Revealed: Francis Ford Coppola



It is, I know, cliched for a man of a certain age to say Francis Ford Coppola is an idol. It stamps him as common, Still, beyond the Godfather -- which IMHO is not his most innovative work -- Coppolla is an indie icon. But beyond quoting Apocalypse Now (not even the director's cut) and Godfather at the pony kegger, most young men don't know shit about Coppola's more experimental work which continues to this day at a leisurely clip featured in arthouse cinemas around the country.

Unlike, say, Lucas or Spielberg -- Francis' immediate contemporaries -- Coppola has resisted the urge to become a part of the Establishment, comfortable, making boatloads of money producing safe, mainstream-middlebrow fare while talent ossifies lazily within the confines of their mansions in the Hollywood Hills (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). Coppola's audience is not nor has it ever been the common man (Or, apparently, the common writer). He continues to take artistic risks, developing his particular artistic themes -- obsessions, really -- include: Immortality, Memory, Identity; his previous artistic themes involved: Family, Manhood, Power and War.

And he has a wine label. The man is suave.

CNN International has a wonderful series called "Revealed," where they do an in-depth interview with a celebrity. This is part one of their Coppola at Cannes. The rest here. (Part 2, Part 3)