Thomas Mars (from Phoenix) on Assembling the Soundtrack for Priscilla

 

GQ - "How Priscilla Made the Sickest Soundtrack of the Year—Without Any Elvis Songs"

"“I started making playlists and discovering Elvis's music. There were a few songs that I kept playing over and over that I really loved,” says Thomas Mars of Phoenix, whose band did the music for Priscilla. Then the production got word that the Elvis Presley estate would be denying them the rights to his music. “The frustration was, I love these songs, but now we can't use them,” Mars says.

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“I think we knew from the script that the use would be similar to Marie Antoinette a little bit,” Mars says. Priscilla does often feels in conversation with 2006’s Marie Antoinette, both in its exploration of girlhood, its sugary visuals, and, of course, the modern-day song placements."