ABQJourna.com, Friday, June 18, 2004
Coppola Revs Up for N.M. Film Industry
Christopher Coppola is the self-proclaimed bad-boy Coppola- by design.
While his uncle Francis Ford, cousin Sofia, grandfather Carmine and brother Marc make Oscar-caliber films in Venice, he makes campy, drive-in horror flicks on back lots in Hollywood with '70s TV stars like Lynda Carter and Frank Gorshin.
When his brother Nicolas Cage (Cage is a stage name) and in-law Jason Schwartzman are making blockbuster films, he's busy making direct-to-DVD movies based on comic books.
But that's the point of Christopher.
"I'm the bad boy. That's my image," he said.
Despite his image- with the sterling silver wolf ring, Native American fetish necklace and leather do-rag- he has several directorial, production and writing credits to his lofty name.
He doesn't flaunt the family connections- but he doesn't really hide them either.
This week the anti-Coppola Coppola is in Albuquerque to mentor one of the films chosen to be made this week for the DigiFest SouthWest competition and festival.
This isn't his first time here.
He's been coming to DigiFest for five years to help budding filmmakers get their feet wet making 10-minute movies.
But in the past five years, Coppola has come across shortcomings in the budding New Mexico film industry that if addressed, he said, could turn New Mexico into an industry powerhouse.
The Governor's Office loves to tout the state's movie industry figures. No doubt they're growing, but there's still more to be done, Coppola said.
They are issues the state is aware of and working on, said Lisa Strout, new director of the New Mexico Film Office.
First, the state needs a major studio, with sound stages and editing bays, Coppola said.
A studio in the state would attract TV shows and TV commercial work, the bread and butter of most film crews when they're not on the set of a feature film.
A two- or three-year television series could bring several million dollars to the state and train crews for work on feature films.
"The infrastructure is the big thing," said Nick Paine, head of production for PlasterCITY Productions Inc., a subsidiary of Coppola's production company. "You would get people in from out of state and they might like (New Mexico)."
No surprise there, said Strout of the state Film Office. The state is looking at several studio proposals in various states of development.
Crew- not the quality, but the number- is the other area where the state needs to improve, Coppola said.
Until recently, the state could only field three productions at a time.
With the addition of Reynaldo Villalobos, a cinematographer who recently moved to the state, New Mexico can now host four films at a time, Strout said.
"(Cinematographers) tend to have a family of folks that work with them, and they bring a group of folks with them," Strout said.
New Mexico's good points, however, include a range of locations, a supportive union and quality crews, Coppola said.
Coppola said he wants to make TV shows here, and showed his willingness to help in getting the state's film incentives passed in the Legislature several years ago.
"Chris Coppola is a great guy and he's partly responsible for this, but we're doing really, really well," said Jon Hendry, director of marketing for the New Mexico Tourism Department.
