PRISCILLA (2023): Jacob Elordi Almost Played Pickleball On Set to Add More Funds to Sofia Coppola’s Film’s Budget

Jacob Elordi Almost Played Pickleball to Add Cash to Film’s Budget

Sofia Coppola has teased that Priscilla star, Jacob Elordi, almost played pickleball to try to add money to the film’s budget.

Priscilla may be going into Oscar season as a major contender for nominations but the film didn’t have the highest possible budget. In fact, Sofia Coppola toyed with the idea of raffling off her movie’s Elvis star, Jacob Elordi, playing pickleball for extra cash. This didn’t happen but the budgetary restraints of making Priscilla certainly seem to have been overcome by the quality of the finished product.

Opening on November 3rd, Priscilla has become one of the films to beat for major awards considerations in several categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. Despite Coppola’s prestigious career, her budget for the new upcoming picture was not huge at all. Quite the opposite. A conservatively budgeted passion project for Coppola, she could have used more cash to tell her very personal story of Priscilla Presley.

Kirsten Dunst, star of Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, brought the pickleball playing Elordi’s co-star Spaeny’s acting talents into full view for Coppola to see. Spaeny is now being considered for a coveted Best Actress Oscar nomination in the title role of Coppola’s new movie. Dunst worked with Spaeny in another forthcoming film from A24 called Civil War. Dunst also appeared in other Sofia Coppola movies such as The Virgin Suicides and The Beguiled.

Whether Elordi got to play pickleball on set for extra cash for another day of filming or not, Priscilla is certainly going to be Oscar nomination bound. Critics have scored the movie sky high and Spaeny has hopefully started clearing off her mantelpiece for what is likely to be a number of awards she will be receiving. Spaeny already scored the Best Actress award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Elordi has also received solid reviews for his work playing Elvis Presley. Without the use of some key Elvis songs in the picture, though, the actor receiving a nomination is still a long shot at this particular time. If Priscilla performs strongly with audiences and voting branches who see the movie, the door may open up to a Best Actor nod for Elordi later on in the game. If he doesn’t get the nod, maybe he can still get invited to play pickleball on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony next year.

In any event, Sofia Coppola should get her much earned second Best Director Oscar nomination for Priscilla. The fact that the film’s budget was so low is a testament to the director’s ability to put her unique talents into quality projects rather than selling out in order to make big budget mainstream blockbusters.

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