Baz Luhrmann Remembers Lisa Marie Presley With A Touching Tribute On Instagram

In an Instagram message posted on January 13, Baz Luhrmann paid tribute to his friendship with Lisa Marie Presley. Using a picture of Presley sharing a laugh with Austin Butler during the "Elvis" media tour in 2022, Luhrmann wrote, "Over the last year, the entire Elvis movie family and I have felt the privilege of Lisa Marie's kind embrace." The director added, "Her sudden, shocking loss has devastated people all around the world. I know her fans everywhere join me in sharing prayers of love and support with her mother, Priscilla, and her wonderful daughters Riley, Finley, and Harper. Lisa Marie, we will miss your warmth, your smile, your love."

Presley was indeed quite supportive of "Elvis." It seems that Luhrmann's film worked its magic over her in a way that other Elvis-related films didn't. Perhaps the strength of Butler's performance helped gain her trust after its release, even though she wasn't involved with the film's production at all. Speaking during a post-screening Q&A posted in June of 2022, Presley admitted that she'd approached Luhrmann's take on the story with trepidation and was nervous to see the whole movie. She summed up her experience of watching biopics related to her father as a tense one. "In my life, it's been one disappointment after the other in terms of people portraying my father in various films," she admitted. She later described the efforts of the many actors who have tried to replicate her father's mannerisms with a tart southernism: "Bless their hearts."

But she said Butler's work proved to be the exception to the many performances she had witnessed before. "At this point, I tell you this with all my heart, and it's the only reason that I'm here: It's been done right."