.”
Nevertheless it was by way of 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 fulfill me in New York. We had espresso, after which she pulled out her iPad and began displaying me photographs of Priscilla Presley,” Spaeny stated.
Spaeny, who shall be within the second season of Netflix’s Beef, was filming Civil Warfare alongside frequent Coppola collaborator Dunst on the time she acquired the decision.
“I believe [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 tip of filming Civil Warfare, I came upon that I acquired the function of Priscilla.”
In reality, Dunst gave her some tips about methods to acclimate to a set run by Coppola, after having endured the ugly, dystopian world of Civil Warfare: “We’d simply completed this extremely intense struggle 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 the very best time and Sofia goes to be enjoying music and also you’re going to be unhappy within the bathtub.’ And all these issues had been proper!”
In 2014, Coppola was creating 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 way of when a studio govt questioned how the movie would enchantment to older males: “Sure, there was [a breaking point]. I used to be in a boardroom and a few growth 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 component.”
