Sofia Coppola Considered Auctioning Off A Pickleball Game With Jacob Elordi To Raise Money For ‘Priscilla’: “He Was A Good Sport”

Sofia Coppola recently opened up about the “low budget” of her upcoming biographical drama Priscilla.

“Our budget was always strained,” the filmmaker told The Wall Street Journal, which prompted her to toy around with one potential way to escape the financial pickle — (emphasis on pickle) — they found themselves in: pickleball.

The game, which has taken the U.S. by storm (and making a lot of noise in the process), made its way onto the Priscilla set in Toronto, where Coppola said they “built a pickleball court on [their] shooting stage.”

“Everyone started to play at lunch and we had a big tournament at the end,” she recalled, deeming the pastime a “highlight” of her time on set.

This inspired a niche fundraising idea that would require the help of Jacob Elordi, who stars as Elvis Presley in the film.

 “I was like, ‘I wonder if I could raffle off a pickleball game with Jacob to raise money to get one more day of shooting,'” she revealed.

While she put a pause on the pickleball possibility — try saying that five times fast! — she noted that Elordi “was a good sport.”

“He indulged me, even though he’s not an enthusiast,” she continued. “I think he associates it with, like, Malibu moms.”

I guess that’s fair, but pickleball has been cited as America’s fastest-growing sport for the third year in a row, and the pickleball paddle market was measured to be worth $152.8 million in 2021. Given these stats and Elordi’s immense popularity, I bet that game could have bought them more than just a day of shooting.

I certainly am feeling pretty “moody blue” about losing out on this potential match.

Priscilla hits theaters Nov. 3. Watch the trailer above.