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In “Making Marie Antoinette,” Sofia Coppola finds herself in front of the camera.
Directed by her late mother, Eleanor Coppola, the documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sofia’s 2006 historical
drama “Marie Antoinette.” Eleanor, who died in 2024, filmed over 80 hours of footage during the making of the movie, which starred Kirsten Dunst as the infamous Queen of France.
During a screen talk at London Film Festival on Thursday, the “Lost in Translation” and “Priscilla” director opened up about the personal project, which she produced. She and her mother first started talking about turning the footage into a film during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it never materialized.
“We were all in a bubble together in our childhood home, and she said, ‘Oh, let’s get out that footage,’ and she wanted to revisit it and I’d never seen it before,” Coppola said. “She was excited about like, ‘Let’s make it into something! Do you think it could be a film? Let’s do something with it.'”
At the end of her life four years later, she said, “I want this film to be finished,” Coppola revealed. “And so I felt like, ‘OK, I have to do it.'”
“Marie Antoinette” was only Coppola’s third feature, and her biggest production yet, with a large cast and crew. Plus, she was granted unprecedented access to film in the Palace of Versailles, meaning the pressure was on. She told the London crowd that she remembers dismissing her mom filming on set, and feels slightly embarrassed at all the footage of her being stressed out — but also views it as a gift now that her mother is gone.
“I would never like to share such a personal thing because I’m in it and it’s embarrassing to see myself as a younger director — I’m not as comfortable being assertive with my words,” Coppola said. “But I just thought, maybe that’s helpful for young filmmakers to see that there is an evolution. And for people who liked the movie, maybe it’s fun to see what it was like on set.”
She added, “It’s also a gift to spend this time seeing myself through my mom’s eyes and then seeing her as a mother, watching me, and now I have two almost grown daughters so I can see it as a mother. So it was a really meaningful project for me to work on.”
Reflecting on her time filming “Marie Antoinette” now, Coppola told the audience with a laugh: “It still stresses me out.”
“Every day we were just falling behind we just didn’t realize how long it took for costume changes,” she added. “But I’m so touched by how many people helped it all come together. The food was incredible to see every day, all the detail that went into it and the whole art department. So it was always exciting to come to set and see what was there, and to be in Versailles. I couldn’t believe it.”
The documentary comes with great timing, as “Marie Antoinette” recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Polarizing after its Cannes premiere due to its highly stylized, coming-of-age point of view on historical events, the movie has now become a beloved cult classic.
With “Making Marie Antoinette” and “Marc by Sofia,” about her friend and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, Coppola has spent most of her time on documentaries recently. Though she didn’t reveal much, she told the London crowd that she’s looking forward to making another narrative feature soon.
“I’m excited, after working on two documentary projects, to go back to writing and creating an imaginary world and the challenge of how you create that,” she said. “I’m excited about that, but I’m going to go back to writing and try to figure it out.”
