Thirty years after The Shadow's vision of the Corleone family burst upon world consciousness, little has changed to erode the public's fascination with this most Wagnerian of crime families. DVD sales of The Godfather Saga hit number one a staggering five months before the DVD was released. Try as he might, through films as diverse as The Conversation (1974), Rumble Fish (1983), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Tucker: The Man and his Dream (1988) Coppola has been unable to shake the shadow of The Family - not really so surprising for a man whose own family loyalty seems to rival that of his infamous alter ego, Michael Corleone.
Born April, 7, 1939 in Detroit, MI the newborn Francis Coppola was given the middle name Ford because his musician father was playing flute on the "Ford Sunday Evening Hour". Francis preferred film to music (though he plays a mean tuba), and eventually graduated from UCLA film school and an invaluable apprenticeship to b-movie mogul Roger Corman. Throughout the Sixties he built a steady reputation for his screenplay work (actually winning his first Oscar for Patton in 1970) in between directorial duties on films like Finian's Rainbow (1968) and The Rain People (1969) and building the independent film studio American Zoetrope.
Following the tremendous critical and financial success of The Godfather (1972) and its sequel, The Godfather II in the early Seventies, Coppola embarked on the infamous Apocalypse Now (1979), a five-year film project that almost cost him his marriage (and actor Martin Sheen his life.) Films that followed including Hammett (1982) and The Outsiders (1983) met with a lukewarn reception and some, such as One from the Heart (1982) and The Cotton Club (1984), with downright derision. Thus, for awhile, Coppola the auteur gave way to Coppola the gun for hire and it was only due to mounting financial pressures that he returned to familiar ground.in 1990 to direct the third film in The Godfather saga. Perhaps Coppola's personal Catch 22 can be summed up best by the aging Michael Corleone in the underrated Godfather Part III: "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."
Though he took some heat for casting daughter Sophia in a pivotal role in The Godfather III, the Coppola family ties are as legendary as those of the Corleones. Composer Carmine Coppola is his father; Talia Shire is his sister; Nicholas Cage and Rushmore actor Jason Schwartzman are his nephews; up and coming filmmaker Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) is his son in law. The death of his son Gio in a tragic boating accident in 1986 had a profound affect on Coppola, and in the decade following the release of "Part III", Coppola has spent more time building the successful Napa Valley winery that bears his name than on directing. The writer, producer, director and winemaker also owns and operates two restaurants (both called Cafi Niebaum-Coppola and located in Northern California), as well as few small hotels in the tropical hotspot of Belize. Which is not to mention Coppola's most recent venture outside of the film world--pasta king-as he recently became a partner in an old-fashioned pasta factory located in Brooklyn, New York.
Film Weekly meets Scorsese and Coppola in Cannesguardian.co.uk, UKOur very own heavyweight auteur smackdown continues as Xan Brooks meets the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, who talks about going back to basics with his new film Tetro, starring Vincent Gallo. Jason then talks style and moustaches with Jacques Audiard
Jacob's LadderHollywood Reporter, United StatesYet the tell-all book also reveals Jacob's most unglamorous and painful moments, such as Francis Ford Coppola refusing to share his Palme d'Or prize with Volker Schlondorff and saying bitterly "I got a half-Palme," or being verbally berated by Gerard
Godfather II game goes goldFudzilla, Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe first Godfather game was not without its detractors, and in fact, Francis Ford Coppola himself declared his disapproval of the game adaptation, claiming that he knew nothing about it. The game did have at least some credibility due to the fact that
Valkyries ride again in Watchmenguardian.co.uk, UKAngels of death the helicopter scene in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979). Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive Watching Watchmen at the weekend, there was a piece of intertextual film-music-ography that tickled me.
Dining calendarLouisville Courier-Journal, KYThursday, March 12, Cafe Lou Lou, 2216 Dundee Road in the Douglass Loop, will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of the film "The Godfather: Part II" with an Italian dinner paired with wines from the Francis Ford Coppola wineries.
Northwest musicians play 'Elijah' March 14-15Mid Columbia Tri City Herald, WASoave, a renowned virtuoso accordionist, performs a concert composed by Carmine Coppola, the father of famous director Francis Ford Coppola. Tickets are $12-$25 for adults, $10-$18 for students, and $6-$12 for kids.
Modest Mouse is the Big CheeseNew University Online, CAMany people recognize Sofia Coppola but she’s often in the shadow of her father, Francis Ford Coppola. The majority of recognition for women in film comes with actresses, with many of them gaining recognition because of their stunning good looks.
Female Directors Come Into SpotlightNew University Online, CAMany people recognize Sofia Coppola but she’s often in the shadow of her father, Francis Ford Coppola. The majority of recognition for women in film comes with actresses, with many of them gaining recognition because of their stunning good looks.
The growl and the gravelIrish Times, IrelandThis left its mark on Waits, who throughout his life was prone to looking for surrogate father figures; these included manager Herb Cohen, producer “Bones” Howe, movie director Francis Ford Coppola, and theatre director Robert Wilson.
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