Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an Italian American film director, screenwriter, vintner, magazine publisher, and hotelier, most renowned for directing the highly regarded Godfather trilogy.

Career: 1979 to present

Following the success of The Godfather and its sequel, Coppola set about filming an ambitious version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, set during the Vietnam War in the Phillipines. Before setting off to make the film, Coppola went to his mentor, drive-in schlockmeister Roger Corman for advice about shooting in the Phillipines, since Corman himself was familiar with shooting a film in that area. It was said that all Corman advised Coppola was "Don't go". The film, entitled Apocalypse Now would later go down in Hollywood history books as a disaster from the start, as the film (1979), was beset by numerous problems, including typhoons, nervous breakdowns, Martin Sheen's heart attack, and Marlon Brando's bloated appearance (which Coppola attempted to hide by shooting him in the shadows), of which the actor was also unprepared. It was delayed so often it was nicknamed Apocalypse Whenever. The film was equally lauded and hated by critics when it finally appeared, and the cost nearly bankrupted Coppola's nascent studio American Zoetrope. The 1991 documentary film ', directed by Eleanor Coppola (Francis's wife), Fax Bahr, and George Hickenlooper, chronicles the difficulties the crew went through making Apocalypse Now, and features behind the scenes footage filmed by Eleanor.

Related Topics:
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness - Vietnam War - Apocalypse Now - 1979 - Typhoon - Nervous breakdown - Martin Sheen - Marlon Brando - American Zoetrope - 1991 - Documentary film - Eleanor Coppola - Fax Bahr - George Hickenlooper

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Despite the setbacks and ill health Coppola suffered during the making of Apocalypse Now, he kept up with film projects, presenting in 1981 a restoration of the 1927 film Napoléon that was edited and released in the United States by American Zoetrope. However it wasn't until the experimental musical One from the Heart (1982) that he returned to directing. Unfortunately, the film was a huge failure, although it developed a cult following in later years.

Related Topics:
1981 - 1927 - Napoléon - United States - One from the Heart - 1982

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In 1986 Coppola, with George Lucas, directed the Michael Jackson film for Disney theme parks, Captain Eo, which at the time was the most expensive film per minute ever made.

Related Topics:
1986 - George Lucas - Michael Jackson - Disney - Captain Eo

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In 1990 he completed the Godfather series with The Godfather Part III which, while not as critically acclaimed as the first two movies, was still a box office success. Many believe that the film was marred by the presence of Coppola's inexperienced and clearly uncomfortable daughter Sofia, who stumbled her way through a role abandoned by Winona Ryder just as filming began. Her performance was subjected to universal critical ridicule, but in later years she redeemed herself as a director and screenwriter with The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation. Son Roman Coppola is also a filmmaker, directing his first feature film, CQ.

Related Topics:
1990 - The Godfather Part III - Sofia - Winona Ryder - The Virgin Suicides - Lost in Translation - CQ

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Coppola's father Carmine was a renowned composer and musician, and wrote the scores of many of his son's films, and his nephew Nicolas Cage is an acclaimed actor.

Related Topics:
Carmine - Nicolas Cage

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In recent years, Coppola with his family has extended his talents to winemaking in California's Napa Valley at the Niebaum-Coppola Winery, producing a line of specialty pastas and pasta sauces, and opening resorts in Guatemala and Belize, inspired by his accommodation in the Philippines during the making of Apocalypse Now, with decor supervised by Eleanor Coppola.

Related Topics:
Winemaking - California - Napa Valley - Niebaum-Coppola Winery - Guatemala - Belize - Philippines

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In 1997, Coppola founded Zoetrope All-Story, a flashy literary magazine that publishes short stories. The magazine has published fiction by T.C. Boyle and Amy Bloom and essays by David Mamet, Steven Spielberg, and Salman Rushdie. Since its founding, the magazine has grown in reputation to become one of the premier American journals of literary fiction. Coppola serves as founding editor and publisher of All-Story.

Related Topics:
Zoetrope All-Story - Literary magazine - Short stories - T.C. Boyle - Amy Bloom - David Mamet - Steven Spielberg - Salman Rushdie - Literary fiction

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The director is based in the San Francisco Bay Area where he co-owns the Rubicon restaurant alongside fellow San Franciscan Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro.

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