Francis Ford Coppola wanted some electronic barbecue.
Actually he wanted the real thing and a crowd of filmgoers at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art reminded him he was welcome to come back anytime to make another movie and get all the ribs he could handle.
The occasion was a Q&A session Sunday Dec. 20 over a Skype connection after a screening of Coppola's latest film "Tetro."
Linn Sitler of the Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission led off the conversation between the Brooks filmgoers and the director who was speaking from his home in the vineyards of California. Sitler recalled that when Coppola was filming "The Rainmaker" in Memphis, he said he was doing it to finance a movie he really wanted to make. "Was 'Tetro' that movie?" she asked.
In a way, he said, it was. Three decades ago, "The Conversation" was Coppola's screenplay but he did "The Godfather" first to help finance it. The director also said that his wine making operation allows him to make the smaller films he likes to do.
The Q&A went on for about an hour, with Coppola responding to questions and comments about "Tetro."
And he was generous in his praise of Memphis — the people, the food and as a place to make a film.
