Thompson on Hollywood

How Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Outsiders' Got Made, with Help from School Librarian

News

As we know from the hugely successful "Veronica Mars" Kickstarter that reached its goal in record time on March 13, fans have a definite sway in getting movies made. Check out this fascinating correspondence from 1980 between elementary school librarian Jo Ellen Misakian and Hollywood producer Fred Roos, which chronicles Misakian asking Francis Ford Coppola to adapt her school's favorite book, "The Outsiders," into a movie, and then Roos responding with "cautious optimism."

By Beth Hanna
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March 18, 2013 1:52 PM
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Weekend Recap: 'Alice in Wonderland' Sequel, Heroine Complex Short Films, Depp's Don Quixote, What's Next for Refn, Cuaron and Abrams

News

Disney is making moves to follow up "Alice in Wonderland" with a sequel. The 3-D 2010 Tim Burton film, featuring Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, grossed $1 billion worldwide. Variety reports that Disney has brought back scriptwriter Linda Woolverton, who also wrote "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King," to do the job.

By Maggie Lange
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December 10, 2012 12:12 PM
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Film Historian Peter Cowie's Behind-the-Scenes 'Godfather' to Land in October

News

There are only a handful of trilogies that are so deepy ingrained in the zeitgeist of American culture that they seem destined to be timeless classics: "Star Wars," "The Lord of the Rings," "The Godfather." But where the first two were sci-fi/fantasy epics filled with spectacle and flash, the last one, with its dark meditations on violence and loyalty, is in a league of its own.

By Jacob Combs
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August 30, 2012 6:18 AM
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Coppola Talks “Twixt,” Success, Failure & The Future of Film

Features

Francis Ford Coppola’s “Twixt," the third in a series of low-budget “personal” films he’s written, produced, and directed since the turn of the century has toured the film festival circuit – from Toronto in 2011 to San Francisco in 2012 – and was released in France in April, but a broad release remains elusive...

By Meredith Brody
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August 14, 2012 12:58 PM
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Trailers from Hell: Adam Rifkin on Coppola's 'Rumble Fish'

Video

"Francis Ford Coppola Week" continues at Trailers from Hell, today with screenwriter Adam Rifkin introducing 1983's dreamy black-and-white "Rumble Fish"...

By Trailers From Hell
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June 20, 2012 3:35 PM
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Akira Kurosawa and Francis Ford Coppola Whiskey Ads [Video]

Video

IIn the 80s, Akira Kurosawa and Francis Ford Coppola made and starred in a series of whiskey advertisements for Suntory Whiskey, posted below. Not only does the ad include footage of Kurosawa directing a herd of horses and extras while filming "Kagemusha," but we can see the directors guzzling whiskey and not pretending to find it delicious.

By Maggie Lange
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June 6, 2012 3:36 PM
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The Long Gestation of Cannes-Bound 'On the Road,' From Coppola to Salles

Features

After 44 years, possibly the longest gestation period in cinema history, the film version of Jack Kerouac’s classic Beat novel "On the Road" is finally hitting the big screen. Francis Ford Coppola, then a rising director-screenwriter still in his 20s, bought the film rights to it back in 1968...