Sofia Coppola’s films have been praised as “sweet and sad at the same time” (Roger Ebert on Lost in Translation [2003]) and “highly theatrical and yet also intimate and informal” (A. O. Scott on Marie Antoinette [2006]). Her latest feature, Somewhere, is a tribute to Los Angeles’s Chateau Marmont, and in many ways it is also a reflection on her own experiences at the landmark hotel. The film follows Stephen Dorff’s lead as a Hollywood actor whose personal life and relationship with his eleven-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning, undergo subtle transformations. A trailer for the film can be found here.

Here, Coppola discusses her approach to crafting the script and the various tributes in the film. Last September, Somewhere was awarded