Sofia Coppola looks at Hollywood life in "Somewhere"

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:35pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sofia Coppola grew up around movies as the daughter of "Godfather" maker Francis Ford Coppola. The 39-year-old has written, directed and produced her fourth film, "Somewhere," due in theaters on Wednesday.

The film, which won the top prize at the Venice film festival earlier this year, takes place at a legendary Hollywood hotel, the Chateau Marmont, and it follows a famous actor (Stephen Dorff) who drifts through life until his daughter (Elle Fanning) shows up. Her visit forces him to rethink his ways and his relationship to her.

Coppola sat down with Reuters to discuss "Somewhere" and how her own life has affected her filmmaking.

Q: From where did the idea for an L.A.-centric movie come?

A: "When I wrote it, I was living in France. It was after I had done 'Marie Antoinette.' I was thinking about being far from home, from California. I was seeing the Chateau Marmont in tabloids and this idea of a movie star adrift at the Chateau Marmont was appealing to me."

Q: As mother of two daughters (Romy, 4, Cosima, 6 months) do you find themes of parenthood creeping into your movies?

A: "When I started writing 'Somewhere,' I just had my first daughter. The idea of parenthood was on my mind because I was experiencing it. I was thinking about how it changes your perspective and how it would affect this kind of character. It made me think of my own childhood and I tried to put in memories of that."

Q: So is this film autobiographical?

A: "Not autobiographical, but it's personal. My childhood was very different than in the movie. But the world is familiar to me so I tried to put personal things and memories into it."

Q: Like what?

A: "When I was writing the father/daughter story, I tried to think of little moments that I thought were fun as kid to get to do with my dad -- going into worlds that kids don't usually get to see. The scene where they're in the casino and he's telling her about craps was something I remember doing."

Q: Did you live in hotels growing up with your father?

A: "We would go on location with my dad when he was making films so I lived in a lot of different hotels. I always thought it was fun. You're away from real life, and you can run around and see interesting people and order room service. I still think it's fun.

Q: Chris Pontius -- from your ex-husband Spike Jonze's TV show and the "Jackass" films -- plays Stephen Dorff's buddy in "Somewhere." Were you apprehensive about approaching him since you and Spike are no longer together?

A: "No. I knew Chris back in that other part of my life but I felt that I could approach him. He was always friendly with me. I've seen him with my friend's kids and he was always sweet and funny with them. I thought it'd be fun to have him with Elle Fanning."

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Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton win lifetime Grammys

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:43pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British actress Julie Andrews, country icon Dolly Parton, jazz drummer Roy Haynes, and punk pioneers the Ramones will receive Grammy Awards for lifetime achievement next year, organizers said on Wednesday.

Recipients also include the Juilliard String Quartet, folk revivalists the Kingston Trio, and 101-year-old gospel legend George Beverly Shea.

They will receive their statuettes at an event in Los Angeles on February 12, a day before the 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony is held.

With the exception of the Ramones, all the lifetime honorees have won competitive Grammys. The lifetime awards will also be posthumous for most of the founding members of the Ramones and the Kingston Trio. Two of the original members of the Juilliard String Quartet, formed in 1946, are still alive.

Andrews, 75, became one of Hollywood's biggest stars by playing prim and cheery nannies in the 1960s movie musicals "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music." She and co-star Dick Van Dyke performed the Sherman brothers' "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in the former.

Parton, 64, a country music singer-songwriter and businesswoman with an irrepressible personality and voluptuous figure, won some of the best notices of her career in recent years with forays into folk and bluegrass. She is perhaps best known for her '70s pop crossover hits "Jolene" and "9 to 5."

Haynes, 85, noted for drum and cymbal techniques, played with the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane during a career spanning more than 60 years.

From their humble New York beginnings, the Ramones helped pioneer punk rock in the 1970s with such fast-paced songs as "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." The quartet, whose members adopted Ramone as their last name, went through multiple lineup changes. Co-founders Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone died in the space of three years earlier this decade.

The Juilliard String Quartet has also gone through many lineup changes. Current violist Samuel Rhodes claims the second-longest tenure, of more than 40 years. Co-founders Raphael Hillyer and Robert Mann remain active in retirement.

The Kingston Trio, best known for "Tom Dooley," helped pave the way for the folk revival of the 1960s. Canadian-born Shea composed the popular hymn "The Wonder Of It All."

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Michael Jackson album fails to top pop chart

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:25pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's first posthumous studio album was the top seller around the world during its first week of release, his label said on Wednesday, but was held to a modest No. 3 debut in the United States.

The collection of unfinished recordings, simply titled "Michael," took the No. 1 slot in Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden, said Sony Corp-owned Epic Records.

It was also a top-five starter in Belgium (No. 2), Canada (No. 2), Japan (No. 3 ), Britain (No. 4), France (No. 4) and Denmark (No. 4).

In Germany, "Michael" was the biggest debut of the year, selling 85,000 copies, Epic said. Its British start of 113,000 copies was the best for Jackson since 1991's "Dangerous."

In the United States, the world's largest music market, "Michael" sold about 228,000 copies during the week ended December 19. Music trade publication Billboard reported last month that Epic was projecting first-week sales of about 400,000 copies.

"Michael" was bested by Taylor Swift's "Speak," which returned to No. 1 for a third, nonconsecutive week with 259,000 copies, and former chart-topper Susan Boyle's "The Gift" with 254,000 copies.

Jackson's previous release, the "This Is It" compilation soundtrack, debuted at No. 1 in the United States a year ago with 373,000 units. Jackson was the biggest selling artist in the United States last year, selling 8.3 million albums mostly in the wake of his death in June at the age of 50.

His fortunes had long been on the wane in the United States, where his career was overshadowed by his bizarre behavior and allegations of inappropriate contact with young boys. Foreign fans were more forgiving, and Jackson was planning a series of comeback concerts in London until he succumbed to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

"Michael" marks the first of what is expected to be many forays into Jackson's trove of unreleased recordings by the executors of his estate. Big-name producers were hired to finish the tracks, and in some cases had to use digital technology to recreate Jackson's voice.

Clocking in at an economical 42 minutes, the 10-track album had critics wondering if Jackson, a notorious perfectionist, would have approved of it.

The New York Times described it as "a rush job," while Rolling Stone said it was "a grab bag of outtakes and outlines." Entertainment Weekly said it was a "solid" improvement on his last studio release, "Invincible." That 2001 album debuted at No. 1 in the United States with 366,000 copies, but was ultimately viewed as a commercial and creative disappointment.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Beatles' Abbey Road crossing wins protected status

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Chinese film to star Christian Bale

By Michael Martina

BEIJING | Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:15am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhang Yimou, one of China's best-known directors, and local movie moguls is hoping for an ascendance on the world's silver screens to match the country's rise on the global political and economic stage.

Winning that international audience may mean tying a Chinese story to a Hollywood face.

Zhang's newest project, a film to depict wartime Nanjing under Japanese occupation, will mark the first time a domestically-funded Chinese movie has placed a Hollywood actor -- Christian Bale -- in a leading role, producers told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The strategy for China's film industry is to go abroad. It is a goal for the future and matches China's fast development," Zhang said at the unveiling of Bale as the leading man in the film, currently titled in English, "Thirteen Women of Nanjing."

The movie, set to begin filming in Nanjing, formerly known as Nanking, in early January, is based on a book by Yan Geling, depicting a religious man (Bale) who attempts to save a group of young women forced into prostitution at by the Japanese army.

"I think anyone who is doing artistic work has the responsibility for cultural exchange," Zhang said.

"We (China) have done many Nanjing-related films, but many of them were directed inwardly, and young people in the West may not know them. So we hope we can make a good film and more young people in foreign countries will see it," he added.

China's movie industry is not alone in wanting to expand its audience. The government -- from the State Council, or cabinet, to the Ministry of Culture -- has had its hand in promoting China's cultural footprint around the world.

The movie that plays on the volatile historical memory of Chinese who suffered under a brutal Japanese occupation during the World War Two may help carry a political reminder abroad.

An indication of that push, the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV hosted 99 film festivals in 47 countries in 2009, according to the official China Daily.

Zhang Weiping, chief producer at New Pictures Film Co Ltd, said many foreign investors had been interested in the film, but the 600 million yuan ($90 million) already invested in the project was generated entirely in China.

"Investors first and foremost think about the market, unlike Yimou, who is focused on art. We invited Bale to join because I am thinking about the market and because we want the world to better understand Chinese culture," the producer said.

"Hollywood stars are expensive, but they are worth it because they can influence the whole world," he added.

Zhang, the producer, said the expectation at the box office is one billion yuan, a goal that "did not pose a problem."

China's total take at the domestic box office is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan this year, a growth of 43 percent over 2009, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

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