Sofia Coppola puts her own spin on family business

Sofia Coppola hardly needs Facebook to connect with very important people. When she wanted to call attention to her new movie, "Somewhere," she asked George Lucas if he would show it in the private screening room at his complex in the Presidio. He not only said "sure," but also volunteered to interview her on stage afterward.

"I think of George as my uncle," says Coppola, who remembers him at her family's house from the time she was a toddler.

"Somewhere" was voted the top prize at the Venice Film Festival by a jury headed by her former boyfriend Quentin Tarantino, who stressed that their relationship did not affect him in any way and that Coppola won the award "fair and square."

When she wanted someone to write a minimalist score for "Somewhere," she got her French boyfriend, Thomas Mars, to compose something with his Grammy Award-winning group, Phoenix.

Her film has the good fortune to have as executive producer the recent recipient of an honorary Oscar given to a producer for the creativity of his body of work. Since the producer, Francis Ford Coppola, happens to be Sofia's father, you could say she had an in.

For all her connections, the 39-year-old filmmaker has gone her own way in a career that has already netted her an Oscar for writing "Lost in Translation" and a nomination for directing it. Like that film, "Somewhere" tells a story of a famous actor (played by Stephen Dorff) who is secluded in a large hotel - the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles - while trying to sort out his life.

Breezing through the Bay Area, where she grew up, Coppola said it doesn't worry her if people see comparisons between the films because "creative people often repeat themselves. The characters I am interested in are in a moment of transition, so it makes sense to me they would be in a hotel."

Soft-spoken and slight, she pushed the sleeves on her dark plaid blouse up and down as she spoke and stretched in her seat cat-like. The conversation kept circling back to Francis Ford, who is obviously a huge influence.

Q: You've talked in the past about how your dad would take you to "grown-up" places kids normally didn't get to go to. Can you give an example?

A: I would go with him to casinos. He likes to write in casinos because they are open 24 hours. We used to make a tradition of flying to casinos so he could write. I remember one time him teaching me how to play craps.

Q: You practically grew up on his movie sets. What do you learn about directing from observing him?

A: The way he rehearses with actors. Not all directors do that, but he came from theater and that taught him to take time to do rehearsals and have conversations. He works with family and the same colleagues over and over again. I tend to do that too. My brother, Roman, is one of my producers.

I always feel my dad is making personal films. It is never a job for him. He's excited about it. So I feel like he passed that on to me. It is not just a job. You try to learn about yourself. Your movie is personal, and you have to try to protect it against studio intervention. It is important for me to make low-budget films so I can have greater control.

Q: Actors who have worked with you describe you as very calm on the set. You never lose your cool. Where did that come from?

A: My mom (artist and author Eleanor Coppola). My personality is more from her. She is really calm and not dramatic. I think if you are asking people to help you make something, you should do it in a nice way. I know there is a different, dictator style, but I don't do that.

Q: Your preference is to shoot in 35mm, the way movies have been made since their beginning. But your father now shoots movies in HD, which is sort of state of the art. So how did that come about? It seems the situation should be reversed.

A: My dad has always loved technology, and he has always been in the forefront of that. I love 35mm. I like its softer qualities. I know it won't be around forever, so I am enjoying it while I can.

Q: What made you decide to set "Somewhere" at the Chateau Marmont?

A: I like its decadent history. It serves as a residence hotel for actors in between jobs or marriages. It is tucked away in the Hollywood Hills, but it is just off the Sunset Strip, so it is not really so hidden. It is kind of a gothic setting. It has history. It's kind of funky, not like brand-new hotels. It has old bathrooms. People stay there working on projects because it has a homey feeling to it.

Q: Stephen Dorff has an 11-year-old daughter in the movie who helps him get on with his life. You now have two daughters (with Mars). Did they get you thinking about making a daughter a central character in your film?

A: The little girl is based on my friend's daughter, but the impetus definitely stems from thinking just after my first daughter was born how it alters and changes your perspective. When I see my friend's daughter, she seems more together than the adults. That got into my film too. I write about my life and what I know. The characters are based on combinations of many different people I've met.

Q: Why choose Dorff for the lead? He has acted only sporadically since the 1990s.

A: He came to mind when I first started writing. I knew through friends that he is a really sweet and sincere guy in contrast to his bad-boy image. He plays a pretty flawed character, and I just thought his sweetness would come through. He is the right age.

Q: I interviewed you in 1990 when you starred in "Godfather 3" as Michael Corleone's daughter. The critics were awfully cruel describing your performance, yet you didn't lose your cool back then, either, although you were still a teenager. What do you remember about that experience?

A: I didn't really care about my part. I didn't want to be an actress. I'm not saying it wasn't hard to read those things about me. But it wasn't heartbreaking. {sbox}

Somewhere (R) opens Wednesday at Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer for "Somewhere," go to www.focusfeatures.com/somewhere.

E-mail Ruthe Stein at pinkletters@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page Q - 26 of the San Francisco Chronicle