It’s in the blood

The son also rises. This could be the dictum of the children of Hollywood greats. The movie capital of the world is awash with father-daughter, father-son, tandems. Among these are Academy Award winning director Francis Ford Coppola and daughter Sofia, whose last movie directorial job Lost In Translation earned her a nomination as Best Director at the Oscar Awards (the first American woman to be nominated); Oscar winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor, Reds), and son Fabrizio, Conrad Hall who won the Oscar Best Cinematography in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty and son Conrad Jr.

Sofia Coppola started as an extra in some of her father’s films. She was the little boy in the christening scene in the first Godfather movie. She also appeared as Mary Corleone (daughter of Michael Corleone played by Al Pacino) in the third episode of the movie. Francis is known for casting family members in his movies. It was also he (some say) who was instrumental in nephew Nicolas Cage’s entry into the movies.

As Mary Corleone, Sofia was a replacement for Winona Ryder who got sick. Sofia was wildly bashed for her role as Mary and that signaled the end of her acting career.

Today, Sofia is a successful director. Her last movie, Lost In Translation also won Oscar Best Screenplay as well as three Golden Globes including Best Picture. Her father Francis is a member of the elite circle of five who won the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay for the same film. Francis won all these three in the Godfather Part II. His movie Apocalypse Now also won two Academy awards. He is also producer of Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha, one of the great Japanese director’s last films.

Many criticize Francis Ford Coppola as a wasted genius, a failed wunderkind and as a director who had a few great years, produced great movies but who has slid downhill as time passed. Even great directors are not exempt from cruel, relentless scrutiny and criticism. But Francis is a league of his own. He was voted by Entertainment Weekly as 21st Greatest Director of all time. Describing himself wryly, Francis said, "I probably have genius, but no talent." Francis produced Sofia’s The Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation, and the forthcoming Marie Antoinette.

In the 2003 Oscar Awards, Conrad Hall Jr. accepted the Best Cinematography Award in behalf of his father Conrad L. Hall for American Beauty. The award was posthumously given to Conrad Hall Sr. who died before he could accept his second Oscar. Father and son worked together in several movies with Conrad Hall Sr. as cinematographer and Conrad Jr either as assistant cameraman, second unit director of photography, or camera operator of his father. Among their collaborative works are Tequila Sunrise, Love Affair, Without Limits, A Civil Action and American Beauty, among others. But Conrad Jr. is now on his own. He is a respected Hollywood cinematographer following in his father’s footsteps. Among the solo projects Conrad Hall Jr. did as cinematographer are Panic Room, The Punisher, A Gentleman’s Game, Two For the Money, among others.

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, on the other hand, taps son Fabrizio as visualizer in his projects. Together with Fabrizio, they conceived the Univisium film system. Vittorio also invented The Storaro Selection of Colors, a selection of color gels used by cinematographers.

Vittorio is the most awarded cinematographer in the history of moviemaking. Filmmakers describe him as a genius in lighting. He is unparalleled in his use of color. "The meaning of light has universal principles. But every culture can have its own interpretation. It is like music. When you put different notes together in different ways, they have different meanings," Vittorio says.

He is more known for his partnership with Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola and Hollywood actor/director Warren Beatty. With Bertolucci, Vittorio produced such magnificent works as The Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, among others, and with Warren, Reds, Bulworth, Ishtar, Dick Tracy. Among his numerous awards are the Oscar Best Cinematography for Reds, The Last Emperor and Apocalypse Now.

In the local front, photographer Jun de Leon and son Lee have collaborated on a photography book entitled Tracing the Wind. It follows the journey of father and son to London, Dubai, Japan, Los Angeles and the Philippines. With two Sony Ericsson K800i Cybershot phones and laptops, Jun and Lee embarked on a journey which Jun describes "had no destination, no exit." On the book’s concept, Jun says, "I don’t think out of the box. I rip the box. I wanted to find out if what I wanted for the project was possible, so I went out and took shots."

When Lee learned he was going to do the project with his dad, he panicked. But he also realized it was going to be a perfect partnership – Jun turns to Lee for the technicalities and Lee turns to Jun for the finer points of the art. "We’ve worked together before. But working together abroad was an entirely different experience, says Lee. Tracing the Wind is available (in limited edition) for free for every purchase of Sony Ericsson K800i Cybershot.

I just want to take this chance to thank Jun (de Leon) for all the fabulous shots! "Inhale…and release the air…and give me that smile, slowly... good, brilliant!" Jun de Leon always treats me like I was Tyra Banks and I am grateful!