Gia Coppola Talks Directorial Debut: It Was Important For Me To Find My Own Voice

Gia Coppola has some big shoes to fill in Hollywood. Her grandfather is Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, and her aunt is Sofia Coppola.

Despite those family connections, Gia Coppola was determined to find her own way in Hollywood and her journey has culminated in her first release Palo Alto.

In an interview prior to her Palo Alto debut on Saturday, Gia said of her journey:

“It was important for me to find my own voice and try to do it on my own.”

Gia was competing on Saturday in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, the same location where her aunt walked away with the Golden Lion in 2010. Sophia Coppola won the award for her movie Somewhere.

Palo Alto stars James Franco and explores the vulnerability of teenagers through the lives of four high school students in Palo Alto, California. The movie is based on a book written by Franco.

In the movie Franco plays a soccer coach who makes advances on a student named April (Emma Roberts). The 26-year-old Coppola stepped right into the role of director alongside the veteran actors and a guest appearance by Val Kilmer who plays April’s oddball stepfather.

While James Franco was all smiles walking down the red carpet he took a more serious turn during his interview. Franco says he can relate to the character of Teddy, a talented artist who gets mixed up with drugs. According to Franco, “I guess I was a little like that, I was into art, I got into a bit of trouble, and yeah, that’s me.”

Are you excited to see Gia Coppola’s directorial debut? She definitely comes from a great Hollywood pedigree.