Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/798465
40 DGA QUARTERLY R I E N D S A N D collaborators for nearly 30 years, writer-di- rector Sofia Coppola and pro- duction designer Anne Ross have worked together on a va- riety of feature films (Lost in T ra n s l a t i o n , S o m e w h e r e ) , commercials (Christian Dior and H&M) and music videos (The White Stripes). Theirs is a sleek visual world of elegant mansions, minimalist and modern interiors, and, above all, a vivid depiction of isolation and alienation. However, with their upcoming fourth feature collaboration, The Be- guiled, a remake of Don Siegel's 1971 Civil War-era drama about a Union soldier who takes refuge in a Confederate girls school, Coppola and Ross appear to be forging into new territory with their first period film together. They spoke to DGA Quarterly about their methods, from mood boards to white spaces to the advantages of real locations. PHOTO: COURTESY SOFIA COPPOLA DGA: You two go back a long time. Anne, I saw that you assisted on Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992. Did you meet before that? ROSS: Yes, we've been friends for decades through work. It's wonderful to be friends with someone who you've collaborated with for so long. We did this little movie, The Spirit of '76, in the late '80s; she was doing costumes and I was in the art department. DGA: What is your prep process like? COPPOLA: We start early on talking about it when I'm writing. It's a big help to me. I put together reference photos and images to help with writing. Anne knows me so well that we have a shorthand, and she's able to find those images that are helpful for the mood and tone of the world we're trying to create. When we start the actual prep, Anne has big mood boards of images on set that help the DP and costume designer get on the same page. DGA: Do you ever disagree? COPPOLA: Usually, we're on the same page. Sometimes, I have to figure out why I don't agree with her, whether it'll be about a color or something For The Beguiled, Coppola and Ross Travel Back in Time SOFIA COPPOLA AND ANNE ROSS: By Anthony Kaufman [ c o l l a b o r a t o r s ] F