The Coppolas by LoBrutto Vincent; Morrison Harriet R.;

Author:LoBrutto, Vincent; Morrison, Harriet R.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO, LLC

12

Virgin Outing as a Director

Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides

The Coppolas

“I do have my own way of working, my own style.”

Sofia Coppola

Sofia Carmina Coppola spent much of her childhood on movie sets as her father Francis directed some of his most significant film works. She was in front of the camera in a matter of weeks after her birth on May 14, 1971, appearing as a baby boy in the pivotal baptism sequence in The Godfather, her first of many cameos in her father's films.1 Sofia gravitated toward an artistic life but not screen acting. Her one substantial acting role in The Godfather III was sparked by a daughter's loyalty when Winona Ryder was forced to withdraw from the role of Mary. Sofia's performance was generally considered a father's misguided indulgence. Eleanor Coppola notes in her journal that she and Francis advised Sofia not to read the critics’ reviews and to let time pass before she evaluated her performance, but she did read the mostly negative reviews, and it was painful. Eleanor notes that “Francis said he felt those criticisms were meant for him, and that Sofia received them the way Mary Corleone got the bullets intended for Michael.”2 With the passage of time, Sofia, noting that she is camera shy, reflects, “I never wanted to be an actress. It's not my personality.”3

In 1998 Coppola co-wrote4 and directed her first film, Lick the Star, an 18-minute short about a seventh-grade girl clique, adolescent cruelty, and adolescent hysteria. To a degree, Lick the Star became an unintended dry run for Coppola's inaugural feature, The Virgin Suicides.5 For the short, Sofia invoked a solid Coppola tradition, enlisting family members and friends on the production. Her cousin Christopher Neil (Eleanor Neil Coppola's nephew) was a producer, her cousin Robert Schwartzman (Talia Shire's son) acted, and Zoe Cassavetes acted and assisted on second unit. Casting family and trusted friends in her films and employing them as production and crew members would become standard operating procedure for Sofia as it had been for her father.

Sofia Coppola read Jeffrey Eugenides's 1993 debut novel The Virgin Suicides and immediately labeled the book a “classic.” She was enthralled by the beauty of its narrative and the ethereal atmosphere of the story. She began envisioning its filmic possibilities and decided to adapt it as a screenplay. Completed script in hand, Coppola reached out for the rights and, as luck would have it, they were held by Muse Productions (Roberta and Chris Hanley.) Sofia knew Roberta Hanley through Jacqui de la Fontaine, fiancée of her late brother Gian-Carlo Coppola, and Hanley lobbied for Sofia's manuscript.

Coppola's next hurdle was whether she would be the screenwriter/director. Chris Hanley originally wanted independent film director Nick Gomez (Laws of Gravity [1992], New Jersey Drive [1995], Drowning Mona [2000]), but Gomez had written a script that Hanley felt didn't quite work. Roberta Hanley pressed for Sofia as screenwriter/director, and Sofia was hired to embark on her first feature film with Chris Hanley on board as one of the producers.

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