What Sofia and Roman Coppola's mother taught them about creativity

"Being the children of Francis Ford Coppola had a profound impact on the filmmaking sensibilities of Sofia and Roman Coppola, but their mother, Eleanor Coppola, may have played a larger role in nurturing their creative pursuits. "She taught me how to be in charge without being loud, and the importance of being real," Sofia writes in her introduction to Two of Me: Notes on Living and Leaving, Eleanor Coppola's posthumous memoir, published by A24 on November 11."

"Sofia and Roman convened in New York City last week for a conversation about the book and their mother, who died in April 2024 at the age of 87. One of Eleanor's last wishes was to have Two of Me, which she wrote over the course of a decade using material from the diaries she kept for 50 years, published as a book."

Eleanor Coppola nurtured Sofia and Roman Coppola's artistic sensibilities, often outweighing the influence of their father, Francis Ford Coppola. She emphasized leading without loudness and the importance of authenticity, and she documented decades of life in diaries and footage. Her memoir, Two of Me, compiled from fifty years of diaries, and her video footage from Marie Antoinette will be published posthumously. Eleanor worked across sculpture, conceptual art, photography, dance, and film, directed Hearts of Darkness and Paris Can Wait at age eighty, and left clear wishes for her work's preservation and sharing.

Read at Fast Company