USA: Francis Ford Coppola unveils his latest directed feature film, "Youth Without Youth," in Beverly Hills

Record ID: 219922

  • Title: USA: Francis Ford Coppola unveils his latest directed feature film, "Youth Without Youth," in Beverly Hills
  • Date: 13th December 2007
  • Summary: (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) ROTH, LARA AND COPPOLA POSING FOR PICTURES
  • Embargoed: 28th December 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVABNB7SPX8GEQQD4GNCL4GS3IN2
  • Story Text: Francis Ford Coppola stepped onto the red carpet in Beverly Hills on Friday (December 07) to premiere his first directed film in ten years, "Youth Without Youth," starring Tim Roth and Alexandria Maria Lara.
    Considered by the legendary director of "The Godfather" to be a film very close to his heart, Coppola adapted the screenplay for "Youth Without Youth" from one of his favourite works of fiction, about a man who gets a second chance at life.

    "You know, I've always wanted to be the kind of filmmaker who inspired me when I was 17 and 18, coming from Europe, coming from Japan, Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, Renee, Kurosawa, and you know, my life was so changed by doing the Godfather. Godfather, for so many reasons, came together and collided with the public in a way that it changed my life, and you know, in a funny way, I didn't get to do what I had intended or wanted to do when I was young, so I thought I'd take that opportunity now and just start making very personal film, especially in a climate that we have today with so many movies being very commercial and designed only to make money, I want to make films that have artistic risks to them," says Coppola, on directing "Youth Without Youth."
    Stars Tim Roth and Alexandria Maria Lara both jumped at the chance to work with Coppola, who has spent much of his time producing films and presiding over his Napa Valley-based brand of wines since last directing 1997's "The Rainmaker," but each will admit they found his youthful exuberance on the set somewhat exhausting at times.

    "You know, what you think is going to happen that day never happens, there's always something very very different, and I always found it felt like a Friday, it was like I had done a full week at the end of every single day, it was a very kind of dense and intensive working period,"
    says Actor Tim Roth on Coppola's directing styles.
    Adds co-star Lara, "Francis is a very passionate and very dedicated director and he has a wonderful way of working with actors, he's a friend of actors, he's not intimidating, and he's wonderful, and he always helped me, I always had a feeling I could come and ask questions or talk to him about whatever I wanted to be confirmed or convinced of, so he's incredible, and he's a lovely person besides all that."
    Based on the novella by Mircea Eliade, "Youth Without Youth"
    stars Tim Roth as an elderly professor who, after being struck by lightning, miraculously returns to his youth with a new chance to continue his life's work and rediscover lost love. The film also stars Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria Lara.

    "Youth Without Youth" opens in limited release December 14.
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