Director Sofia Coppola Hates Violent Films, Applauds Old Cowboy Movies

India.com

3 days ago

Washington : In an era of action cinema, the 'Lost in Translation' director, Sofia Coppola, says that she doesn't prefer watching "overdone" violent films as it is quite "upsetting" for her, reported Variety.
While speaking at a masterclass at the Biarritz' Nouvelles Vagues Festival, as quoted by Variety, Coppola explained her lack of affinity for the action cinema. She said that watching violence in cinema "upsets" her due to the gun violence in the US, her birthplace.
"There's so much gun violence in my country. It's really hard to see [those] movies. Old cowboys are cool, but just the way [violence] is overdone now is upsetting," said Sofia as quoted by Variety.
Coppola, who flew from New York to be the guest of honor at the third edition of Nouvelles Vagues Festival in the picturesque south-western town of Biarritz, cited Martin Scorsese as a filmmaker whose movies have violence that serves a narrative purpose, reported Variety.
"I love Scorsese, so there are moments for it," she said, adding that "violent themes can be interesting or insinuating. But really, gory, not so much for me," as quoted by Variety.
At the masterclass, the director also reminded us about her childhood, her early passion for fashion, photography and the making of 'The Virgin Suicides'.
She said a male director was initially developing the adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides's novel "The Virgin Suicides" before she came on board and had a much different take on the book, reported Variety.
"When I read the book, I loved it, and I heard that a guy was going to make it. He was going to make it very dark and sexual. I was like, 'That's not how I see it. I hope they don't make it like that," said Sofia Coppola as quoted by Variety.
The director shared that she started adapting a few chapters to "learn how you adapt a book into a screenplay," and later on, when she felt confident enough, she asked the producers to consider her script "if it didn't work out with the guy they had," she said, reported Variety.
Eventually, Coppola directed the film, which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999 and became a cult classic.