Sofia Coppola has revealed why she almost quit making films following her 2006 movie Marie Antoinette.
While speaking with Rolling Stone, in an interview published online Tuesday, the Priscilla director said that while she “had a great time with Kirsten [Dunst] and Jason [Schwartzman], being in Versailles and in Paris at that time,” it was also “a lot to manage so many people.”
“I was just worn out, and I was just like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do this anymore,’” she explained. “[Marie Antoinette] was just a hard shoot, and then I was just over it for a minute. My daughter was born, and I was trying to take a pause.”
The historical drama was based on the life of Marie Antoinette, from being a teen bride to a young woman and eventually the queen of France. At the time of its release, Coppola said she was a “little disappointed” with the mixed reactions, but she was more upset for Dunst “because I thought she did a great job, and we were so proud of the movie.” The film went on to win an Oscar for best costume design.
While the filmmaker pondered the idea of taking a break or completely quitting making movies, she ended up meeting cinematographer Harris Savides, who died in 2012 at age 55, and changed her mind.
“We talked about minimal filmmaking, I got inspired to try to make Somewhere (2010) and go back to two people in a hotel room, and focus on the action and the story,” she recalled.
Coppola added, “There’s something kind of addictive about making movies. You get an idea, and it bugs you until you do it.”
The Lost in Translation director was later asked if she felt any pressure or stress to complete all the projects she hoped to create during her career.
“I don’t feel in a hurry to make more stuff,” she responded. “If I didn’t make anything else, I would feel like I made enough stuff.”
But Coppola later told the outlet that once she finished Priscilla, which hits limited theaters on Oct. 27, she told her husband, “I don’t want to do this again.” And he said, ‘You say that every time.’”
