Elle Fanning is cheers-ing to a Coppola reunion.
The actress stars in Sofia Coppola‘s latest commercial for The House of Suntory. Coppola previously filmed a Suntory ad with Keanu Reeves during the 20th anniversary of 2003’s “Lost in Translation.”
Fanning, who previously appeared in Coppola’s actual film “The Beguiled,” hosts a dinner party in Japan for the near-60-second spot that captures the “vibrant world of Roku Gin,” per the description. (Not to be confused with this Roku.)
“Sofia was the one who told me about this project,” Fanning said to Interview magazine about joining the campaign. “I think they had asked her if she wanted to direct a commercial and shoot the campaign for this. And she thought of me, which was very sweet. I mean, I’ll do anything for Sofia. But I loved the concept that Roku had come up with for this campaign, with the cherry blossoms, lots of ‘Virgin Suicides’ references in the mood board.”
In fact, the new ad marked a “The Beguiled” reunion behind the camera as well, with the costume designer and director of photography Philippe Le Sourd joining for the ad.
“It was her crew,” Fanning said of Coppola and her frequent collaborators. “And I think that’s what makes her so unique and her sets so special is that she really works with her friends and she’s very loyal and works with the same people who know her aesthetic and know her taste and are all very kind. It just creates this great environment. The vibe that she creates is just kind of the vibe. It’s not dissimilar to how you feel on a film set.”
Fanning added, “We shot this over two days and we finished early. It was the quickest, happiest night. And then we all had a gin cheers afterwards and it was so pleasant. And that’s how it is on her film sets, really.”
Coppola’s 2017 film “The Beguiled” proved to be a controversial feature, despite Coppola winning the best director prize at Cannes. Nicole Kidman starred as a Southern boarding school headmistress who begrudgingly takes in a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell). The indie was made for less than $10 million.
“The male-female dynamic is at the root of it,” Coppola told IndieWire at the time. “There’s always a mystery in the communication between men and women, and the power struggle that’s at the root of it.”
Coppola continued at the time that she wanted longtime collaborator Fanning to embrace being “the naughty teenage one” in the ensemble cast.
Coppola later told IndieWire that she was “aware, obviously, that this history is a loaded one” and that she wanted the casting to be as historically accurate as possible.
In addition to collaborating with Sofia Coppola, Fanning has also appeared in Gia Coppola’s shorts.
Check out the commercial below.
