Check Out This Stunning Poster For ‘The Director’s Chair’ With Francis Ford Coppola
“The things they fire you for when you are young
are the same things that they give you lifetime
achievement awards for when you are old.”
– Francis Ford Coppola in “El Rey Network Presents:
The Director’s Chair“
For true cinema lovers, there’s nothing quite like two artists just sitting down to talk about art. But whether’s a podcast recorded on someone’s Macbook or a professionally-produced television series, you come for who’s talking.
On March 2 at 8 PM ET/8:30 PT, filmmaker and mastermind of the El Rey Network, Robert Rodriguez, will sit down with the godfather of modern cinema Francis Ford Coppola on a new installment of The Director’s Chair, the series of hour-long specials where Rodriguez interviews some of the most prolific names in cinema. Right after will be the network premiere of Coppola’s The Conversation starring Gene Hackman at 9 PM ET/9:30 PT.
To commemorate the once-in-a-lifetime meeting, a stunning, breathtaking poster was commissioned from rock star indie artist Joshua Budich. It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of work.
The bold use of red. The detail. The significance. Absolutely breathtaking. If you’re not familiar with Joshua Budich’s, work, get acquainted. The guy creates some of the most astonishing tributes to pop culture, television, and cinema. His skill is razor sharp and his vision unlike so many others. I sense an influence from Dru Struzan (although what film artist isn’t?). I want to buy all his prints and frame them everywhere in my house.
But let’s not forget the very reason this poster was created. I am stoked to watch Robert Rodriguez — whose infamous Rebel Without a Crew I’m only just now reading — go one-on-one with Mr. Coppola. As Jim Ross said when Shawn Michaels walked down the ramp to wrestle Shelton Benjamin one night on RAW, “the clash of styles” is “gonna be awesome.”
I owe a lot to Coppola on some personal levels. While my mother raised and treated her son like any good mother would, there are two significant things that bonded us despite the generational divide: The Beatles, and The Godfather. We bonded not just emotionally or sentimentally, but intellectually. For the first time we appreciated something together. She didn’t have to tolerate it, not like she did with Power Rangers or cartoons. Elsewhere, she has been searching for a chronological cut of The Godfather trilogy where the film begins with Corleone’s life in Italy and ends with The Godfather III. She swears up and down it aired on NBC a few decades ago, and it’s been my mission to find that particular cut ever since.
Of all of Coppola’s filmography though, there’s one movie of note I find peculiar: Bram Stroker’s Dracula. By its very essence it’s unlike his other works, even when you consider Jack. I am not smart or eloquent enough to put into words why that film just plain works for me, and there are so many things to hate; Keanu Reeves, as much as I love the dude, was way out of his depth. He was nearly destroyed when he shared scenes with Gary Oldman, like he was Jigglypuff at 200% and Oldman was a Falcon Punch. Yet, there’s something about its atmosphere, or perhaps even its time and place as a gothic film that captures me. I watch a movie like Dracula and other ’90s gothic films like The Crow and they make me feel like I was born a decade too late. I try to watch them every Halloween.
The Director’s Chair with Francis Ford Coppola will air on the El Rey Network on March 2 at 8:00 PM ET/8:30 PT followed by the network premiere of Coppola’s Oscar-nominated classic, The Conversation, at 9:00 PM ET/9:30 PT. Check your local listings for the El Rey Network.
