Kirsten Dunst plays the titular role in Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006).
Photo: Sony Pictures
6 of Sofia Coppola’s Most Memorable Movie Interiors
The Priscilla director has filmed in some renowned locations, from the Château de Versailles to the Park Hyatt Tokyo
Sofia Coppola’s films are always a symphony of subtle beauty, capturing the essence of human emotion with quiet eloquence and a keen eye for detail. Her characters, often adrift in worlds that seem just beyond their grasp, navigate the complexities of longing, alienation, and the search for connection. The Oscar winner is perhaps best known for juxtaposing focused storylines with visually arresting locations, with films shot at the Château de Versailles, Park Hyatt Tokyo, and Chateau Marmont, among other swoon-worthy locales.
The director’s latest release, Priscilla, takes place at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis estate (although Coppola’s version has been rendered by set designer Tamara Deverell in Toronto). But regardless of setting, Coppola’s distinctive use of imagery never fails to create an immersive cinematic experience. Here, a look at some of her most memorable interiors.
Kirsten Dunst as Marie-Antoinette. Photo: Sony Pictures
1. Marie Antoinette (2006)
Famously shot on-site at the Palace of Versailles, this visually stunning film transports viewers to the opulent world of 18th-century France. The movie’s lavish setting is one of its most striking features, and it plays a pivotal role in creating the film’s over-the-top atmosphere. Coppola depicts the landmark in all its grandeur, with its vast gardens, gilded interiors, and exuberant furnishings—a world of beauty, luxury, and excess that’s also on the brink of revolution. A sense of foreboding and unease pervades, ultimately foreshadowing the tragic fate of Marie Antoinette herself, played by Kirsten Dunst.
Bill Murray in his hotel room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Lost in Translation,. Photo: focus features
2. Lost in Translation (2003)
The sky-hugging Park Hyatt Tokyo served as a key location for Coppola’s Oscar-winning 2003 film, in which Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson play a pair of star-crossed strangers both staying at the lavish urban hotel, located on the top floors of the Shinjuku Park Tower. The plush, minimalist interiors and breathtaking views of the surrounding cityscape provided the perfect backdrop for the movie’s exploration of luxury, isolation, and cultural difference.
Cailee Spaeny plays Priscilla Presley in the new movie, Priscilla. Photo: Ken Woroner
3. Priscilla (2023)
To help conjure Elvis Presley’s iconic Memphis estate, Graceland, Coppola turned to production designer Tamara Deverell, who used Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me as source material to recreate a from-scratch version in Toronto. The end result, meant to depict the property in the 1960s and ’70s, includes a serene downstairs living area juxtaposed against a dark, moody vibe in Elvis’s bedroom upstairs. Among the details culled from his actual room were statues of a striped tiger and Jesus, as well as remote control curtains.
Emma Watson in Paris Hilton’s closet for The Bling Ring. Photo: a24
4. The Bling Ring (2013)
Paris Hilton was gracious (and good-humored) enough to grant Coppola access to film critical scenes of this 2013 blockbuster in her actual Louboutin-filled closet. The socialite was in fact a real-life victim of the teenage thieves who robbed her Beverly Hills home of luxury goods, a crime spree that inspired the plot of the movie, which starred Emma Watson. “If it were anyone else, I would not have agreed to it,” Hilton told Vanity Fair about Coppola, who also shot a scene in Hilton’s lavish nightclub room, equipped with a pole and throw pillows emblazoned with her own face.
The Chateau Marmont is the setting for Somewhere. Photo: Focus Features
5. Somewhere (2010)
Set in Hollywood’s legendary Chateau Marmont, this movie follows a fading rock star (played by Stephen Dorff) as he confronts his loneliness and isolation. The Gothic-inspired property’s labyrinthine corridors and dimly lit rooms create a feeling of confinement and entrapment, reflecting the character’s dwindling notoriety and sense of detachment from the world around him. Adding to the allure is the hotel’s history as a haven for Hollywood eccentrics, a place where they could retreat from the pressures of fame and indulge in a hedonistic lifestyle.
A scene from The Beguiled filmed at Madewood Plantation House in Bayou Lafourche. Photo: Focus Features
6. The Beguiled (2017)
Coppola’s 2017 period piece—set in a secluded girls’ school in the American South during the Civil War—follows a group of women (including Kirsten Dunst and Nicole Kidman) who take in a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell). Though theoretically set in Virginia, the movie was primarily shot at a Greek Revival plantation house with a wraparound porch, towering columns, and expansive gardens near Napoleonville, Louisiana. The candle-lit interiors are strewn with antique furniture, delicate lace curtains, and portraits of former students, reflecting the sheltered lives of its inhabitants.
Cover: Kirsten Dunst plays the titular role in Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006).
Photo: Sony Pictures
