Meet Christian Coppola, The Young Director and the Fashion World Who Made “Truly Strange Plays”

Instead, he pursues films that could help him become a much-awaited next-generation artist. He made his first appearance after graduating from NYU’s film program, and it almost immediately caused a stir. Father portrays one-time Disney star Dylan Sprouse as a cross-dressed male escort, hired by a grieving widow who has recently lost his wife. Filmed at the Plaza Hotel in 2017, the opulent setting and famous cast speak to Coppola’s social savvy (Sprouse is a friend from NYU), and the quirky clash between Sprouse and his friend. actor Ron Rifkin hinted at some part of Coppola’s psyche. like Discovery. When he released Father on Mubi in 2020, it has been a minor hit among Sprouse fans and short film aficionados, and now has over 6 million views on YouTube. (Buzzfeed review: “Dylan Sprouse has sex with an 80-year-old man? Sign me up!”)

After filming FatherCoppola’s other work — his, uh, Instagram—Begin take off. As for Coppola, it’s not a coordinated campaign but just a natural side effect of the lifestyle for well-connected and extremely photogenic stars who step out of the art world. , fashion and cinema. Today, he has a quarter million followers and the stylish demeanor of a seasoned international trader. With no permanent address, he can be found at a masked prom in Venice one week and a performance by Saint Laurent in Marrakech the following week, often with an entourage of famous friends such as Steve Lacy and Kiernan Shipka. Coppola describes these jokes as central to his creative process, experiments that inform the aesthetic and social universe he creates in his work. “The nomadic lifestyle that I adopted can be extremely tiring at times,” he says, “but it ultimately helped me explore in a way I never thought I would be able to do if I was just tied down. into one thing. I have never felt comfortable being in a box. I would rather play a game on the musical chair.”

Coppola’s next move was in front of the camera, in a trilogy of short films called Danish trio in which he is the threat of a trio: writer, director and main actor. Although the idea of ​​starring in his films made sense to a guy who was more influential than most actors he could hire for the role, Coppola wasn’t in the script. origin. “Honestly, I never thought I would do my own movie,” he said. But the pandemic’s travel restrictions prevented his favorite lead from traveling to Copenhagen for filming in the fall of 2020, so Coppola volunteered, despite his acting experience. doesn’t last much beyond a children’s play. Peter Pan. “I find that whenever I take on a project, if I’m not scared, it’s probably not worth doing,” says Coppola.