HFC students meet with renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola

Ten students from HFC, as well as Media Communication Arts Chairperson Susan McGraw, recently joined more than 100 other students for the Francis Ford at The Henry Ford student screening event. During the event, the 5-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, whom many consider a legend in the industry, spoke about his career and the history of cinema at The Henry Ford in Dearborn.

“We’re just learning about cinema,” said Coppola — a surprise, coming from the 86-year-old cinema icon. “You and your grandchildren and their children are going to invent cinema. Cinema always changes. The real cinema is constantly changing with each generation – just like all art does. Art is the collective dream of humanity. When humanity’s dream changes, so does art. There are no rules. You’re gonna make the rules, and your kids are gonna make the rules, and their kids better totally change the rules! I’d give anything to see what the cinema of your great-grandchildren will look like.”

Coppola’s informal presentation was tied to a screening of 2024’s Megalopolis, his surreal, self-funded 2024 science-fiction movie starring Oscar nominee Adam Driver (J. Edgar), Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer), Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones), Oscar winner Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy), and Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It). The movie extrapolates the fall of the Roman Empire into a futuristic version of the United States, centering around Cesar Catilina (Driver), an architect with the power to stop time.

“I thought the Coppola event was the best ever!” said HFC MCA student Crisanto Del Rio. “I found it very inspiring because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and be at arm’s length from the legendary director. It was truly an honor, because the man was so down-to-earth and professional, yet informal in a great way.”

“Nobody has hurt my feelings yet” in the mornings

For nearly 45 minutes, Coppola, a Detroit native who is best known for 1972’s The Godfather (considered one of the greatest movies of all time), 1974’s The Godfather Part II, and 1979’s Apocalypse Now, spoke to the students, giving them advice, telling them about his storied career, and sharing his insights on the film industry. Many of his anecdotes elicited laughter from the students.

For instance, Coppola advised the students to have a writing routine and stick to it, regardless of whether it’s late at night or early in the morning.

“Do it regularly. A good exercise for a writer is to apply your rear end to the chair,” he said. “For me, it was early in the morning with my coffee. The reason I liked writing early in the morning is because nobody has hurt my feelings yet.”

Don’t re-read your work too soon

Coppola advised aspiring screenwriters: once you write six pages, don't read them again until your first draft is completed.

“You’ll read it, and you’ll hate it. What that means is you’ll start rewriting, and that’s a big mistake. Maybe those six pages’ll get cut out anyway, so why are you rewriting them? Also, you give up the wonderful process of creating a second draft,” he explained.

When making a major change in a script (such as changing a character from a woman to a man), Coppola told them not to go back and rewrite it, but to instead finish the current draft. Then go back and rewrite.

“If you think the story starts on the twentieth page, think about all the time you would’ve wasted rewriting the first six pages!” he said.

He spoke about the best advice he followed: Decide what’s the best thing you have, the second-best thing you have, the third-best thing you have, then take the best thing and make it the end of the movie. Take the second-best thing and make it the beginning of the movie. And the third-best thing, you can just “shove it in anywhere.”

“Now that you know you have a great ending and a great beginning. The ending is the most important thing. It’s the moment when it all comes together,” he said. “When the audience loves the ending of the movie, that’s the part they take home with them. If they hate the ending, you’re in trouble.”

No rules in cinema, because you will change them

Many students starting out in the film industry like to create a short film. Coppola advised against that, suggesting they create a one-act play with just one or two characters. Editing a one-act play is much easier than editing a short film.

“That way, you can have it ASAP and get the audience’s reaction right away, learning how your work affected the audience,” he said.

Coppola expressed disgust at how the art of filmmaking is indelibly tied to the business world.

“We live in a world of commerce and art living together. Art’s not sports. Art doesn’t have a score,” he explained. “Think about it: How many stars would you give the Taj Mahal? Would you give the Parthenon more stars than the Taj Mahal? Or would you give the Pyramids more stars? I’d give the Pyramids two stars and the Taj Mahal six. It’s ridiculous! Art is beyond score. There’s just one score: Beauty. And truth. We give movies scores to determine how much money they’ll make.”

In the end, Coppola said there is no one right way to break into the industry.

“In a way, there are no rules. There are no rules. You’re gonna change the rules,” he said. “If you're willing to open and enter a new door, you may end up somewhere you've never been before."

Inspirational, surreal, unforgettable

HFC student Kevin Rocha was impressed and honored to attend the event. He called it “unforgettable.”

"The event was amazing, and being able to go was a privilege. This was an honor and an unforgettable experience,” said Rocha. “To hear a legend like Coppola talk about what film really is spoke to me and inspired me. Film looks very overwhelming, but I’m passionate enough to chase after it. As the saying goes, ‘Nothing worth having comes easy.’”

McGraw was equally impressed with Coppola.

"Being that close to one of the greatest directors of all time was truly surreal, and his insight into the history and world of filmmaking was inspiring,” said McGraw. “The only thing better for me than getting to listen to him share his stories was watching my students hanging on his every word and soaking it all in. A once-in-a-lifetime experience for us all!"