Last week, The New York Times dove into the rankings game, and unveiled their list of the 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far, which was accompanied by six filmmakers making their own lists. Among them was Sofia Coppola, who made the most-talked about selection of Sean Anders‘ “Daddy’s Home” starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell. In her brief comments for the Times, Coppola noted that the comedy was one of the few her family could all agree on, and explaining further to Vulture, she realizes that it’s not an auteur pick.
“Well, [my children] have such bad taste in the movies they want to watch. [Laughs.] I was always exposed to such good films growing up, so I try to show those to them, but if anything’s old, they don’t want to see it,” she said. “It’s always a struggle to find a movie that we all enjoy, but they were cracking up watching ‘Daddy’s Home,’ so that made it fun.”
Of course, Coppola’s career is far more prestigious, and was given even more shine this spring at the Cannes Film Festival where she took home the Best Director prize for “The Beguiled.” However, the director reveals that was some hesitance about showing the drama on the Croisette, but that test audiences confirmed that people would get it.
“You never know with Cannes. There was some talk [with the studio] that was like, ‘Are you sure you want to go to Cannes? They can be harsh.’ But we had just finished the movie and I was excited to show it there,” Coppola said. “It was a relief that the first screening went well, though. As we were going into the photo call, someone said the first tweet was really pro, and then there was a badass one that made me go, ‘All right!’ People were getting it and laughing.”
“…I remember we did a test screening in Pasadena where I didn’t know what to expect, and they laughed at all the little glances that the editor and I had really enjoyed when we were working it. It makes me happy when people connect with the things that you enjoy about it,” she added.
As for what’s next Coppola, we’ll have to wait and see, but she’s been aware of the Peak TV phenomenon just like everybody else and she’d like to offer a counterweight to the plethora of gritty dramas out there.
“I would like to do a glamorous mini-series, although I know it’s just called a limited series now. But I feel like TV has gotten a little too gritty and edgy. I would like to bring glamour back to TV,” she said.
“The Beguiled” opens on June 30th.