We just learned that Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary film director is finally getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star, which is the 2,715th star in the film capital, will be unveiled this month. The Godfather and Apocalypse Now director is also working on investing his own millions in a new project that he’s been developing for years, Megalopolis.
We talked to Francesca De Luca, who was cast in Coppola’s most recent production Distant Vision, a hybrid film that combines film and live theater. She told us that working with Mr. Coppola was an amazing experience and one of the most memorable in her very busy acting career. He was the epitome of an actor’s director, in other words, he was very sensitive to the actor and their needs and capabilities. It was, however, a little nerve wracking auditioning for such a renowned and talented director, she said. “I didn’t realize it would actually be him in the room auditioning me in the first casting I had fun for the role. It took me by surprise. Usually it’s just the casting director and later at a callback you’d get to meet the director, if it’s someone as powerful as him.” But after they chatted a while she soon relaxed and Mr. Coppola told her that she reminded him of his own daughter, Sofia. After the callback which consisted of a whole afternoon, workshopping the script and improvising, she was overjoyed to actually get the chance to work on one of Francis Coppola’s exciting projects. “It was a dream come true” she said.
Francesca has acted in the London UK, and internationally and currently resides in Los Angeles where she acts full time. She was born and raised in London, although she is of Italian descent and is preparing for a new role playing a New Yorker named Teresa in the film Coffee acting opposite actor Jon Cioffi( Law and Order, The Thrill, The Last Deal) .“I am playing a New Yorker,” she says, “So I’m perfecting my accent with Patrick Munoz, one of Hollywood’s best accent coaches. I have a great ear for accents and I’m approaching this role as if I were in a Scorsese movie.” She also tells us that, “I am going back to my Italian roots again. Although I was born in London, I am of 100 percent Italian blood, I also have cousins in New York, so these kinds of characters come naturally to me.”
Francesca also just completed shooting a Colin Costello film Storage. The film is in post-production and Colin Costello is finalizing the edit, which should be completed shortly and is headed for major film festivals. “Colin told me this week that he is very happy with my performance,” she said, “And that it is amazing. I have to say when I work with well written scripts, like this one, it makes my life much easier as an actress. I’m grateful for these opportunities.”
