Her debut feature-length was inspired by Jeffrey Eugenides’ 1993 novel, ‘The Virgin Suicides’ (Several writers have noted the similarities between ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and the 1945 play ‘’The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca), Coppola’s 2017 film, ‘The Beguiling’, is also based off a book, a piece of the same name written by Thomas P. Cullinan which was released in 1966.

These examples show just how intrinsically linked cinema and literature are, especially in the universe that Coppola has created.  Based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley, Coppola’s  new film Priscilla, recounts the tale of how young Priscilla Beaulieu met rock-and-roll superstar Elvis Presley, and how their relationship became the stuff of legend.  During the Los Angeles conversation, Coppola spoke about how the relatability of Presley’s book moved her to make the film. Coppola’s other directorial credits include the feature films ‘On the Rocks’, ‘The Virgin Suicides’, ‘Marie Antoinette’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘The Bling Ring’, ‘La Traviata’ and ‘The Beguiled’. Sofia Coppola writes and directs the film, focusing on the details of Priscilla's memoirs. The director reunites with her usual collaborators, such as director of photography Philippe Le Sourd, costume designer Stacey Battat, editor Sarah Flack and artistic director Tamara Deverell.  The film stars Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Beaulieu Presley and Jacob Elordi as Elvis.

Q: Why did you decide to make this movie?

A: When I read ‘Elvis and Me’, I was just kind of reading it for fun. Then I was really touched by her story and how relatable it was. I didn't think I had anything in common with her experience, but she talks about being a new kid at school or your first kiss or going into a guy's bedroom for the first time or becoming a mother.  I could connect with these universal themes, but in this really crazy setting of Elvis’ Memphis Graceland. The book for me was a fun vacation read. I remember taking it on several trips and my daughter Cosi saying, ‘Are you still reading that book? I could see how Priscilla’s book could be a movie: When you’re reading it, you feel like you’re part of her experiences. For instance, she describes going into Elvis’s bedroom for the first time, and how big the bed was and how she thought about all the women who had been there before. I remember thinking, It’s intimidating enough to be in a normal guy’s room for the first time, and then imagine that guy is Elvis!

Q: What were the challenges that you faced in shooting the movie?

A: We re-built Graceland in Toronto on a stage and I've never shot all on a stage. It was really scrappy, we shot in Toronto in 30 days, and we had to fit so much of her life and so much into that time. But it was great. We had the Germany house right next to the Graceland living room and bedroom. We would just hop back and forth. When Priscilla caught the attention of Elvis Presley, he was 24 years old and she was 14. The couple married in 1967, had a daughter named Lisa Marie and finally separated in 1972. This is a story about Priscilla and how she became who she is. The most difficult thing about the project was the editing moments of the couple that I liked. I think all of Priscilla's memories are important. If there was something that attracted me to telling this story, it was imagining what it must have been like for her to grow up in Elvis's world. The film is told through her eyes.

Q: Were you aware of the Priscilla Presley story? Her story has many universal themes?

A: I have the same feeling with the book that you had with the film and I appreciate what you are saying. I read it a few years ago and though it was a fun juicy read and then I was stuck with how relatable and I never thought that I could have anything in common with Priscilla Presley and the setting is very unique the themes are universal and what she has to go through to growing up in such a very interesting way. That really touched me. I have the bad habit, when I read books, to think how I would do this film. It reminded me of ‘Maria Antoinette’.

Q: You seem to read a lot and you have done many movies based on books. Is there a Spanish author that you have read for inspiration?

A: I read Lorca, ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’ as someone told me that is relatable to ‘The Virgin Suicides’. After reading it I just remember everything being epic and important and with a lot of feelings. It did heightened my senses.

Q: Do you speak Spanish?

A: On a very basic level. To travel around

Q: Why do you like to feel compelled to make movies about teenage girls?

A: Because they aren’t appreciated and because they’re sensitive at that age. I felt like I didn’t see a lot of films with teenage girls that felt relatable or beautiful. I just feel like teenage girls deserve to have something beautiful and poetic. I went to high school in St. Helena, and I spent a lot of time sitting in my room. You have time to just think. And I’d talk on the phone and take photos and decorate the walls in my room and all that kind of stuff. I loved that when you’re in your room, you’re alone. But you can hear your family downstairs, so like there’s people around, but you’re on your own.

Q: Pricilla was a teenager when she got married to Elvis?

A: When I read her biography, I came across how she lived her teenage years at Graceland. She goes through all the things that all girls go through when they grow into women: her first kiss, being a mother but she did it in an environment that makes us all curious. For me, the most important thing about the relationship between Priscilla and Elvis was the love they felt for each other. The power of their love is the driving force of the story. And even to this day, even though he's not here, when you talk to Priscilla you can still feel that love. It is true, it is everlasting and beautiful.

Q: Why do you like to make independent films?

A:  I like to make small films that allow me to tell the story the way I want. A studio film requires spending a lot of time in the kitchen with other cooks, in meetings, without the same freedom. I'm not saying I'll never do it, but I'm not interested.

Q: The lighting, the aesthetics, the music, your feminine perspective are, in short, a different vision from a very famous story. The world needs more movies made by women?

A: Only four percent of studio films are made by women. That's the statistic. I think it is important to repeat that we need the opinion of women artists. We, actresses, as women, must support the filmmakers. That is the great truth. Many say that things have changed, but no. Listen to my statistics.

Q: As in previous titles, ‘Somewhere’, ‘Lost in Translation’ or ‘Marie Antoinette’, you turn to the mirrors of contemporary culture to present a story that confronts youth with other stages of life.

A: When life becomes constricted it is possible to find an unhealthy environment. My intention is to show a woman in a house where she has to grow up.

María Estévez

Correspondent writer