Sofia Coppola

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Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola Cannes 2013.jpg
Coppola at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Sofia Carmina Coppola

(1971-05-14) May 14, 1971 (age 50)
New York City, U.S.
Other namesDomino Coppola
Occupation
  • Filmmaker
  • actress
Years active1971–present
Known forThe Virgin Suicides (1999)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Somewhere (2010)
The Bling Ring (2013)
The Beguiled (2017)
Spouse(s)
Spike Jonze
​
​
(m. 1999; div. 2003)​
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Parent(s)
  • Francis Ford Coppola (father)
  • Eleanor Neil (mother)
Relatives
  • Carmine Coppola (grandfather)
  • Italia Pennino (grandmother)
  • Gian-Carlo Coppola (brother)
  • Roman Coppola (brother)
  • August Coppola (uncle)
  • Talia Shire (aunt)
  • Gia Coppola (niece)
  • Nicolas Cage (cousin)
  • Jason Schwartzman (cousin)
FamilyCoppola

Sofia Carmina Coppola (/ˈkɒpələ/; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed crime drama film, The Godfather (1972). Coppola later appeared in several music videos, as well as a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). Coppola then portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III (1990). After her performance drew criticism, she turned her attention to filmmaking.

Coppola made her feature-length directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides (1999). It was the first of her collaborations with actress Kirsten Dunst. In 2004, Coppola received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. In 2006, Coppola directed the historical drama Marie Antoinette, starring Dunst as the title character. In 2010, with the drama Somewhere, Coppola became the first American woman (and fourth American filmmaker) to win the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.[1] In 2013, she directed the satirical crime film The Bling Ring, based on the crime ring of the same name which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, she won Best Director for her work on the drama film The Beguiled, becoming the second woman in the festival's history to win the award.[2][3]

Early life[]

Sofia Carmina Coppola was born in New York City on May 14, 1971,[4] the youngest child and only daughter of documentarian Eleanor (née Neil) and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. She is of Italian descent (Lucanian[5] and Neapolitan[6]) by her father's side[7] and was raised on her parents' farm in Rutherford, California. Coppola graduated from St. Helena High School in 1989.[8] She later attended Mills College and the California Institute of the Arts.[9] At 15, Coppola interned with Chanel.[10] After dropping out of college, Coppola started a clothing line called Milkfed, which is now sold exclusively in Japan.[11] Among her extensive Hollywood family are her aunt Talia Shire, and her first cousins Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman. Coppola had many varying interests growing up, including fashion, photography, music, and design, and didn't initially intend to become a film-maker. However, after making her first short film Lick the Star in 1998, she realized it "brought together all the things [she] loved," thus deciding to continue her directing pursuits.[12]

Acting career[]

Coppola's acting career, marked by frequent criticisms of nepotism and negative reviews,[13][14] began while she was an infant, as she made background appearances in seven of her father's films. The best known of these is her appearance in The Godfather as the infant Michael Francis Rizzi, in the baptism scene.[15][16] Coppola also acted in her father's films The Outsiders (1983), in a scene where Matt Dillon, Tommy Howell, and Ralph Macchio are eating at a Dairy Queen; Rumble Fish (1983); The Cotton Club (1984); and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), in which she portrayed Kathleen Turner's sister Nancy.[17] Frankenweenie (1984) was the first film Coppola performed in that was not associated with her father; however, it often goes unnoted due to her stage name "Domino", which she adopted at the time because she thought it was glamorous.[18] A short film entitled Life Without Zoe (1989), released as part of a tripartite anthology film New York Stories, was co-written by a teenage Coppola and her father; her father also directed the film.[19]

During the nineties, she appeared in several music videos, including the ones for Sonic Youth's song Mildred Pierce from the Goo album, Sometimes Salvation by The Black Crowes, and The Chemical Brothers' Elektrobank, directed by her then partner Spike Jonze (who also appears in the video).[20][additional citation(s) needed]

Coppola returned to her father's Godfather trilogy in both the second and third Godfather films, playing an immigrant child in The Godfather Part II and playing Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather Part III after the originally-cast actress, Winona Ryder, dropped out of the film at the last minute due to nervous exhaustion.[21][22][23][17] It has been suggested that Coppola's performance in The Godfather Part III damaged Francis Ford Coppola's career and ruined Sofia's before it had even begun.[24] Coppola has said that she never really wanted to act and only did it to help out when her father asked her to.[25] It has also been suggested that Sofia's role in the film may have contributed to its box office performance, which started strongly and then went into decline.[24] Coppola herself worried that she had only been given the role because she was the director's daughter, and the role placed a strain on her during the time of shooting that her mother observed in a series of diaries she wrote for Vogue during the filming.[24] Coppola later stated that she was not hurt by the criticism from her work in the film because she never especially wanted an acting career.[26]

After she was critically panned for her performance in The Godfather Part III (for which she was named "Worst Supporting Actress" and "Worst New Star" at the 1990 Golden Raspberry Awards), Coppola largely ended her acting career; however, she did appear in the independent film Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992), as well as in the backgrounds of films by her friends and family (for example, she appeared as Saché, one of Queen Padmé Amidala's five handmaidens, in George Lucas' 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace).[23] Coppola also appeared in several 1990s music videos: The Black Crowes' "Sometimes Salvation"; Sonic Youth's "Mildred Pierce"; Madonna's "Deeper and Deeper"; The Chemical Brothers' "Elektrobank", which was directed by her then-husband Spike Jonze; and later Phoenix's "Funky Squaredance".[23]

Filmmaking career[]

Coppola in 2003

Coppola's first short film was Lick the Star (1998). It played many times on the Independent Film Channel. She made her feature film directing debut with The Virgin Suicides (1999); it received critical acclaim upon its premiere in North America at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was released later that year.

Coppola's second feature was Lost in Translation (2003). Coppola won the Academy Award for her original screenplay and three Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture Musical or Comedy. After Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion, Coppola became the third female director to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing and the second to win the Original Screenplay award, after Campion in 1994 (Wertmüller was also nominated), thus establishing a pattern for the female directors to be nominated for both awards. Her win for the best original screenplay in 2003 made her a third-generation Oscar winner. Coppola was the second woman, after Edith Head, to be nominated for three Oscars in one night. In 2004, Coppola was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[27]

Her third film was the biopic Marie Antoinette (2006), adapted from the biography by British historian Antonia Fraser. Kirsten Dunst plays the title character, who marries King Louis XVI, played by Jason Schwartzman, Coppola's cousin. It debuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival[28] where, despite boos in the audience, it received a standing ovation.[29] Critics were divided.

Coppola's fourth film was Somewhere (2010), filmed at Chateau Marmont. The plot focuses on a "bad boy" actor Marco (portrayed by Stephen Dorff) who is forced to reevaluate his life when his daughter Cleo (played by Elle Fanning) arrives unexpectedly.[30] The relationship between Marco and Cleo was loosely based on Coppola's own relationship with her father.[31] The film won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In November 2010, Coppola was interviewed by Joel Coen, who professed his admiration of her work, at the DGA screening of Somewhere in New York City.[32]

Coppola's next film, The Bling Ring (2013), was based on actual events centered around the Bling Ring, a group of California teenagers who burgled the homes of several celebrities over 2008 and 2009, stealing around $3 million in cash and belongings.[33] Emma Watson,[34] Taissa Farmiga,[35] Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard,[36] Katie Chang, and Claire Julien starred in the film, which opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.[37]

Coppola in 2014

An announcement in mid-December 2013 stated that American Zoetrope had successfully attained the screen rights for the memoir Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father and that Coppola would adapt the book with Andrew Durham. Coppola would also produce the film with her brother Roman.[38]

In March 2014, it was reported that Coppola was in negotiations to direct a live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid from a script by Caroline Thompson.[39] Coppola wanted to shoot her version underwater, and although she later admitted that such a prospect was unrealistic, test footage was shot.[40] In June 2015, it was announced Coppola had dropped out of the film due to creative differences.[41]

Coppola collaborated again with her Lost in Translation star Bill Murray on A Very Murray Christmas, which starred Murray and was co-written by herself, Murray and Mitch Glazer. The film, an homage to classic Christmas-themed variety shows, was released in December 2015 on Netflix.[42]

Coppola directed The Beguiled (2017), a remake of the 1971 eponymous Southern Gothic film, starring Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Kirsten Dunst.[43] The film premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where Coppola became the second woman (and the first American woman) to win the Best Director award.[2][3]

Coppola again worked with Bill Murray on the film, On the Rocks, starring Murray and Rashida Jones.[44]

The Virgin Suicides (1999)[]

Main article: The Virgin Suicides (film)

Coppola was first drawn to the story after reading the book by Jeffrey Eugenides in 1995, at the recommendation of musician Thurston Moore. Coppola said she felt the novel's author really understood the teenage experience and the mystery that exists between boys and girls, as well as emotions.[12] She has also said that if not for the book, she does not know that she would have a career in film.[12] Coppola was scared to direct the film, but felt so connected to the material that she felt she needed to create it.[12] Specifically, Coppola has highlighted the representation of teenagers "lazing around," a situation she connected with but felt was not seen very much in films in any relatable way.[12]

The story's theme of loss was a personal connection for Coppola after her oldest brother had died suddenly in a boating accident, though she says this personal connection was one she did not immediately realize.[12] She wanted to make a quality film for young audiences and treat that group with respect and properly examine this deeply emotional period of childhood.[12] The film was low budget and critics were supportive.[12] Coppola credits the start of her career to the Cannes festival after the film premiered there, and has said that this film was what made her a film-maker.[12]

The film has also been said to mark the point at which the public ceased to point to Coppola's father as a reason for her success.[25] Coppola's father would not help her secure the rights to the novel, and so at that point she adapted the screenplay herself.[25]

Lost in Translation (2003)[]

Main article: Lost in Translation (film)

Coppola's desire to shoot in Tokyo, specifically at the Park Hyatt hotel, is what brought the film to life.[45] The film was a challenge to make, with a low budget and a time frame of 27 days.[45] Coppola wanted to make a film that was a romantic love story without being nerdy.[45] The film was shot with a small crew, working without permits. Scenes were filmed impromptu on the street, while the hotel itself permitted them to use the corridors between two and three in the morning as not to disturb guests.[46] The iconic wide shot of the umbrella-carrying crowds at Shibuya Crossing was stolen on a trip to Starbucks. Discussing this iconic scene Coppola says "We went up there, got a coffee, and grabbed a shot looking down. It was very on-the-fly. We snuck around and played dumb tourists."[46]

The film starred Bill Murray as Bob Harris, a melancholy aging actor on a business trip, and Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte, a college graduate in a new country struggling with loneliness. Johansson signed onto the project first while still only 17 years old.[47] It took several attempts before Coppola was able to secure Murray for the role of Bob Harris.[47] Coppola said that the film "lived or died" on the comedian agreeing to play the role.[47] Coppola had Murray in mind for the role while she was writing the screenplay. Coppola went to Tokyo and started filming without Murray officially signing on yet, hoping that he would show up.[47] He finally agreed to sign onto the film after getting the script from a writing partner of his who also happened to be one of Coppola's friends. Coppola describes Lost in Translation as a "self-indulgent, personal project" that wouldn't resonate, so the fact movie fans still come up to her and shower the film in praise in 2018 continues to surprise the director.[47]

Marie Antoinette (2006)[]

Main article: Marie Antoinette (2006 film)

Marie Antoinette was shot on location at the Château de Versailles.[48]

Coppola has stated that with time, reception to the film has strengthened and reception has warmed and that the film has found its own place, describing it has more of a life now than when it first came out.[49] Coppola has managed to forge a distinctive identity in spite of her father's reputation as a major figure in American cinema. Notably, a commonality of her films is that they all in some way touch on complex relationships between youth and age.[48]

The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, the three aforementioned films, all in some way approach issues of identity and the question of whether it is made or imposed, and do so through elements of teen films such as the rites-of-passage narrative and contemporary scores, yet still manage to maintain a specific European arthouse feeling[48] It has also been suggested that Coppola herself identifies with film's young woman protagonist, characterized by a sense of naivety and uncertainty of the future.[48]

Coppola herself has claimed that she was initially pulled towards the character of Marie Antoinette as an innocent and caring character who found herself in a situation outside of her control, and that rather than creating a historical representation, she wanted to create a more intimate look into the world of the heroine.[48] Scholars have highlighted the film as one that contains obvious parallels between Coppola's own life as a Hollywood "royal" and Marie Antoinette's position as the victim of xenophobia, malice, and envy.[48] In terms of Coppola's personal connections to her films, scholars have described the films as "deliberately idiosyncratic," as opposed to explicitly autobiographical.[48] Coppola has also not disputed viewers' readings of her films as somewhat personal to her own life and story, and has claimed that her films are made more for friends and family than the outside world.[48]

In regards to the critics' divided views of Marie Antoinette, it has been said that Coppola's use of travesty in the film could have been a factor in the industry's disparate opinions.[48] Fashion, which can facilitate travesty, is a large part of Coppola's film in the ways it was used to represent the nature of the period of time and create mood.[48]

Somewhere (2010)[]

Main article: Somewhere (film)

The film premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2010, and it was released in Italy on the same day. At the festival's close (September 11), the jury unanimously awarded Somewhere the Golden Lion, the festival's prize for the best overall film. Quentin Tarantino, president of the jury, said the film "grew and grew in our hearts, in our minds, in our affections" after the first screening. The film would continue to receive critical acclaim, especially from notable film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times who wrote in his 4 star review, he praised the detail in the portrait of Johnny Marco, writing "Coppola is a fascinating director. She sees, and we see exactly what she sees. There is little attempt here to observe a plot. All the attention is on the handful of characters, on Johnny."[50]

The film focuses on a newly famous actor played by Stephen Dorff, as he recuperates from a minor injury at the Chateau Marmont. Despite money, fame and professional success, Marco is trapped in an existential crisis and has an emotionally empty daily life. When his ex-wife suffers an unexplained breakdown and goes away, she leaves Cleo (Elle Fanning), their 11-year-old daughter, in his care. They spend time together and her presence helps Marco mature and accept adult responsibility. The film explores ennui among Hollywood stars, the father–daughter relationship and offers an oblique comedy of show business, particularly Hollywood film-making and the life of a "star".

The Bling Ring (2013)[]

Main article: The Bling Ring

The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and Coppola described the reception as enthusiastic and exciting.[51]

The film was inspired by a Vanity Fair feature by Nancy Jo Sales entitled "The Suspects Wore Louboutins.[52]" Coppola was first attracted to the story because she felt that it had elements that would make an entertaining movie but also said something important about contemporary culture.[52] Coppola was also struck by the difference in the mentality surrounding fame than when she was growing up.[51] Coppola's intended audience for the film was both the age of the film's characters as well as her own generation and thought that the cultural aspect of the film would be interesting to both audiences.

Coppola has said that younger audiences are more intelligent and mature than most people perceive them to be, and so she likes making movies for this group.[51] Coppola has described the group of teenage criminals as "products of our growing reality TV culture".[53] She chose to use young, unknown actors (aside from Emma Watson) who were the same age as the real kids because of the freshness they brought to the film.[53]

The house that was used in the shooting of the film was owned by Paris Hilton, who also had a cameo in the film.[52] Hilton was also a victim of the real robberies.[52] Coppola's father was one of the executive producers of the film.[53]

The female characters in The Bling Ring are a departure from Coppola's previous works centered around the female perspective. Discussing the difference between the female perspective in Lost in Translation versus The Bling Ring she says that instead of a woman trying to find herself in a new foreign country The Bling Ring deals with "girls trying on other people's stuff to find themselves".[54] Although The Bling Ring deals with more consumerist and gaudy sense of style and culture Coppola says the film was "just really fun to indulge this style that's so different from my own. I'm more associated with being understated and [with] good taste, I think, and it's fun to be really obnoxious."[54]

The Beguiled (2017)[]

Main article: The Beguiled (2017 film)
Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Coppola, Nicole Kidman at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival

The film is based on the 1966 book of the same name by author Thomas P. Cullinan about a wounded Union soldier in a Mississippi seminary during the American Civil War[49] and was made for under $10 million.[55] The film has been described as a departure for Coppola because of its thriller-like features, among other things, and was the first film she screened for competition at Cannes since presenting Marie Antoinette in 2006—an experience Coppola described as nerve-wracking.[49]

Coppola cited her intrigue with the South as part of the story's intrigue.[49] Coppola has said that she "wanted the film to represent an exaggerated version of all the ways women were traditionally raised there just to be lovely and cater to men—the manners of that whole world, and how they change when the men go away".[49] Coppola has cited Gone with the Wind as her inspiration for creating a film that was relatable despite its position within a different era.[49]

The film faced a wave of controversy and division,[49] including accusations of 'whitewashing' the original story after she chose to both remove the supporting role of a black female slave in her version of the film as well as to choose Kirsten Dunst to portray a character who was biracial in the original novel.[49] Coppola also faced criticism for minimizing the story of the people experiencing actual hardship in favor of depicting, albeit authentically, the lavish lifestyle of her protagonists.[49]

Coppola responded to allegations she chose to lightly brush over what she recognizes as an important and weighty topic by citing the presence of young girls as some of her film audience.[49] The Beguiled is not the only of Coppola's films to be accused of exposing the sociocultural affordances of her own childhood.[49]

Coppola described her version of the film as a reinterpretation, rather than a remake, of Don Siegel's 1971 adaption of the same book.[49] Coppola wanted to tell the story of the male soldier entering into a classically southern and female environment from the point of view of the women and represent what was like for them.[49][25] Coppola thought that the earlier version made the characters out to be crazy caricatures and did not allow the viewer to know them.[49]

While some critics claim that Coppola intended The Beguiled as a feminist work, Coppola has explained that she is not in favor of that labeling.[49] Though she has said she is happy if others see the film in this way, she sees it as a film, rather, that possesses a female perspective—an important distinction.[49] The Beguiled was also made as a contrast to The Bling Ring, and Coppola has explained that needed to correct that film's harsh Los Angeles aesthetic with something more beautiful and poetic.[49]

On the Rocks (2020)[]

Main article: On the Rocks (film)

Coppola began work on her next major motion picture, entitled On the Rocks.[56] The film tells the story of a daughter and father, played by Rashida Jones and Bill Murray respectively, as they explore New York together in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. The film also stars Scary Movie actor Marlon Wayans and Game of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick.[57][58] It was released in a limited theatrical release on October 2, 2020, by A24 and was released for digital streaming on October 23, 2020, by Apple TV+.[59] It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Coppola's screenplay and direction, and noted it as lighter than her previous films.[60]

Background on film work and style[]

Coppola arrived at a career in filmmaking with a background by means of acting, modeling, and design. All of which have influenced her directorial work.[49] Her background in fashion, especially, has played a large part in the aesthetic tones of her films and has heightened the roles of design and style in her work.[48] Her upbringing in a Hollywood family has also greatly influenced her work, as well as her public reception and image, and she has always had to fight accusations against her background of privilege. After both winning an Oscar for Lost in Translation and showing The Beguiled, Coppola was accused by some critics of displaying the social and cultural privileges of her own childhood.[49]

Coppola has described some of her influence as coming from her own work, with each film actively influencing the next.[49] She points to Jeffrey Eugenides's book The Virgin Suicides, which was the inspiration for her first film of the same name, as the reason for her career in film.[12]

Coppola has had to deal with sexism in the industry, and her quintessentially feminine work has been dismissed as decorative and insubstantial.[49] Coppola has said that she is proud of the more "girly" aspects of her work and that she feels that she has a feminine point of view that she is happy to project.[49] She has cited her upbringing around so many strong men as a possible reason for her strong connection to femininity.[12] She has been open about her experiences with sexism in the industry and has cited them as a reason she favors working in the independent realm.[49] Coppola has also said that big budget productions hinder her creative freedom, and so she prefers to work on films she can control.[49] She has also criticized big studio production for its focus on business rather than art.[49]

Coppola has cited her own perceptions of gaps in the film industry as her own inspiration, explaining that she has always made the films that she herself would have wanted to see as a younger person.[49] She has described this younger demographic of girls as deprived of high-quality videography and as disrespected as an audience.[49] She has also said that she likes making films for a young audience because she perceives them as smarter and more sophisticated than they are often given credit for.[51]

Zoetrope, Francis Ford's production company, has backed all of her films.[49] Her family ties have proven to hold both pros and cons for Coppola, which she has articulated. Though she learned from her father and is proud of her family, she has said she is happy to have carved her own way.[49] Coppola has also said that she is aware of her hard work and is grateful for her film education and that her connections in the film industry were helpful because of the lack of female directors.[61] She said that she did what she could and is confident that her work is her own.[61] After Francis Ford Coppola did not assist Coppola in securing the rights to the Jeffrey Eugenides novel The Virgin Suicides that her 1999 film was based on, much of the criticism surrounding her familial benefits subsided.[25] Coppola usually involves her father in her projects.[53] She has said that she likes being independent but respects him and his suggestions, though in the end always makes the choice she feels is right for a given movie.[53]

Coppola professed a love for being behind the camera and is not upset by the divisive reactions to some of her films.[53] She has said that she "would rather do something that some people really connect to and some people reject" and that she never wants to make something that is just mediocre.[53]

Her style of films is described as "slow-moving portraits with bittersweet emotional palettes".[62] Coppola likes to use visuals to convey what the characters are feeling at any given moment.[62] Coppola's films often deal with melancholy stories with a dreamy aesthetic. Her films aesthetics are influenced by her background in fashion with floral motifs and female beauty at the forefront of the films set design and mise-en-scene.[63]

Coppola's films focus on protagonists in life transitions and crises in their lives. Her characters feel stranded in their environments and alone even in the midst of other people. Visually portraying the experiences of these characters is one of Coppola's specialties.[64]

Other work[]

Television[]

In the mid-1990s, Coppola and her best friend Zoe Cassavetes helmed the short-lived series Comedy Central series Hi Octane, which spotlit performers in underground music. The show was cancelled after four episodes.[65]

In December 2008, Coppola's first commercial premiered during an episode of Gossip Girl. The advertisement she directed for the Christian Dior fragrance Miss Dior Chérie, shot in France with model Maryna Linchuk, was very well received and continues to be popular on YouTube.[66]

In October 2014, Coppola launched a series of Christmas ads for the clothing chain Gap.[67]

In May 2020, it was announced Coppola would write and direct an adaptation of The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton for Apple TV+.[68]

Modeling[]

At the beginning of the 1990s, Coppola was often featured in girl-oriented magazines like Seventeen and YM. In 1994,[69] she co-founded the clothing line Milk Fed in Japan, with her friend Stephanie Hayman in cooperation with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. In 2001,[70] the fashion designer Marc Jacobs chose the actress/director to be the "face" of his house's fragrance. The campaign involved photographs of Coppola shot by photographer Jürgen Teller. The July 2013 issue of Elle featured photographs shot by Coppola of Paris Hilton at Hilton's Beverly Hills mansion (Both model and house appear in The Bling Ring).[71][72]

Stage direction[]

In 2017, before Coppola started pre-production on The Beguiled, she was asked by Italian state broadcaster Rai Com from All'Opera to direct their latest production of La Traviata. La traviata is a three act opera by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesca Maria Piave. This Coppola-directed production was filmed for broadcast in Germany and France by Arte/ZDF, using multiple state-of-the art 4k cameras and up to 100 microphones.[73] Coppola said in an interview she "could not turn down the project" with designer and fashion icon Valentino Garavani designing the costumes for this 15 show run of La Traviata (2017).[74] Discussing her modern take on this classic story Coppola says "I wanted to bring out the personal side of the French courtesan, the party girl used to the social scene. It's a very feminine world that I love".[75]

This was the first stage production Coppola directed.[74] Coppola discusses how Valentino "really motivated me to take a chance and do something that was scary for me and very unfamiliar," and promised a "traditional" production that could nevertheless be appreciated by those who are not opera connoisseurs. Rome Opera House Director Carlo Fuortes said in an interview ticket sales had exceeded 1.2 million euros (1.35 million dollars), a record for the establishment.[76]

All fifteen shows nearly sold out before opening night.[75] It was the biggest box office success since the Teatro dell'Opera Di Roma opened in 1880.[75]

Personal life[]

In 1992, Coppola met director Spike Jonze; they married in 1999 and divorced in 2003. In an official statement, Coppola's publicist explained that the divorce decision was reached "with sadness". It is widely believed that the main character's husband in Lost in Translation is based on Jonze, as Coppola stated after the film's release, "There are elements of Spike there, elements of experiences."[77][78]

From 2003 to 2005 Coppola dated filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. They have remained friends since their separation.[79]

Coppola married musician Thomas Mars on August 27, 2011, at Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda, Italy. They met while producing the soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides.[80] They have two daughters: Romy (born November 28, 2006), whose name is an homage to Coppola's brother Roman,[81][82] and Cosima (born May 2010).

Coppola and her family lived in Paris for several years before moving to New York City in 2010.[83]

Coppola has maintained a low public profile for her family, aiming for her daughters' lives to be unaffected by her career and travel.[49] When asked if her choices as a parent to keep her children out of the spotlight is a result of her own upbringing, Coppola has explained that she never wants her children to be jaded.[49]

Filmography[]

Director[]

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer Distribution
1998 Lick the Star Yes Yes Yes Short film
1999 The Virgin Suicides Yes Yes No Paramount Pictures
2003 Lost in Translation Yes Yes Yes Focus Features
2006 Marie Antoinette Yes Yes Yes Sony Pictures Classics
2010 Somewhere Yes Yes Yes Focus Features
2013 The Bling Ring Yes Yes Yes A24
2015 A Very Murray Christmas Yes Yes Executive Netflix
2017 The Beguiled Yes Yes Yes Focus Features
2020 On the Rocks Yes Yes Yes A24 / Apple TV+

Stage

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2017 La Traviata Yes No No Opera directorial debut
Opera in Rome Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Music videos

  • "Shine" by Walt Mink (1993)
  • "This Here Giraffe" by The Flaming Lips (1996)
  • "Playground Love" by Air (2000)
  • "City Girl" by Kevin Shields (2003)
  • "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" by The White Stripes (2003)
  • "Chloroform" by Phoenix (2013)

Advertisements

  • Miss Dior Chérie fragrance for Christian Dior starring Maryna Linchuk (2008)
  • City of Light fragrance for Christian Dior starring Natalie Portman (2012)
  • Marni collection for H&M starring Imogen Poots (2012)
  • La vie en rose for Christian Dior fragrance Miss Dior starring Natalie Portman (2013)
  • Daisy fragrance for Marc Jacobs starring Ondria Hardin (2013)
  • Dress Normal for Gap (2014)
  • Calvin Klein Underwear Women's Spring (2017)

Acting roles[]

Film

Year Film Role Director Notes
1972 The Godfather Michael Francis Rizzi (infant) Francis Ford Coppola Uncredited
1974 The Godfather Part II Child on Ship
1983 The Outsiders Little Girl Credited as Domino
Rumble Fish Donna
1984 Frankenweenie Anne Chambers Tim Burton
The Cotton Club Child in Street Francis Ford Coppola
1986 Peggy Sue Got Married Nancy Kelcher
1986 Faerie Tale Theatre: The Princess
Who Had Never Laughed		 Gwendolyn Mark Cullingham Credited as Domino
1987 Anna Noodle Yurek Bogayevicz
1988 Tucker: The Man and His Dream (uncredited) Francis Ford Coppola
1990 The Godfather Part III Mary Corleone
1992 Inside Monkey Zetterland Cindy Jefery Levy
1999 Star Wars: Episode I –
The Phantom Menace		 Saché George Lucas
2001 CQ Enzo's Mistress Roman Coppola

Music videos

  • "Mildred Pierce" by Sonic Youth (1990) – directed by Dave Markey
  • "Deeper and Deeper" by Madonna (1992) – directed by Bobby Woods
  • "Sometimes Salvation" by The Black Crowes (1992) – directed by Stéphane Sednaoui
  • "Elektrobank" by The Chemical Brothers (1997) – directed by Spike Jonze
  • "Funky Squaredance" by Phoenix (2002) – directed by Roman Coppola

Awards and nominations[]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola

Coppola's first awards were as an actress winning two Golden Raspberry Awards for her performance in her father's film, The Godfather Part III for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star.

Coppola was nominated for three Academy Awards for her film Lost in Translation (2003), in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. She would go on to win for Best Original Screenplay but lost the other two nominations to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Coppola's nomination for Best Director made her the first American woman in history to be nominated in that category, and the third woman overall, after Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion. In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the fourth woman to be nominated, and the first to win the award. Coppola, however, remains the youngest woman to be nominated in the Best Director category. Coppola's win for Best Original Screenplay (along with her cousin Nicolas Cage's 1996 win for Best Actor) resulted in her family's becoming the second three-generation Oscar-winning family, her grandfather Carmine Coppola and her father Francis Ford Coppola having previously won Oscars. The first family to achieve this feat was the Huston family, for wins by: Walter, John, and Anjelica. For her work on Lost in Translation, Coppola also won the Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay Golden Globes, in addition to receiving three BAFTA Award nominations.

On September 11, 2010, Somewhere won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice International Film Festival.[84] Coppola is the first American woman to win the award.[1]

On May 28, 2017, Coppola was awarded the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled, making her the second ever woman (and the first American woman) to win the award.[2][3]

See also[]

References[]

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Further reading[]

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Alexander Payne
for About Schmidt 		Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
for Lost in Translation
2004 		Succeeded by
Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
for Sideways
Preceded by
Clint Eastwood
for Mystic River 		César Award for Best Foreign Film
for Lost in Translation
2005 		Succeeded by
Clint Eastwood
for Million Dollar Baby
Retrieved from ""