Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life

By Michael Schumacher

Book Overview

"So you still want to direct films?" Coppola wearily asked one of his assistants after a long day of shooting on The Godfather. "Always remember three things. Have the definitive script ready before you shoot. There'll always be some changes, but they should be small ones. Second, work with people you trust and feel secure with. Remember good crew people you've worked with on other films and get them for your film. Third, make your actors feel very secure so they can do their job well." ?? Pausing for a moment, Coppola considered his advice. "I've managed to do none of these things on this film," he concluded. Francis Ford Coppola is one of the seminal filmmakers of the generation that changed the way movies are made. Five of the films he's worked on are listed among the American Film Institute's top 100 films ever made. He is a man who's spent his life seeking to realize his own artistic vision even as he acknowledges the force that truly drives Hollywood--box office receipts. Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life is the first complete picture of the flawed cinematic genius who directed the Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, and other distinctive films--some wildly successful, some disastrous. Coppola is on every film aficionado's list of Hollywood's greatest directors. But he is renowned nearly as much for his mistakes as for his masterpieces, for his bluster as for his brilliance, for the money he has lost as for the fortunes he has made. In an era when playing it safe seems to be the credo of the Hollywood/Wall Street complex, Coppola is a driven, unpredictable renegade who has repeatedly gambled everything in an effort to bring his ideas to life, regardless of the cost. In Francis Ford Coppola, we hear the entire story of this man's career covered in more detail than ever before: from his apprenticeship under Roger Corman to his winning a Director's Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. Along the way, we learn how he turned a pulp Mafia novel into a cinematic classic, how he almost literally killed himself during the filming of Apocalypse Now, and how he confirmed Hollywood's predictions about him, with various flops and follies along the way. In the hands of biographer Michael Schumacher--who gained unprecedented access to Coppola's friends, critics, peers, casts, and crews--the story of Francis Ford Coppola makes for irresistible reading and the first complete picture of this complex, conflicted genius.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517704455
• ISBN13: 9780517704455
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 536 Pages
• Weight: 2.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Francis Ford Coppola: Hollywood Godfather of Creative Genius

Francis Ford Coppola was born in a great year for the movies! In 1939 the director was born to Carmen Coppola and his wife Italia. His parents were creative-Carmen was a musician in the Detroit Symphony and later in the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. Carmen would later win a musical Oscar for the Godfather films. Francis was a younger son to his older brother who was everything Francis wasn't: handsome and well liked at school. His sister Talia Shire would later be a movie star in his own films most notably the Godfather classics. Coppola graduated from Hofstra and received a master's degree in film from the UCLA film school. His early apprenticship in film was under the tutelage of famed B director Roger Corman. Coppolla emerged from nudie films and small pictures to direct "Finigan's Rainbow" and began to emerge as a talented maverick whose creative/artistic wings were flying in the early 1970s. Despite arduous business and creative troubles he won fame and fortune and several Oscars for the Godfather films. His most controversial film was "Apocalypse Now" his take on the Vietnam conflict based on Joseph Conrad's novella "The Heart of Darkness." Coppola's career has more ups and downs than a roller coaster as he founded Zoetrope Films in San Francisco and went to the mat in countless donybrook battles with studio executives. Coppola reminds me of Orson Welles in that he achieved fame early and then had a difficult career in tinsel town. He is a man of massive ego; intelligence; daring and creative attention to the details/minutia of film. He was unfaithful to his wife Ellie; grieved over a son yet emerges from this biography as a flawed but good man. He is gregarious and honest and a good friend. His friendship assisted George Lucas in launching his storied career! I like Coppola's rich textured films. His screenwriting from Patton to his latest project is outstanding. This meticulous account of Coppola's career in the Hollywood jungle will not appeal to everyone. Countless pages are devoted to business deals, legal disputes and the difficulties encountered by Coppola in making his films. For me who loves the Godfather and FFC this is a fine book. Anyone who seeks to explore this brilliant man's career would do well to begin with Schumacher's fine biograpy.

Apocalypse When

I thought this biography was detailed mostly around this film. On page 262, first paragraph, I think Mr. Coppola would agree to mention the fact that "The Chief Phillips" made a life last attempt to end Willard after getting speared on the boat by Kurtz's mongrules. Overall, the book was a manificant biography of a Itailian-American film maker of our time.

A TOTAL mystery...

...and I hope he stays that way. Francis Ford Coppola is one of the inspirations of my life. His energy and enthusiasm for what he does outshines even the projects many might deride. One thing you have to say is at LEAST he puts his all into what he does, and I'd imagine no one would doubt this. PS: WHEN is the UNCUT version of "One From the Heart" going to be issued on DVD?

Schumacher got it right

I work for Francis Coppola today and know him pretty well. Michael Schumacher's book really captures the spirit and energy of this facinating and complex man. I have read most of the other Coppola books and none combines an understanding for both the human and artistic side of Francis.This book, like no other I have read, reflects the passion, energy and chaos of the Coppola world. I can tell you from the inside there is no more exciting experience than being part of the Coppola energy. Francis loves to tackle the "impossible" and never gives up. I particularly like this book because it is clear that the author, like myself, has great respect for this whirlwind of a man.