Christopher Coppola's B Movie Masterpiece

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Coppola's 'Bloodhead' a high-tech homage to campy drive-in slasher flicks.

By Tracey Marx, Tech Live

It's the middle of the desert Southwest. Temperatures rise to a camera-melting 120 degrees, and Christopher Coppola is on a dusty set directing Bloodhead, his yet-to-be-released new film.

"Bloodhead" is Coppola's latest project: a campy B movie horror flick starring a claw-toothed monster and an all-star cast of '70s television stars, including Linda Carter ("Wonder Woman"), Shirley Jones ("The Partridge Family"), Bernie Koppel ("The Love Boat"), and Frank Gorshin ("Batman"). The film pits two brothers -- one black, one white -- against an evil cult and the big bad monster.

Coppola is also using state-of-the-art, high-definition technology. Tonight on "Tech Live," see how a slasher flick that will probably get little attention from mainstream audiences has the potential to help revolutionize the way movies are made. Would you expect anything less from a Coppola?

High-def, high-risk

"I'm kind of a maverick, a lot of people get scared," says Coppola, nephew of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola and brother to actor Nicholas Cage. "But when they talk to me and hear my ideas and that it's going to be fun -- the adventure is going to be fun. It might be a little painful at times, but its going to be fun."

Part of the fun for Coppola was shooting "Bloodhead" entirely in high-definition video. Shooting in HD lets viewers see details better on the screen. That's great, but few theaters show movies in HD, so Coppola has transferred the movie to standard film. What's more, Coppola's PlasterCity Productions is still looking for a distributor for the movie.

"That, I thought, was a pretty courageous, maverick thing to do," Linda Carter says of Coppola's chosen medium. She then repeats the thought. "Christopher Coppola: maverick."
Shooting in high-def was a challenge, but one of the rewards of using the medium is instant gratification. Still, shooting with cutting-edge technology wasn't easy.

"We did have some difficulty shooting high definition in the desert in the summer," cinematographer Drew Giannetta says. "As you can expect, it's mechanics, it's electronics. And anytime you have a machine in extraordinarily difficult conditions, you may have problems."
The problems ran the gamut: cameras stopped working -- their parts flexed internally, causing dead pixels; and lighting was always a challenge.

"Most of the considerations in that respect, concerning lighting, exposure, are in your detail highlights," Giannetta says. "Film gives you a little more latitude in that respect, it's a little more forgiving. But the high-def camera really is a computer, so just like any other programming language. You need to learn the language and figure out how to trick the machine. Once you do that -- pretty much sky's the limit."

Coppola calls the format "phenomenally liberating" from his perspective as a director.

Good Family, Good Foundation

Although shooting in HD may give Coppola a freedom he hasn't experienced before, he knows it takes more than good tools to make a film.

"You still have to know the basics, you still have to tell a story, you still have to be true to it," he says.

The self-described maverick isn't just a guy with a big ego. His status is what sets him apart, and it's why he takes chances on a slasher film like "Bloodhead."

"I have my own stamp," Coppola explains. "A lot of people don't."

Coppola never wanted to be in the movie business, but coming from a family whose claim to fame is making movies, avoiding it seemed a challenge.

"I grew up with people making films. It's kind of like a guild," Coppola says. "In the old days, when you were an apprentice you would apprentice with a carpenter; you would learn a skill. Well, I grew up with a bunch of people who knew a lot about film and talked about it."

One day his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, saw one of Christopher's art school projects.

"[He] said, 'You've got a good vision -- you should try,'" Coppola recalls.

Coppola developed his vision and fell in love with the process.

"I love a lot of people having to get together and, through thick or thin, [having] to work together to make it all happen, to make the product," he says. "That aspect -- it's like a family aspect -- I think I love that the most."

His philosophy: Let the adventure of making the film dictate what the film will become, for better or for worse. Bottom line: Stay true to yourself.

Combining camp with cause

"I'd rather make so-called drive-in movie films -- you know, non-pretentious movies -- but have a kind of hidden message in there without being pretentious," Coppola says. "So this movie for me was one of those first ones, but it has kind of this interesting message about hate and racism, and it does it in this non-pretentious way. It might offend. Some people might not think it's that strong of a message, but for me it's like an Aesop fable."

We're not so sure about "Bloodhead" stacking up as an Aesop fable, but the campy, drive-in style certainly shines through. You can't miss the humor it brings to the film.

Coppola says his next project will be a takeoff of Shakespeare, but he's putting his actors on motorcycles -- something he calls a "biker Macbeth." A bit unconventional, maybe, but

Coppola fans would expect nothing less.

"Let me get this straight," Coppola says. "I can do my 'Blue Boy' like Picasso, I can do a very conventional film. I can do it."

He just doesn't want to.