The Last Showgirl with Gia Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola (Ep. 527)

The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Directors Guild of America

Tv & Film

4.6 • 806 Ratings

🗓️ 14 January 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Director Gia Coppola discusses her new film, The Last Showgirl, with fellow Director Francis Ford Coppola in a Q&A at the DGA theater in Los Angeles. In the conversation, she discusses how she approached Actor Pamela Anderson to take on the lead role, the method she used to have her Actors become familiar with one another, and working with her cinematographer to define a visual style that channels the Las Vegas aesthetic. The film tells the story of Shelly, a Las Vegas showgirl who’s performed with the same act for much of her career. When she’s told the show will be closing in the coming weeks, she struggles to cope with the impending change and her place in life. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://dga.org/Events/2025/February2025/TheLastShowgirl_QnA_1224

Transcript

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0:00.0	When I approached Pamela, I got turned down within an hour, which was record time of rejection.
0:06.8	But I knew that maybe in that short amount of time, she probably didn't get to read it.
0:12.8	So when she read the script, she was so excited for the opportunity and really bursting at the seams to sort of express herself as a dramatic actor.
0:45.5	Hello. Hello and welcome back to the director's cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America.
0:53.6	In this episode, a seasoned showgirl deals with the closing of her act and director Gia Coppola's drama, The Last Showgirl.
1:00.0	The film tells the story of Shelley, a Las Vegas showgirl who's performed with the same act for much of her career.
1:02.0	When she's told the show will be closing in the coming weeks, she struggles to cope with
1:06.5	the impending change at her place in life.
1:10.1	In addition to The Last Showgirl, Coppola's other directorial credits include the feature films Palo Alto, Mainstream, and The Seven Faces of Jane.
1:21.6	Following a screening of the film at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles, Coppola spoke with director Francis Ford Coppola
1:28.0	about filming The Last Showgirl.
1:31.1	Listen on for their spoiler-filled conversation.
1:43.3	Thank you so much and welcome to a discussion of this last showgirl film.
1:53.0	The director is here with me, Gia Coppola.
1:58.0	Thank you. Thanks for coming. Happy holidays.
2:01.6	I'm sure.
2:02.6	That's happy holidays and we'll start, I'll start right off with a question to kick it off.
2:12.6	Making this film in a record amount of time,
2:25.0	how were you able to really get with and rehearse the actors to help prepare them?
2:31.2	Because, you know, as we know, the situation, motion pictures, is they, it costs the same to rehearse as to shoot so they want you to shoot.
2:39.5	So you always have to steal some rehearsal.
2:42.8	How are you able to do that?
	...

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