It’s only natural for a parent to think highly of their own children. Physical flaws, social anomalies and lack of talent are overlooked when it comes to a parent’s expectation of their little pumpkin. It must be especially bizarre for celebrities whose children are in a precarious position of following in their Superstar Mom or Dad’s footsteps. Case in point: Coppola’s grave mistake of having cast his daughter in Godfather: Part III.
Granted, she has payed her dues since then and proved her directing talent in such films as “Lost In Translation,” but I consider it compensation. I see it as reciprocity for the time I had spent trudging through her scenes in Godfather: Part III – after I had waited an hour on a cold Thanksgiving Day for tickets and ultimately having left the theater in utter disappointment. About the only redeeming entertainment I got from her performance was when the audience applauded during the scene where her character got shot.
Yes, it took me a while to trust Mr. Coppola’s judgment after Godfather: Part III. And though I understand and respect his confidence in his daughter I hope the lesson wasn’t lost – in translation. Let’s pray that directors in the future learn to keep their kids out of it.