When a piece of advice comes from those who are considered to be among the best in their respective fields, it pays to listen to it carefully and put it into practice. Take The Godfather filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, for instance. Addressing the audience during a recent event at The Basie Theatre, Coppola said that he would always tell young filmmakers to bring a personal touch to their films when they seek his advice. "You are one in a million individual, and if you make your films very very personal and not go by whatever the thing is that you have to get a deal, it will live forever," said Coppola, eliciting a round of applause from the audience.
Francis Ford Coppola is best known as the director of films such as The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Recently, distributor Rialto Pictures rereleased Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, a documentary about the arduous making of his 1979 film, starring Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, among others. Reportedly, Sheen's heart attack situation and Brandon's lateness affected the film's production back in the day. The documentary earned its directors Eleanor Coppola, George Hickenlooper and Fax Bahr Emmy awards in directorial and editing categories.
Coppola last directed Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver as an architect looking to rebuild a fictionalised version of New York City following a calamity. The film reportedly failed at the box office, and it polarised the critics. Up next, Coppola plans to adapt Edith Wharton's novel Glimpses of the Moon.