On April 12, local time, filmmaker Eleanor Coppola passed away at her home in California, USA, at the age of 87.
In her later years, Eleanor Coppola
The Associated Press called her "the matriarch of the film family" in the title of its obituary. Indeed, her husband is Francis Ford Coppola, the great director who created classics such as "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now". His new film "Metropolis" has just been shortlisted for the main competition unit of this year's Cannes Film Festival.
In addition, Eleanor is survived by her daughter Sofia Coppola, sons Giancarlo Coppola and Roman Coppola, granddaughter Gia Coppola, sister-in-law Talia Hill, nephew Nicolas Cage , nephew Jason Schwartzman and Robert Schwartzman, etc., are all well-known filmmakers active in Hollywood, forming a powerful Coppola film family.
Eleanor Coppola
Eleanor Coppola was born in Los Angeles on May 4, 1936. After graduating from the Department of Applied Art at the University of California, Los Angeles, it was natural for her to start a career in film art design. In September 1962, Francis Ford Coppola, a Canadian student who was three years younger than her, started filming his debut film "Dementia 13" in Ireland. She joined the crew as an art assistant and soon fell in love with the director. They got married the following year.
Originally, Eleanor also had her own artistic dream, but after giving birth to three children within eight years of marriage, she could only devote most of her time to her family. In March 1976, Coppola and his family went to Manila, Philippines, to begin filming the anti-war blockbuster "Apocalypse Now." Worried that his wife would be bored, he suggested that Eleanor learn to use a 16mm camera to record the film's production process and behind-the-scenes footage, and also provide some promotional materials for the distributor. In May of that year, the Philippines was hit by a typhoon, and almost all the sets that had been built for "Apocalypse Now" were destroyed. The film also encountered problems such as temporary changes of starring actors, internal conflicts within the crew, and logistical shortages of materials and personnel, all of which were recorded by Eleanor's camera.
Eleanor and her husband Coppola on the shooting set
In 1990, she rediscovered as many as 60 hours of material, and with the help of two young filmmakers, she completed the re-editing and publicly screened it at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. . At this time, "Apocalypse Now", which also appeared at the Cannes Film Festival 12 years ago, has long been regarded as a classic in film history, and this documentary called "Heart of Darkness" allows people to see the behind-the-scenes of "Apocalypse Now" What happened became one of the greatest behind-the-scenes documentaries of all time and earned her two American TV Emmy Awards.
"Heart of Darkness" filmed by Eleanor Coppola recorded the birth process of "Apocalypse Now"
Later, Eleanor also directed the film "Perfect Woman" directed by her son Roman, and "The Last Day" directed by her daughter Sophia. Marie Claire" and "The Virgin Suicides" have filmed behind-the-scenes documentaries. For her, being able to watch her children running on the road of art every day is the ultimate happiness.
Poster of "Paris Can Wait"
In 2016, the 80-year-old Eleanor tried to direct a feature film for the first time. She wrote and directed the romantic comedy "Paris Can Wait" starring Diane Lane. ), but it is a pity that the slightly clichéd story failed to gain media recognition. However, with this film, she still became the oldest female director in history to direct a feature film debut - as for men, this record belongs to the age of 90 when she directed her first film "With Dreams" The veteran Japanese art director Takeo Kimura.
"Love Is Love Is Love" poster
In 2020, Eleanor wrote and directed "Love Is Love Is Love" again. It was still a heartwarming love story, but due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it was not released properly. Out of the public eye.
In addition to movies, Eleanor Coppola has not forgotten her art profession. The various photography, paintings and conceptual works she has created over the years have been exhibited in many galleries and museums around the world; she has also Designed costumes for stage plays.In addition, Eleanor has also published two collections of essays, "Notes on <现代启示录> Production" and "Notes on Life". The former records the chaos during the filming of "Apocalypse Now" and can be enjoyed together with the documentary "Heart of Darkness"; the latter is her reflections on her decades of life and marriage, including her eldest son Giancarlo Coppola The pain caused by her early death, and the regret that although she had been content to stay behind the scenes for her family for many years, she had always longed to make a career in the art world.
In addition, Eleanor has also published two collections of essays, "Notes on <现代启示录> Production" and "Notes on Life". The former records the chaos during the filming of "Apocalypse Now" and can be enjoyed together with the documentary "Heart of Darkness"; the latter is her reflections on her decades of life and marriage, including her eldest son Giancarlo Coppola The pain caused by her early death, and the regret that although she had been content to stay behind the scenes for her family for many years, she had always longed to make a career in the art world.