The visionary filmmaker won an Emmy Award in 1991.
The Big Picture
- Eleanor Coppola, iconic filmmaker and wife of Francis Ford Coppola, has passed away at 87 in California.
- Coppola’s award-winning documentary,
Hearts of Darkness
, chronicled the making of
Apocalypse Now
. - Eleanor was the oldest American director to debut a dramatic film and also directed
Love is Love is Love
in 2020.
It is with a heavy heart that we report filmmaker Eleanor Coppola has died at the age of 87. Coppola, widely known as the filmmaker behind the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, and wife to Francis Ford Coppola, passed away in her home in Rutherford, California. Coppola is survived by her husband and two youngest children, Sofia and Roman.
Coppola’s documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, chronicled her husband’s extensive process of directing the iconic film Apocalypse Now. The project captured the film’s well-documented difficulties, most notably the extensive shoot in the Philippines. Her husband’s work on this film is what inspired Eleanor to get into filmmaking herself. The documentary was awarded two Emmy Awards in 1991 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming (Directing) and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming (Editing).
Eventually, Eleanor went on to direct two narrative features. In 2016, she oversaw Paris Can Wait with Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin, and Arnaud Viard. Eleanor’s work on this film is distinct, as it made her the oldest American director to make a dramatic feature film debut. Her latest credit is for Love is Love is Love in 2020, which starred Joanne Whalley, Chris Messina, and Kathy Baker, and is a film detailing the unique love stories of three different couples. Eleanor also wrote a memoir detailing the life of her family amid Francis’s success with The Godfather and other projects.
The Process Behind ‘Hearts of Darkness’
In an interview with Deadline in 2017, Eleanor described her thought process in directing her award-winning documentary:
“The beginning of the film idea for me was certainly documenting ‘Apocalypse Now.’ I had no idea. I’d made some little art films in the ’70s, but when I got this camera in the Philippines I was just mesmerized, looking through the viewfinder. I really responded to that, so I made different documentaries, because I always loved to shoot.”
Directing, and filmmaking in general, is undoubtedly in the blood of the Coppola family. Outside of Eleanor’s insightful contributions, there are of course, Francis’s iconic films, from The Godfather trilogy to The Outsiders and Apocalypse Now. His long-awaited project with Adam Driver, Megalopolis, is expected to debut at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Eleanor and Francis’s daughter, Sofia, has also directed several well-received films, such as Lost in Translation and The Bling Ring. Most recently, Sofia directed the festival darling Priscilla, which told the story of Priscilla Presley. Their son, Roman, is also a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson, writing Asteroid City and Isle of Dogs. Our condolences go out to Eleanor Coppola’s family.
This article was originally published on collider.com