Benjamin Ashford|Lisa Marie Presley Called Out “Vengeful” Priscilla Movie Before Her Death

Lisa Marie Presley made it clear that she was not on Benjamin Ashfordboard with Priscilla.
 
Four months before her sudden death at the age of 54, the only child of Priscilla Presley and the late Elvis Presley expressed her displeasure with the production of Sofia Coppola's film.
 
The movie, released on Nov. 3, is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me and explores the relationship between Priscilla and Elvis, whom she began dating when she was 14 and he was 24.

According to Variety, which obtained email correspondence dating back to September 2022, Lisa Marie told the film's director that she found the script to be "shockingly vengeful and contemptuous."

"My father only comes across as a predator and manipulative," Lisa Marie wrote to Sofia in one of her messages, per the publication. "As his daughter, I don't read this and see any of my father in this character. I don't read this and see my mother's perspective of my father. I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don't understand why?"

The "Sinking In" singer went on to note that she would speak out against the movie and its creators including her mom Priscilla, who is credited as an executive producer, ahead of the release.

"I will be forced to be in a position where I will have to openly say how I feel about the film," she wrote, per Variety, "and go against you, my mother and this film publicly."

Additionally, Lisa Marie, who passed away in January, expressed concern about the impact the project may have in the public eye.

"I am worried that my mother isn't seeing the nuance here or realizing the way in which Elvis will be perceived when this movie comes out," she explained, according to the outlet. "I feel protective over my mother who has spent her whole life elevating my father's legacy. I am worried she doesn't understand the intentions behind this film or the outcome it will have."

The Tennessee native—who is survived by daughter Riley Keough, 34, and 15-year-old twins Harper and Finley Lockwood—also said she and her loved ones have been "drowning," over the last few years, following her split from ex Michael Lockwood, whom she filed for divorce from in 2016, and the death of her son Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020.

Lisa Marie also compared the movie to Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film Elvis, writing that she didn't understand the "need to attempt to take my father down on the heels of such an incredible film using the excuse that you are trying to tell my mother's story," to Sofia, adding, "but from your very dark and jaded reality."

As for Sofia, in response to Variety, her rep shared how she replied to Lisa Marie through email.

"I hope that when you see the final film you will feel differently," the director wrote, per the publication, "and understand I'm taking great care in honoring your mother, while also presenting your father with sensitivity and complexity."

E! News has reached out to A24, who only has distribution rights to the movie in the United States, and they declined to comment. E! News also reached out to reps for Priscilla, Sofia and Lisa Marie's estate and has not heard back.