For her eighth feature film, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola has assembled Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, and Marlon Wayans for an odd couple, buddy comedy that promises to be rich with the director's signature style and charm. Inspired by a conversation that Coppola had with a close friend who suspected her husband of having an affair and then spied on his every move, the film tells the story of a young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York City.
"I wanted to do something that was a little bit lighter and more playful with a lot of heart and sincerity," Coppola recently told Entertainment Weekly of the father-daughter drama.
Jones stars as Laura in the film, "a seemingly grounded, happily married writer and mother who spirals into an identity crisis after growing suspicious of her husband's (Marlon Wayans) bond with a new co-worker. She later joins her cocktail-sipping, art-dealing, wealthy playboy father, Felix (Murray), to tail her man for clues around his various Manhattan haunts. As the pair gallivants from swanky uptown hotspots (like Club 21, where Coppola shot her leading duo at the same table once reserved for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall to chic downtown hangouts, the thrill of the pursuit fades to the background as their conflicting generational perspectives envelop the adventure, forcing them to reconsider their respective takes on life and love." (via EW)
"Felix is an old-world gentleman used to talking over martinis," Coppola explained to EW during a recent interview. "The way he looks at women and relationships, he’s giving advice from his perspective, which is different from how Laura's husband is, and she’s trying to see it from his view. It’s [juxtaposing] that perspective of the martini generation and how they look at men and women in a different way than we do."
In addition to sharing a series of details about ON THE ROCKS, the outlet also debuted several images from Coppola's upcoming film:
While continuing to speak with EW about her new film, Coppola touched on the challenge of reuniting with Bill Murray, who in 2003 starred in filmmaker's modern-day masterpiece, LOST IN TRANSLATION. "I never thought I could do something with Bill again because people have such a fondness of him and Lost in Translation. I could never recreate something like that, so I never wanted to touch it," Coppola confessed. She then went on to explain how ON THE ROCKS had the potential to offer Murray a different kind of role. "But, all this time has passed, and I loved working with him and I love seeing him in film. We haven’t really seen him as this debonair, playboy father at this stage [of life], so I just had to get over it because now we’re in a different phase [of life]."
For more on Coppola's creative process, her desire to work alongside Rashida Jones, and more, be sure to check out EW's full interview.
Sofia Coppola's ON THE ROCKS will come to theaters and Apple TV+ this October via A24 and Apple Original Films.