Video Interview: Gia Coppola on Teen Life in 'Palo Alto'

– By Beau Behan, Film Critic & Entertainment Reporter

Originally published at 10:34 p.m. May 22, 2014. Edited to move video to top of the page.

• Palo Alto (2013/2014), R, 100 min, Drama

• Expanding Nationwide (USA), May 16, 2014

• Stars : Emma Roberts, James Franco, Jack Kilmer, Natt Wolff

• Director and Writer : Gia Coppola

With a pedigree of great cinematic talent, niece to Sofia and to Roman and grand-daughter to Francis Ford, Gia Coppola is at the helm of her debut feature film, Palo Alto— both as the film’s director and writer.

Palo Alto is a depiction of the ebbs and flows of teenage and high school life. It explores young voices that reverberate with the sounds of vulnerability, recklessness, gullibility, infatuation, sex, drugs and the peer group pressure of conforming (just to belong).

The film is an adaptation of a compilation of short stories penned by actor-director James Franco and published in 2010 by the same title. Coppola read the book, and could relate to the growing pains of being young and naive.
“I just really loved the book when I read it,” remarks Coppola. “I thought it was realistic—what it’s like to be a teenager; the dialogue, and the way you feel at that age.”

Franco offered Coppola the opportunity to head the film project, and she accepted it. She was “very excited by the opportunity to tell the story.” Coppola’s selection of the stories that spoke to her vividly and emotionally marks the commencement of the five-year journey towards a theatrical release.

Coppola elaborates, “In the book a lot of the characters go in and out of each story. I picked the stories that resonated with me the most, or had some personal connection.”

As the movie shows, she wrote the screenplay, focusing on the sweet, shy, and sensitive April (Emma Roberts); the creative young artist Teddy (Jack Kilmer) who has a secret crush on April; Teddy’s best friend, reckless and irresponsible Fred (Nat Wolff); the promiscuous co-dependent Emily (Zoe Levin)— always willing to provide sexual favors— and the philandering soccer coach, Mr. B (James Franco) who seduces April.

As a result of Coppola’s rich experience as a photographer, Palo Alto has that dreamy feeling. “I studied photography; that is my background; I enjoy keeping the camera still and learning about the characters through observation,” explains Coppola.
Some months prior to the 30-day shoot that took place in Woodland Hills, California ,a suburb outside Los Angeles, Coppola set her plan in motion to achieve the different emotional tones that pervade the film— the trials and tribulations of teenage life .

This is Jack Kilmer’s— son of actor Val Kilmer— first movie ever so at Coppola’s request, Wolff , who is an experienced actor, guided Kilmer. The two spent some time bonding together even outside of rehearsals.
For April’s and Teddy’s blossoming mutual affection for each other, Coppola made certain that Roberts and Kilmer kept their interaction minimal— only when absolutely necessary. When it came to fostering camaraderie in the set, the director initiated a blend of games and line readings.

Her purpose was to make Palo Alto as authentic as possible to the core. “I feel what the story’s all about, and the emotional complexities of that (teen) age are universal,” asserts Coppola.

Indeed, experience is the best teacher.


About this column: Beau Behan’s claim to fame is that his last name being the same as that of the Irish novelist, Brendan Behan. He sees himself as a romantic Rudolph Valentino type, but realizes you probably don’t. As a film critic, his work has been featured in NBC Bay Area, NBC News and Boston Globe, and can be seen on the TV show, “Beau’s Flicks & Nix”, on the Comcast Hometown Network. A “Flick” is a movie, and a “Nix” is just an opinion, nothing more. (BeauBehan.com)