Filmmaker Blog - Mario J. Novoa

Source:  http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/laurent-bouzereau-five-came-back-documentaries-steven-spielberg-roman-polanski-george-lucas-a7666756.html The three-part  Five Came Back  is a fascinating miniseries involving five of today’s great directors – Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass and Lawrence Kasdan – relaying the impact and importance of five heavyweight directors of the past – Frank Kapra, John Ford, George Stevens, William Wyler and John Huston – when they agreed to leave the studios and head out to war to document the  action  on the battle fields as it unfolded.  The series, which is narrated by Meryl Streep, provides some fascinating insights and is receiving rave reviews. It’s even had a run in US cinemas so that it can qualify for the Oscars. And yet few are talking about the  man  in the director’s chair, Laurent Bouzereau. His is an equally fascina...

Director George Lucas traveled with Francis Ford Coppola documenting behind-the-scenes footage for The Rain People. Everyone begins their career somehow, someway. This is part 4 of 4 part series. 

I love Francis Ford Coppola. His worked has profoundly influenced me for many years, but it hasn't been until this very moment that I feel/notice/understand why. George Lucas on a USC/Warner Bros. scholarship met Francis For Coppola on Finian's Rainbow. Coppola's third featured afforded young Lucas a chance to do a behind-the-scenes documentary on The Rain People. I love George Lucas' approach on this short...I get a chance to experience Coppola directing. It's an incredible short documentary. A moment in time, a crossroads for two filmmakers...in the early stages of their careers. Outstanding.

Telluride: Francis Ford Coppola Spills 'Apocalypse Now' Secrets on 35th Anniversary The horror, the horror, indeed Apocalypse Now  star  Marlon Brando  was "like a kid, very irresponsible," said director  Francis Ford Coppola  at an Aug. 29 Telluride Film Festival panel celebrating the 35th anniversary of  his Vietnam War classic , whose $31 million budget — $110 million in 2014 dollars — Coppola had to finance himself at 17 percent interest, which meant that Brando's behavior could have bankrupted him. The panel, hosted by  Scott Foundas , featured winners of a dozen Oscars: producer  Fred Roos , editor  Walter Murch , cinematographer  Vittorio Storaro  and writer  John Milius . Since Brando  — like co-star  Dennis Hopper , who shunned showers and reeked from cocaine abuse — couldn't memorize a single line (yet gave an immortal performance), Coppola recorded Brando improvising for five days, typ...

By the time he made  The Godfather ,  at the age of 33, Francis Ford Coppola had already had a decade’s experience in the movie business, co-earning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the biopic  Patton . Even that, though, didn’t make getting the film greenlit an easy or sure proposition. With pressure coming from all sides (several of them armed), Coppola began the first of his epic, career-long battles against everyone and everything that would stand in the way of his vision. Time and again, the director  has gambled Sometimes, he’s won, and very big. Sometimes, not so much. But whatever it is, he gives his all (including property). Now learn some of his tricks of the trade as Coppola, (along with the  recently late DP Gordon Willis , Brando, Pacino, Caan,  et al. ) outwits everyone to make an American classic, his way in this 1990 doc,  The Godfather Family: A Look Inside . Read more http://nofilmschool.com/2014/05/inside-francis-ford-...

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/09/can-learn-coppolas-indie-studio-american-zoetrope/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJE3Zqb9zXY My ears were popping with joy upon listening to the Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese interview conducted by Geoffrey Gilmore. The interview was conducted in 1997 and all three filmmakers shared insight into the film industry at that time as well as where they thought the industry was going. They also talked about their own approaches to film techniques and cultivating new material. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJE3Zqb9zXY