Palo Alto (Gia Coppola, 2013)

Dr Steve GaunsonTextual CrossingsRMIT University

Analogy adaptation — These are often 'inspired by' or 'based on' adaptations.

• Short Cuts (Robert Altman) working a number of short stories into one coherent narrative– Raymond Carver– Character centered – Characters lead the way– Plot is based on character decisions

• The Short Cuts structure informs this movie

Celebration: Heavy reluctance to change the exact words or sentiment of the source.

• “I read the book and loved it. So that’s the project we decided to pursue together” – Franco helped with direction of camera set-ups– Acted in the film

• This eroded any chance of the film being critical of the source material

• “One of the features of James’s book that really struck me was how capable he was of conveying the young female perspective—so often he was dead on”– Female characters become central to the story

AdjustmentAdjusts, changes, and alters the source without losing the sentiment.

• “The “April” story really stood out to me. I loved the longing of the two characters; they are people who can’t really express their feelings. Plus, it was a bit of a longer story so there was more for me to work with. I also loved the dialogue in the "Jack-O" story. I thought it would be a good way to frame the whole piece with a beginning and end. While those were the three main stories I took from, I did take elements from the other stories. Unlike a novel, I had to take bits and pieces from all of Palo Alto: Stories to make it for the screen”.

• “I Didn’t want a series of vignettes”

• “After I wrote each story in screenplay format, it was much easier for me to see how I could combine characters and intertwine them into one cohesive story”

Allusion: Directly alludes to many different cultural contexts.

• Film was shot in the homes of Val Kilmer and Gia Coppola’s mother

• Makes connections to other ‘serious’ adolescent films– The Virgin Suicides (1999): In April's bedroom, a poster

for the film can be seen on her wall. – Where the Wild Things Are (2009): Teddy imagines

himself in this movie/book and is shown wearing the costume Max wore and walking in the woods.