One of the standouts from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival is the teen drama Palo Alto. Directed by Gia Coppola, this beautifully photographed gem is based on James Franco’s short story collection, Palo Alto: Stories, and centers on a group of high school students (played by Emma Roberts, Nat Wolff, Jack Kilmer and Zoe Levin) who have a penchant for getting in trouble.
Palo Alto is a knockout, as it adds some much needed flavor to the teen movie genre by putting forth multilayered, conflicted characters that aren’t who they seem to be on the surface. Coppola, who has a gift for taking mundane elements of everyday life and giving them a dreamlike quality, injects the film with beautiful visuals and inspired stylistic choices, making for a very impressive debut.
At the recent NY press day for Palo Alto, I had the chance to sit down with Coppola and Franco for an exclusive interview. We discussed the film’s authentic portrayal of teen life, taking the stories from page to screen, and how the Franco reacted to seeing his work adapted by an emerging new filmmaker.
Check it out in the video below and be sure to catch Palo Alto when it comes to theatres on May 9th.