Karaoke, not the whisper, the heart of Lost in Translation

Showing all posts tagged: Sofia Coppola

Karaoke, not the whisper, the heart of Lost in Translation

14 September 2023

It’s been twenty years since American filmmaker Sofia Coppola’s second full length feature, Lost in Translation, was released. Pretty much all anyone could talk about at the time was the whisper scene at the end of the film, when Bill Murray’s character, Bob, uttered a comment into the ear of Scarlett Johansson’s character, Charlotte.

Murray’s words were inaudible to viewers of the film, precipitating a flurry of speculation as to what he said. You name it, people have probably argued in support of it.

I still have Lost in Translation in my aging DVD collection, and maybe every year or so, we bring it out for a spin. But the more I see the so-called whisper scene, the more pointless it becomes. Bob clearly says something uplifting to Charlotte. Great. So why keep it hushed up?

As a way of getting people to talk about Lost in Translation? But that seems like overkill, a stunt even. The movie already has numerous talking points. The pairing of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Their character’s respective marriage problems. Why Charlotte’s husband left her languishing in a Tokyo hotel room, while he went gallivanting around Japan, apparently for work.

But Tom Nicholson, writing for Empire Online, suggests that the karaoke scene is perhaps Lost in Translation‘s most poignant:

The karaoke sequence is a much better embodiment of what the movie’s about — a beautiful bit of intimation and suggestion and just enough irony to stop anyone taking what’s said entirely seriously. Every karaoke song choice is a chance to tell your fellow singers something about yourself using other people’s words.

The songs sung in the karaoke scene were Brass in Pocket, originally recorded by The Pretenders, and More Than This, by Roxy Music. Using other people’s words then could make figuring out what Bob whispered to Charlotte a little easier, if you still want to.

Sofia Coppola Instagram to show making of Priscilla Presley film

17 October 2022

The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, Somewhere, and The Bling Ring, are among Sofia Coppola made movies I’ve loved. Now the American filmmaker has started work on her new feature, a biopic about Priscilla Presley. And in what is sure to be a treat for fans, Coppola has created an Instagram page where she will document production of the film.

Coppola’s first post shows a well-worn copy of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, placed on top of some script pages from her forthcoming adaptation. Starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, Priscilla will chronicle Presley’s torrid, one-of-a-kind romance with the king of rock and roll.

A trailer for The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist

4 October 2022

The Bling Ring were a gang of American teenagers who broke into the homes of actors and celebrities in Los Angeles in 2009. Having ascertained their victims were out of town — usually by way of media reporting — the group would locate their houses.

Once onsite they’d find a way to enter the property, often by finding a hidden key, or an unlocked door, and go about helping themselves to whatever they wanted, typically designer clothing and prestige fashion accessories.

Targets included Kirsten Dunst, and Paris Hilton, whose house the teenagers repeatedly raided. Their escapades were the subject of Sofia Coppola’s 2013 film of the same name, starring Katie Chang, Emma Watson, and Israel Broussard. The movie includes cameos by Kirsten Dunst, Hilton, who is a friend of Coppola.

Nine years later, the Bling Ring’s activities are the subject of a new Netflix series, The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist (trailer). Instead of actors though, this time members of the gang feature, including Nick Prugo, Rachel Lee, and Courtney Ames, as they tell their side of the story.