Baz Luhrmann is remembering Lisa Marie Presley after the only child of Elvis Presley died on Jan. 13 at age 54 due to cardiac arrest.
She died just days after celebrating Luhrmann’s “Elvis” — and Austin Butler’s Golden Globes win for his work portraying the King of Rock and Roll — at a private party at the Formosa Cafe in Los Angeles.
“It was just shocking and then it was sad,” Luhrmann told me at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards on Jan. 28. “There was beauty there, too. She loved Austin [Butler] so much. The film had lifted her up. I think the words are bittersweet and sad, but the film did lift her up.”
During a rare appearance at the Formosa Cafe, Lisa Marie said, “I just want to thank you for coming,” alongside Butler, daughter Riley Keough and Luhrmann. She continued, “I’m so overwhelmed by this film and the effect that it’s had and what Baz has done, what Austin has done. I’m so proud. And I know that my father would also be very proud.So, I want to thank you all for being here and I — I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude, so thank you.”
Butler spoke about his relationship with Presley during a Tuesday appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.” “She’s a person who didn’t have anything to prove and wouldn’t open up to anybody, and she opened up to me,” the actor, who is up for an Academy Award for his work in the film, said. “We got so close so fast, and it’s just devastating.”
Presley was hospitalized the morning of Jan. 13 after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, Calif., just two days after she attended the Golden Globes with her mother, Priscilla Presley. She was rushed to a hospital after paramedics performed CPR.
She died later that day. “Priscilla Presley and the Presley family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie,” the family said in a statement. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
