The Big Picture · Review · Discussion

‘Drive-Away Dolls’ and Book Club No. 1—Francis Ford Coppola, ‘Apocalypse Now,’ and ‘The Path to Paradise’

February 23, 2024/ 70 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's 'Drive-Away Dolls' with critic Adam Nayman, then open the first Big Picture Book Club on Sam Wasson's 'The Path to Paradise,' a portrait of Francis Ford Coppola built around the making of 'Apocalypse Now' and the collapse of American Zoetrope.

15 films across 2 segments.

AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.

‘Drive-Away Dolls’with critic Adam Nayman

Drive-Away Dolls 2024

Ethan Coen's solo narrative feature, co-written with his wife Tricia Cooke and directed without Joel. A 1999-set comic caper with Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan who pick up the wrong drive-away car and stumble into a criminal errand. Nayman recommends it and frames it as a personal, out-and-vocal Cooke project; the group calls it a casual 84-minute romp that plays like half a Coen movie but prefers its looseness to the polish of Joel's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth.' Qualley's Southern accent divided them; the surprise supporting cast (Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, Beanie Feldstein, Miley Cyrus, plus an unnamed movie-star cameo) got singled out. Sean's wife Eileen loved it.

Big Picture Book Club No. 1: ‘The Path to Paradise’Sam Wasson on Francis Ford Coppola

Apocalypse Now 1979

The spine of Wasson's book, which uses the torturous Philippines shoot as a metaphor for how Coppola chased everything. Sean and Amanda both love the film but feel its making is over-covered ground; Amanda points to Eleanor Coppola's documentary 'Hearts of Darkness' and her book 'Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now.' The telexes from set (cases of champagne, witch hazel, every Bob Dylan record, a paperback 'Shogun') are their favorite primary sourcing.

One from the Heart 1982

The book's other center: the soundstage Las Vegas jukebox musical, scored by Tom Waits, that bombed and sank American Zoetrope. Sean saw the reissued, roughly 15-minutes-shorter 'Reprise' cut and praises Raul Julia and Teri Garr. Read here as tangled up in the Coppolas' marriage.

The Godfather 1972

Wasson is sharp on why Coppola unlocked it, seeing himself as Michael and his brother August as Sonny, but the making gets only a couple thirds of a chapter, which suited Sean fine.

The Godfather Part II 1974

Sean calls it possibly the greatest American film ever made and wishes the book spent more time on it.

The Conversation 1974

Sean wanted an entire chapter; the surveillance thriller reflects the gadget-kid Coppola that Wasson describes. Barely covered.

Megalopolis 2024

The self-financed passion project (reportedly $100M of Coppola's own money, built in Peachtree City, Georgia) the book quietly builds toward and ends on as a cliffhanger.

The Rain People 1969

The transitional early feature, starring Shirley Knight, that American Zoetrope produced before 'The Godfather.'

Rumble Fish 1983

Amanda's favorite post-'Apocalypse Now' Coppola: the stylized black-and-white Hinton adaptation. Gets about one paragraph in the book.

The Outsiders 1983

Sean's soft spot from a young age; the other Hinton adaptation that introduced a wave of young actors.

Gardens of Stone 1987

Sean's other pick: Coppola's least-seen movie, with James Caan in a quiet, complicated performance.

The Godfather Part III 1990

Sean is mildly for it; they relitigate blaming Coppola, not just Sofia, for her casting and wonder about the Winona Ryder version.

Bram Stoker's Dracula 1992

The paycheck movie Sean says Coppola 'absolutely crushed' into a hit. Per lore, it's also where Sofia met Keanu Reeves.

The Rainmaker 1997

Amanda's stated favorite; Sean owns a region-free player mostly to play the Japanese import Blu-ray.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse poster

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse 1991

Eleanor Coppola's making-of documentary, drawn from her on-set notes; Amanda's reference point for how much of this story is already told.

Also mentioned raised along the way

Coen comparisons The Tragedy of Macbeth Raising Arizona Intolerable Cruelty Hail, Caesar!Burn After Reading Fargo Love Lies Bleeding Booksmart Bottoms Bodies Bodies Bodies Sound of Freedom Madame Web Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind

The Coppola / Zoetrope orbit THX 1138 American Graffiti The Black Stallion The Escape Artist Jack Patton Peggy Sue Got Married Tetro Twixt Napoleon

Also name-checked West Side Story Breakfast at Tiffany's

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV The MandalorianFosse/Verdon

Podcasts Do We Get to Win This TimeThe RewatchablesStick the Landing

Books The Path to ParadiseThe Big GoodbyeNotes on the Making of Apocalypse NowNotes on LifeShogun

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