In 2005, Sofia Coppola’s mother Eleanor Coppola shot a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of her (eventually) seminal film “Marie Antoinette,” but it was never finished nor released.
Now, after Sofia Coppola edited the 80 hours of footage according to her mother’s wishes, Mubi will put “Making Marie Antoinette” out in the world.
The distributor and streaming service has acquired worldwide rights to the documentary, which was shot by Eleanor Coppola and produced by Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, Rachel Dengiz, Youree Henley, and Sofia Coppola, Mubi announced on Wednesday.
The footage was edited by Aaron Matthews with input from Eleanor’s good friends Davia Nelson and Liz Bird. The film was financed by OUR FILMS (A Mediawan Company), Mediawan Rights and Entourage Pictures.
Eleanor Coppola, who died in 2024, is voiced by Diane Lane in the documentary, who reads passages from Eleanor’s journals in which she discusses her experiences on set and reflects on her relationship with her daughter.
Eleanor Coppola was, of course, the longtime wife of Francis Ford Coppola and a filmmaker in her own right. She directed perhaps the greatest making-of documentary in history, “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse,” a harrowing and candid look at the trials and tribulations of making “Apocalypse Now.”
“My mother and I started going through her footage during lockdown. It was always her wish to make what she shot into a feature length documentary,” Sofia Coppola said in a statement. “She was on set as a filmmaker and also my mother, so I found it so moving to go back through the material and to see our shoot through her eyes. I’m so grateful to Lorenzo and OUR FILMS for helping me put this together, and couldn’t be happier that Efe and Mubi are going to be releasing it.”
Efe Cakarel, Mubi’s Founder and CEO added: “Sofia is one of the defining filmmakers of her generation, with a voice and sensibility entirely her own. Marie Antoinette was bold, beautiful, irreverent and hugely influential, and to revisit it now through Eleanor Coppola’s eyes, as both a filmmaker and a mother, is incredibly moving. We are proud to bring this intimate and remarkable portrait to audiences around the world.”
Mubi will announce specific release plans at a later date.
“Marie Antoinette” was released in 2006, a highly anticipated follow-up from Sofia Coppola after her Oscar-winning “Lost in Translation.” But the film, a pop take on the young Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst in the lead role, received polarizing reviews and grossed just $60 million on a budget of $40 million. It was perceived as a disappointment, but in the ensuing years, “Marie Antoinette” has achieved something of a cult status after a critical reappraisal.
