Gia Coppola

American film director and screenwriterTemplate:SHORTDESC:American film director and screenwriter

**Gian-Carla "Gia" Coppola** (born January 1, 1987) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is a granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the daughter of Jacqui de la Fontaine and Gian-Carlo Coppola and the niece of Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola.

## Early life

Coppola is the daughter of film producer Gian-Carlo Coppola and Jacqui de la Fontaine. Her father died in a speed boating incident while her mother was pregnant with her.

The credits of the 1996 film *Jack*, directed by her grandfather Francis Ford Coppola, include the dedication "for gia 'When you see a shooting star...'" (with her name stylized in lower case). She was close in age to the characters in the film at the time.

Peter Getty, son of Gordon Getty, became her stepfather when he married her mother in 2000. They separated in 2009. Coppola grew up in both Los Angeles and the Coppola family vineyard in Napa Valley. Coppola spent much of her childhood on the sets of her aunt Sofia Coppola's films. Coppola worked as a staff assistant in the costume department in Sofia Coppola's *Somewhere*, and as a creative consultant in Francis Ford Coppola's *Twixt*.

Coppola dropped out of high school (Archer School for Girls) and subsequently earned her GED. After attending community college, Coppola studied photography at Bard College in New York. After attending Bard College, Coppola stated that she "felt a little burnt out on taking pictures after years of churning out so many for classes". This resulted in her turning to film as a medium of interest.

## Career

### Beginnings

Coppola's film career began when she directed a short film for her friend's fashion label. Subsequently, Coppola was hired to make short films for Opening Ceremony which starred Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman (her father's cousin), Zac Posen (who said that "she’s going to be the next Coppola force to be reckoned with"), Diane Von Furstenberg, Rodarte, and Elle China.

### *Palo Alto*

Coppola made her directorial feature film debut with *Palo Alto*, an adaption of James Franco's short story collection of the same name. The film premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 70th Venice International Film Festival, as well as the 38th Toronto International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. After befriending James Franco, Coppola was asked to adapt and direct his collection of short stories *Palo Alto*. She said she agreed to do the project because of how well she connected with the source material. When working on the film, she drew inspiration from films such as *American Graffiti*, *Fast Times at Ridgemont High*, *The Outsiders*, and *The Virgin Suicides*. Coppola collaborated with her teenage cast to write the script. Many parallels have been drawn between Coppola's debut and Sofia Coppola's *The Virgin Suicides*, in terms of the style and genre.

In December 2013, it was announced that distributor Tribeca Film had picked up the film for distribution, and it was released theatrically on May 9, 2014. The film was released on DVD in the United States on September 9, 2014.

### *The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll*

In March 2016, Coppola announced that her next feature would be an adaptation of Jean Nathan's *The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll*, a biopic on Dare Wright, author of the children's book *The Lonely Doll*. Jessica Lange and Naomi Watts were both attached to star in the project.

### *Mainstream*

In May 2019, Coppola began filming *Mainstream*, for which she co-wrote the script with Tom Stuart. The film, starring Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke and Jason Schwartzman, follows three lovers who struggle to preserve their identities as they form an eccentric love triangle within the modern internet age.

## Filmography

* *Palo Alto* (2013)
* "You're Not Good Enough" by Blood Orange (2014)
* "Your Type" by Carly Rae Jepsen (2015)
* "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen (2017)
* "Applaud" by Yves Tumor (2019)
* "Are You A Magician?" by Soko (2020)
* *Mainstream* (2020)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Buckley, Cara (May 1, 2014). "With 'Palo Alto,' Another Coppola, Another Show". *The New York Times*. Retrieved November 22, 2014. Ms. Coppola is the namesake of Gian-Carlo; her full name is Gian-Carla.
2. ↑ Tatum O'Neal, *A Paper Life*, 0-060-75102-9 p. 158
3. ↑ Vogel, Chris. Peter Getty: ex-wife Jacqueline Getty taking oil heir to court to get more money. LA Weekly.
4. ↑ Taylor, Ben. 5 Things to Know About Gia Coppola. Swide.
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Lee, Stephan (28 March 2014). "'Palo Alto': See the poster for James Franco's new movie". *Entertainment Weekly*. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harding, Michael-Oliver. Gia Coppola's Filmmaking Debut. ELLE Canada.
7. ↑ A Fashionable Life: Jacqui Getty (1 May 2007).
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Blasberg, Derek. A Fashionable Life: Gia Coppola's Vegas. Harper's Bazaar.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cowles, Charlotte. Q&A: Gia Coppola on Fashion Films, Flea Markets, and Her Waffle-Eating Cat. The Cut.
10. ↑ Gia Coppola. The Collaborative Agency.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Brown, Emma. The Third Generation Filmmaker. Interview Magazine.
12. ↑ Archived copy.
13. ↑ Schiller, Christopher. Inside Telluride Film Festival: 'Palo Alto' Interviews. Script Magazine.
14. ↑ Cox, Gordon (2 December 2013). Tribeca Film Takes 'Palo Alto,' Gia Coppola's Film Based on James Franco Stories.
15. ↑ Palo Alto – In Theaters; Tribeca Films; May 20, 2014
16. ↑ Palo Alto (1 July 2016).
17. ↑ Naomi Watts, Jessica Lange to Star in 'Secret Life of the Lonely Doll'.
18. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-05-14). Johnny Knoxville, Chris Messina, Alexa Demie, Colleen Camp Join Gia Coppola's 'Mainstream' (en).

## External links

* Gia Coppola at IMDb
* Gia Coppola on Instagram

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