Cailee Spaenyis rapidly emerging as a prominent figure in Hollywood. The actress came to the attention of many moviegoers thanks to her compelling portrayal of Priscilla Presley in the biopicPriscilla,and now she has another hit under her belt withAlien: Romulus, which hasgarnered critical acclaimand is crushing it at the box office. However, Spaeny’s journey to stardom has been anything but smooth. In a candid interview withEmpire, Spaeny revealed that her first ever callback came from none other thanSofia Coppola. However, it wasn’t for Priscilla, but for an adaptation ofThe Little Mermaid.
Having dreamed of starring in a big teen television show similar to Hannah Montana, Spaeny was wary of being typecast early in her career. But her fears were put to rest when Coppola, who envisioned the classic tale in her unique style, reached out to her. ToEmpire, Spaeny revealed:
“My first-ever callback was through Sofia. It was for [Coppola’s] The Little Mermaid, [which] ended up not getting made. I sent this weird self-tape, playing a mermaid with no dialogue. It was very strange and avant-garde.”
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots. While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
In 2017, Spaeny auditioned for Coppola’sThe Beguiled, which was a period drama starring industry veterans like Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell and Elle Fanning. When it “didn’t end up working out,” theCivil Waractress “was crushed” because she held immense admiration for Coppola’s vision as a director and her commitment to giving voice to young girls through her films.
“I was crushed, because Sofia is the director that I zeroed in on as a young teenage girl, especially living in the Bible Belt. There’s something so freeing [in her work] and something that wasn’t really talked about for young women where I grew up. She took young girls seriously. It really spoke to me on a personal level. Then I got a call that she wanted to meet me in New York. We had coffee, and then she pulled out her iPad and started showing me photos of Priscilla Presley.”
Coppola’s The Little Mermaid Was Eventually Scrapped
Sofia Coppola’s vision forThe Little Mermaid, in signature fashion, was to be a darker, more mature take on the beloved story. It would portray fantasy elements but also diverge from the traditional Disney narrative. Coppola, who was attached to Universal Pictures and Working Title at the time, toldIndieWirein an interview:
“It wasn’t the Disney version, it was actually the original fairy tale, which is much darker. I thought it would be fun to do a fairy tale, I’ve always loved fairy tales, so I was curious about doing that.”
Here’s Every Sofia Coppola Film, Ranked
The daughter of the great Francis Ford Coppola has become a masterful director in her own right, with a catalog of beautiful films over 25 years.
However,the project faced numerous challenges, including creative differences and budget constraints, because Coppola wanted to “shoot it really underwater” but after doing some tests, the results turned out less realistic than imagined. This ultimately led to Coppola’s departure and the project was eventually canceled.
Despite the setback in 2014, both Coppola and Spaeny have continued to thrive in their respective creative spaces. Coppola went on to direct the critically acclaimed movie,On The Rocks,as well asPriscilla. Spaeny has seen her career soar with her performances in Coppola’sPriscilla, andCivil War. She is also set to star in several upcoming projects, including Season 2 of Netflix’sBeef, and the third installment in theKnives Outseries,Wake Up Dead Man, slated for a release sometime in 2025.
