and bathrooms as we know them. The main house,
had a nice house in San Francisco, and I said to my
he built this for himself, and all he told the architect
wife, “Let’s buy a cottage in the Napa Valley, so the
For us, it was a new dimension. Not only were
is, “I just want a terrace that we can walk about,”
kids could go to a place where there are trees and
we in love with a great Hollywood tradition—William
and he wanted a lot of wood because he was a
maybe an acre of grapes, and we’ll make wine like
Wyler, King Vidor, John Huston and all of these
captain. When we bought the place, my wife and
my grandfather did, and we’ll give it to the relatives
greats, but we were also taken by this new European
I, we had little kids and we had no intention to buy
for Christmas.” She liked the idea of a little summer
thing with the New Wave and the unbelievable
[such] a grand place.
house. So we were looking at little cheap summer
Italian movies in those days after the war, as well as
houses, and the agent said, “This isn’t for you, but
Japanese movies. So I think one of the interesting
You mentioned your grandfather…
they’re going to auction the Niebaum estate—the
things about people my age and younger is that
My grandfather, incidentally, is a man who
original house and a big hunk of the mountain.” I
we were hit by two great traditions: the American
engineered and built the Vitaphone. My father’s
said, “What’s that?”
studio tradition, which was great, and the Japanese,
father built the machine that enabled The
So we went to see it. I had no money or ability
followed us, were basically in love with movies.
European, Swedish traditions were also hitting us.
Jazz Singer, and I have pictures of him with the
to buy a place like that, but when I saw it, it was
Vitaphone. So, now that my granddaughter has
like, “This is where the rich people live.” It had a lake
made her first movie, the Coppola family is five
and 1,400 acres and this beautiful antique house.
the Godfather picture, which was not thought to
generations deep in the movie business, which
We were knocked out, so I made an offer. We didn’t
be such a winner at the time we were editing it,
is weird and amazing if you think that the movie
get it, and that ruined our plan for a little cottage
surprised everyone, most of all me. And probably
business is only 110 or 120 years old. And we have
because nothing compared to this. This is right
Paramount. It was under a lot of shadows. The point
five generations, including on the other side,
before I went to make Apocalypse Now.
I’m making is that to make Apocalypse Now I had
because my other grandfather owned a movie
We were close to going to the Philippines, and
So we were doubly in love with the movie business. I was about 30. I had three kids. Miraculously,
to put up everything I was worth to guarantee the
theater and they lived in it. He was very interested
about seven, eight months after having lost the
in movies and he imported some of the first Italian
deal, my wife heard the rumor that the people who
movies for immigrants in America to see.
bought it were financed by a group that wanted to
You bet on yourself.
put 60 homes on the mountain but ran into trouble
And in those days, when Carter was president, the
to Italy. He was dealing with a big studio that was
with the new agricultural preserve rules that said
interest rate was 25%. So not only did I have this
making these films. They said, “She’s an actress.”
the mountain couldn’t be exploited—thank God.
loan on my back in order to make the picture, but
She wasn’t an actress. But, as a pretty 16-year-old,
So, on a wild chance, I went to the people who had
it was at impossible interest. The likelihood of me
the studio wanted her to do a test, and though my
bought it and said, “Is there a chance you might
surviving that was very against me, and I was, of
grandfather was greatly against it, she did it. I’ve
want to sell it?” They said yes.
course, during Apocalypse, famously scared and
Actually, he took my mother, when she was 16,
heard that speech of her test. It’s something like,
budget, including this place that I had just gotten.
I bought it from them without even knowing
depressed. So when I got back, my wife said to me,
“Through the courtesy and so-and-so of the Caesar
where the hell I was going to get the money. It was
“We have this winery. What should we do? We have
Film Company, one of the most modern, up-to-date
about what a house cost in Beverly Hills in those
200 acres of grapes and we don’t know anything
film studios in the world, we are glad to present to
days; I think it was about $1.2 million. I arranged that
about how to run a wine business.” I said, “Well, I
you, Vittorio De Sica.” She made that speech and
and went off to make Apocalypse Now.
don’t know anything about how to make movies
I’ve heard that speech all my life. That is the extent of my mother’s experience as an actress.
I had made the successful Godfather and I
either, really, so let’s just do our best.”
think also the successful Godfather II and The Conversation. I was in the movie business, where
It is the dream to own a film like Apocalypse
She didn’t pursue it further?
you’re up and down. I was in my up period but I
Now, or a winery like this?
It was used as an introduction, I guess, on some
was astonished that nobody wanted me to make
The reason our family owns Apocalypse Now is
film, but for my grandfather... For her to be an
Apocalypse Now. I learned the big rule of the movie
because no one else wanted to finance it. When
actress then was scandalous, so he didn’t want any
business, which is, it’s not so much that you maybe
it was done it was a) long and b) weird, in most
of that.
won a bunch of Oscars or are in good favor, it’s
people’s opinion. But I was a kid who never had
also about the type of movie you want to make. If
$100 to his name, who owed $20m or $30m at
So how did you land at Inglenook—and how did
I wanted to spend my whole life making gangster
25% interest. So I was scared stiff, and also I was
Apocalypse Now factor in?
pictures, I guess I could have done that, but my
doubly scared because I now had this place and my
I had no money whatsoever to my name, much
movie aspiration was... I was young. I wanted to
little kids. I remember being on that terrace right out
less influence or connections, when I came here to
learn as much as I could and try as many different
there that Niebaum built, just depressed. “This is so
go to film school. I had not a penny. But after The
styles and understand more about the cinema,
beautiful and I’m going to lose it shortly because of
Godfather I got the first little money I ever had. We
because my generation, and the generation that
this picture.”
“IF I WANTED TO SPEND MY WHOLE LIFE MAKING GANGSTER PICTURES, I GUESS I COULD HAVE DONE THAT. IT’S NOT SO MUCH THAT YOU MAYBE WON A BUNCH OF OSCARS OR ARE IN GOOD FAVOR... I WANTED TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I COULD AND TRY AS MANY DIFFERENT STYLES. MY GENERATION WERE BASICALLY IN LOVE WITH MOVIES.” 30
D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E