58. Coppola Cast Redux: Sofia #4: Marie Antoinette (2006)

Thanks to the success of Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola was able to cash in her “I won an Oscar” chip and make an ambitious, big budget movie about Marie Antoinette. The catch…she did her way. This movie was booed at the Cannes Film Festival and was heavily criticized for its use of modern music, lack of French accents, and breaking from the traditional biopic format. However, it now seems that Sofia’s Marie Antoinette may have just been ahead of its time. Bryan and A.J. discuss the great cast, Coppola’s unique approach to a notorious historical figure, how the movie defies its grand scale to tell an intimate story, the great use of modern music, and ponder why Sofia’s movies stick so well in our memory. We also talk about Baz Luhrmann movies, bash Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, and, of course, talk about the 2006 Oscars. This episode’s themed drink was: Sofia Brut Rosè. 

56. Coppola Cast Redux: Sofia #2: The Virgin Suicides (2000), Playground Love (2000), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Sofia Coppola’s debut feature, The Virgin Suicides (2000), certainly stood out from other movies about teenagers when it was released and remains just as enigmatic today giving us a lot to talk about. Bryan and A.J. discuss the movie’s background (including the Making Of, directed by Sofia’s mother, the late Eleanor Coppola), its arthouse approach to teenagers on film, and the great performances from Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnet, and Giovanni Ribisi’s moody, pensive narration. Other discussion points include: the original music by the band Air, similarities to Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), and the peculiar list that is Cahiers du Cinema’s ten best films of 2000. We also briefly discuss Sofia’s blink and you miss it appearance in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) and the Air: Playground Love music video she co-directed with her brother, Roman. This episode’s themed drink was: Peach Schnapps.