Director of the 2022 biopic Elvis, Baz Luhrmann, pays tribute to Lisa Marie Presley after learning of her unexpected passing. Lisa Marie, the sole offspring of the iconic performer Elvis Presley, launched a successful music career of her own, releasing three albums between 2003 and 2012. As the head of the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, she was renowned for her charitable endeavours. Priscilla Presley, the singer’s mother, said on January 12 that the 54-year-old had died from a heart arrest.
Baz Luhrmann paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley’s legacy and the time they spent together on Instagram after learning of her unexpected demise. The director of Elvis expresses his appreciation for Presley’s support of the movie, which she did by attending the Golden Globe Awards just two days before it was revealed that she had passed away. He caption his post saying, “Over the last year, the entire Elvis movie family and I have felt the privilege of Lisa Marie’s kind embrace. 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.“
Luhrmann’s heartfelt message follows his gradual bonding with the Presley family, with whom he spent hours before filming the acclaimed movie Elvis, which charts the great rock and roll singer’s unimaginable ascent to prominence. The Presleys’ outpouring of love for Elvis has been singular and overwhelming, in contrast to the many musical biopics in recent years that have received harsh criticism from their subjects’ actual family and friends. Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, and Riley Keough granted Baz Luhrmann exclusive access to Elvis Presley’s Memphis estate Graceland, and they have since praised lead actor Austin Butler’s electrifying performance in the title role and Luhrmann’s emotionally stirring portrayal of the real person behind the King of rock.
In the wake of Lisa Marie Presley’s passing, other celebrities have used social media to pay tribute to the late artist and philanthropist, so Luhrmann is not alone in his grief. Dolly Parton posted a message of peace and her wish for the late singer to be with her father on Instagram, and pop diva Pink paid tribute to Presley’s “kind, generous, judgmental but always right, devoted” character. Presley and actor Corey Feldman became close friends during her 1996 divorce from Michael Jackson, and Feldman said he is mourning the loss of that friendship. Presley’s ex-husband, actor Nicolas Cage, said he is “heartbroken” after learning of her passing.