“I was constantly asked if I would also become a director like my grandfather.” Gia Coppola presents the movie “King of the Internet”

Gia’s father, Gian-Carlo Coppola, died in a tragic motorboat accident at the age of 22 six months before his only daughter was born. Gia inherited her father’s name (its full version is Gian-Carla) and a film lineage, thanks to which she gained her first experience in the family industry as a young girl. She practically grew up on the film sets of her aunt Sofia. On “Somewhere. Between Places” she worked as an assistant costume designer, on “Twixt” directed by her grandfather, she was a creative consultant. However, he is not self-taught – she graduated from Bard College with a BA in Photography.

“King of the Internet”. Gia Coppola: To make movies you have to change all the time

Before her directorial full-length debut “Palo Alto” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, she managed to make several short films and music videos. Her second feature “The King of the Internet” was shown in the Orizzonti section of the Venice festival. One of the main characters, Frankie, works as a bartender at a Hollywood comedy club with her best friend (sometimes lover) Jake. He looks at the people in the club and wonders what is really appreciated by today’s society. When he meets the mysterious Link, he begins to film his anti-commercial statements and post them online. Frankie, Jake and Link, three outsiders, are quickly becoming Internet stars. Then the club manager stretches out his hand for profits. Can you make money on anti-commercial? If you do this, who are you? A story about social media and its disastrous impact on the human psyche.

“The King of the Internet” appeared in Polish cinemas on February 4. On this occasion, Gia Coppola answered some questions related to the film.

Where did the idea to make “King of the Internet” come from?

Gia Coppola: It all started with the 1957 film “A Face In The Crowd”, set at a time when television was taking everyone’s attention by storm, replacing radio or cinema. The main character becomes a television star overnight, the soda water completely hits his head. It is amazing how much what is happening in connection with the development of social media corresponds to the heyday of television. While looking for ideas for a movie, two iconic films about television were also important to me: “Network” and “Broadcast News”. Both show how the media works on us. Another inspiration also came from my immediate surroundings. One of my friends is an internet personality. Even though I completely didn’t understand this world, it fascinated me so much that I wanted to learn as much as possible about it and understand what the phenomenon of social media is all about.

The film shows the dark side of the internet. Why was it important for you to tell this story?

I wanted to make a warning movie, a warning movie. Currently, we still do not know how to find ourselves in this new communication reality, nor are we able to assess the impact of social media on our mental health in the future. Another challenge is to test how vulnerable we are to the constant judgment of other people.

What do you think about people who gain recognition thanks to social media?

I believe that fame neither gives a sense of fulfillment nor guarantees finding meaning in life. Nevertheless, for many people, earning money and becoming a recognizable person have become the greatest value. Thanks to the pandemic and the forced slowing down of the pace of our lives, many people have realized that we get far more benefits through contact with nature and learning how to express ourselves. We realized that the greatest value is to follow our true inner voice and do what really interests us.

What made Maya Hawke become Frankie and Andrew Garfield a Link?

I must admit that I was looking for an actress for the role of Frankie for quite a long time. It was only when I met Maya Hawke during the photo shoot for Zac Posen that I had the idea to offer her this role. As for Andrew, I had a feeling right from the start that I would cast him as Link. I’ve always been a huge fan of him. He has a huge talent, working with someone with such great charisma is a challenge and fun. In “King of the Internet” he had the opportunity to play a completely different character than before, after all, he was cast as superheroes or nice boys. I hope that his audience will be intrigued by his new face.

In one of your earlier interviews, you said that growing up in a family of filmmakers makes you much less inclined to work in the film industry. Why did you change your mind?

I remember when I was a child I was constantly asked if I would also become a director like my grandfather. I replied then that I was a child and I did not know yet what I wanted to do with my life. As a young girl, I was looking for my place in life for quite a long time. It wasn’t until I got to Bard College in New York, where I started studying directing under the tutelage of photographer Stephen Shore, that everything started to fall into place. It was there that I discovered that standing behind the camera gives me a sense of security and overcomes my shyness. A completely new world opened up for me, very conceptual, far from technicalities and boring book formulas. What I love about cinema is that I have the opportunity to combine many different fields: photography, fashion and music. I also like working with other people, making movies is a team work, you never feel that you are making a movie alone.

How has your director’s style evolved since Palo Alto?

It’s been seven years since the premiere of “Palo Alto” and I really feel that I have learned a lot. Each new project is a challenge. I am reminded of the words of Alexander Payne (director of the movie “Bezdroża”), who compared making films to frying pancakes When you start making them, there are times when the pan is too hot and you need to cool it down so that you don’t burn another one. The same is with making videos, you have to be vigilant not to “burn” them all the time. time to change, that’s the only constant factor in all of this.

What will your next project be?

I am inspired by trying my hand at new film genres. Recently, I have been fascinated by podcasts, I believe that this type of creativity offers great opportunities. You don’t have to limit yourself when it comes to locations, so you can go anywhere you want. Maybe that’s what I’ll try now.