EXCLUSIVE: Stars Come Out For 'Somewhere' Screening

Amid positive reviews and plenty of buzz, Academy Award-winning director Sofia Coppola screened her latest effort, Somewhere, at New York City's Tribeca Grand Hotel Sunday night. The movie, which won the top prize at this year's Venice Film Festival, focuses on "bad-boy" movie star Johnny Marco, who is forced to grow up when his 11-year-old daughter unexpectedly shows up at his hotel.

Coppola, the daughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, told Uinterview exclusively that there were elements of autobiography in the movie. "When I was writing the character I thought of what things the daughter could do with her dad, and having a celebrity dad I know the kind of people that gravitate toward that world . . . . And this little scene that he takes his daughter in the casino, teaches her how to play craps, that was something I remember from my dad and it was always fun as a kid to get to go to places kids don't usually get to go."

Elle Fanning, in a breakout role as Marco's daughter, Cleo, has spent her entire life on camera. The 12-year-old made her film debut at age 2, playing the younger version of sister Dakota in I Am Sam. The actress jumped at the chance to work with Coppola. "I'd seen Marie Antoinette before, so I, of course, fell in love with Sofia through that. So I was like 'Oh, I'll do it!' She's so incredible. But also when I read the script, it's so different from anything I'd ever done 'cause . . . there's only like 40 pages in the script. It's a lot to do with, like the way the look in your eyes or the actions, not much dialogue in it."

Fanning bonded with the movie's star, Stephen Dorff, before filming even started. "I think she thought it was cool that a guy was picking her up in a Porsche," Dorff said about picking Fanning up after school. "Her friends thought it was cool and also [I had] these crazy long, blonde hair extensions from the previous movie I was working on, so I looked like a freak when I picked her up. I explained to her that my hair would be coming out and I was gonna be looking more like myself when we work together and she was like, 'Oh, okay, I think it's kind of cool!' And then we went to get yogurt, we went to Color Me Mine, it's a place where you make pottery that I'd never been to. I went to her volleyball games, so we did a lot of cool things and built our own trust which was nice that Sofia gave us that space to do so."

Also in attendance at the premiere were Kirsten Dunst, Parker Posey and James Franco. Somewhere opens in theaters on December 22. —KRISTIN STUDEMAN & ISHITA SINGH