Sofia Coppola, Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning on Their Heartbreaking Film Somewhere

Somewhere gives the viewer a comprehensive view of L.A. We see a lot of the Chateau Marmont, but we also see ruddy highways and ground-level ordinariness. Sofia, how would you describe this film's relationship with L.A.?

SC: I wanted it to feel really like an L.A. movie. There were movies I always loved like Shampoo and American Gigolo that really felt like driving around L.A. and what it's like to be here. I wanted to put my impression of it, the way the bright light looks when you're driving in the middle of the day, the strip malls, the flavor of what it's like here -- I tried to put that in the movie. Then in the Chateau Marmont, I was showing a side of the movie star's life that you usually don't get to see -- a "sneak peak."

Stephen, you mentioned at a Q&A recently that Johnny was your most difficult role. At a base level, you must relate to the fact that he's an actor. Did that help the part come easier?

SD: This role, I mean, nothing was really easy for me because of the pure nakedness of the film and the fact that from the first shot, Sofia's setting up a major character study. You're lucky to get that kind of a character in a movie these days. The pressure was that even in the simplest of scenes if it ever felt at all like I was acting, it would unravel the vision of what Sofia wanted to do. It would've stood out like a sore thumb. My whole thing was just trying to stay true to Sofia's vision, the subtlety of it, and hit the poignant moments when they needed to be hit. There wasn't really an easy scene. Even in the earlier scenes when I'm half-asleep, I found those sometimes the most challenging because I wanted them to seem real. I hate in movies when actors are waking -- there's a lot of waking up for me in this movie -- I hate in movies when I see actors posing or lip-pouting when they're waking up. I wanted him to really be unconscious and tired. I had to walk this fine line of living very hard as Johnny before Cleo arrives. Nothing was really easy for me on this one. It was really a joy, but I found it very difficult.

SC: I think [Dorff's early scenes] are difficult. It looks like, "Oh, he's not doing anything." It's really challenging not to have a big performance or dialogue to hide behind. But the way it's written, I feel like it's really clear. I talked to Stephen about that, and we found the balance on set.

Johnny's press tour for Berlin Agenda confronts him with some bizarre members of the press. An Italian camera crews ambushes him for an interview at one point. Did weariness of the press help inspire the film?

SC: I've been around that world in film festivals with my dad, and it's just so much more exaggerated than real life. It's this over-the-top world that I wanted to convey. I wanted to convey how unnatural that showbiz world is to kind of contrast [with Johnny's life], while Elle's a symbol of purity and connection.

You've said that one press member's question for Johnny -- something about staying in shape -- was real?

SC: Oh, yeah. In the press conference scene with Johnny, there are real members of the Hollywood Foreign Press. I asked them to ask a question they'd ask. The Russian guy had a question about workout tips. Like, I didn't make that up.

SD: It's funny that he's asking about workouts, because Johnny's the most unhealthy character in the world. Johnny just has to say, "I keep it simple. A simple workout." Really funny.

SC: Johnny's attitude is specific because he's promoting something he doesn't care about. He's gotten famous from this Berlin Agenda movie. It's that kind of thing too -- he has mixed feelings about being known for that type of movie.

In the last scene, Johnny drives off and has a moment of liberation on the road. Can you talk about filming that, Stephen?

SD: I love that scene because it was the last shot of our L.A. shoot.

SC: Yeah! It was the last day of shooting.

SD: We were about to go to Milan, which kind of felt like another little adventure anyway, so we knew our characters by then. But really for our main unit, our main shooting, it was kind of our last shot. And I think it's Johnny's beginning. Inside, I felt "clear" for the first time as Johnny. He's in a white shirt. He's crisper-looking. He's more awake. He's alive again. Instead of a pill or a beer or a shot of whiskey, he's got a natural high, a natural strength, like he could make a change. It was very clear what I was thinking about. It was, "I think he's going to be a great dad and a man for the first time." Then I thought if he goes back to acting, maybe he'll do movies he's proud of instead of typical action movies. But I love the way that scene was shot. Sofia said something personal to me as I was walking toward the little golf cart, or whatever you guys were on. It felt very sunny and beautiful where we were on this empty were. It just felt like a new beginning of a new chapter, and a continuation. What Sofia said to me triggered an emotion for me.

SC: I think it was emotional because it was our last day.

SD: Yeah, it was a lot of different things, but it was a beautiful way to end it.

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