Announced way back in May 2020 (wow, that seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?), Sofia Coppola’s “The Custom of the Country” was expected to be the filmmaker’s next big project with Apple, after her film, “On the Rocks.” Unfortunately, as the years have passed, it’s clear Coppola moved on, filming “Priscilla,” and now, we have an idea why.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Sofia Coppola talked about her filmmaking career, and specifically, she explained how difficult it is for her to still get financing for her projects. Even after being one of the most celebrated female filmmakers of her generation, Coppola not only finds it hard to get a studio on board with paying for her films, but she also runs into issues with studio heads (typically straight white men), who just don’t understand her point of view. Apparently, that’s what happened with her experience at Apple TV+ and the TV series adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel, “The Custom of the Country.”
READ MORE: ‘Priscilla’: Jacob Elordi & Cailee Spaeny Call Sofia Coppola The “G.O.A.T.” [Interview]
For those unaware, back in 2020, it was announced that Coppola would be the filmmaker behind a limited series that would adapt Wharton’s novel, “The Custom of the Country.” The series would tell the story of Undine Spragg, a social climber in the early 20th Century. While reports said that Coppola would be getting a huge budget for this series, it appears Apple started to get cold feet when the studio realized the lead character isn’t an incredibly likable woman.
“The idea of an unlikable woman wasn’t their thing,” Coppola explained. “But that’s what I’m saying about who’s in charge.”
She added, about working with major studios, “The people in charge of giving money are usually straight men, still. There’s always people in lower levels who are like myself, but then the bosses have a certain sensibility.”
So, it would appear “The Custom of the Country” is DOA, at this point. Coppola has clearly moved on, but she still uses that as an example of just how difficult it is for her to get funding to tell the types of stories she wants to tell. And because of that, she’s concerned that newer female filmmakers, who may want to tell similar stories, are going to be shut out of the studio process even harder than she experiences.
“If it’s so hard for me to get financing as an established person, I worry about younger women starting out,” the filmmaker said. “It’s surprising that it’s still a struggle.”
It should be noted there have been some strides in making sure female filmmakers get bigger projects to work on. Hell, just this summer, we saw Greta Gerwig score the biggest box office hit of all time for a female director. Unfortunately, for women to get a shot at those sorts of projects, they typically have to work on established IP and franchise films. As Coppola points out, it’s a lot more difficult for female directors to get the chance to do a big-budget prestige project that features complicated characters. This is especially interesting when you consider Martin Scorsese is celebrating his latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which received a reported budget of over $200 million and was produced by Apple.
If you want to watch Coppola’s most recent film, “Priscilla,” was recently released in limited theaters and will expand wide on November 3.