Favorite Quotes and Moments From the Palo Alto (2013) Trailer + Song + Stills + Set Photos + Pretty Pictures of Gia Coppola
Gia Coppola‘s debut feature Palo Alto (2013) is currently my most anticipated film. It should be available in less than one month, but it seems like eternity. In the meantime I’ve been playing the trailer on repeat, I’ve been watching Gia’s short film Non Plus One and I’ve also been listening to the amazing song from the trailer. As I re-watched the trailer multiple times certain lines started sticking out for me and I know I should be cautious, because it’s only a trailer, but it looks like a well-written film.
Here are some of my favorite quotes & moments.
– Mister B is a hottie. I heard he wants to get it on with April. (girls laugh)
– No he doesn’t, why would you say that?
I love how Emma Roberts delivers her line here. She’s denies it, but at the same times she’s surprised and flattered her girlfriends would say something like that, because she probably has a crush on Mr. B. It all comes through in her voice and it’s just a nice little genuine character moment. In the picture above you can see Mr. B (James Franco) and April (Emma Roberts).
– You just don’t care about anything.
– I wish I didn’t care about anything.
I’m a big fan of this little exchange of dialogue, between Jack Kilmer (Val Kilmer’s son) and Emma Roberts. It’s though to say how it will play out in the film, because of the editing of this trailer and whether that’s meant as a “compliment” (it sounds that way to me). But that’s actually something I’ve found myself admiring in others as weird as it sounds. It’s the ability to see beyond things and realize that at the end of the day nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things. I wish I had that ability.
– I’m older and I know that there aren’t a lot of good things around and I know that you are really good.
Finally a picture that matches the line. But anyway, this is a great line delivered by James Franco, who can be really charming. Maybe I’m over interpreting it, but it seems that he uses this line to get into Emma Roberts’ character’s pants. Does he really mean it? We’ll see in the film I guess. I’ve not read the book, but I get a feeling that this line was lifted directly from James Franco’s Palo Alto: Stories.
– Do you even think she’s pretty?
– She’s pretty.
– I don’t think she’s that pretty.
Emma Roberts‘ character is jealous of James Franco‘s giving attentions to another girl on the soccer team. I love this exchange between girls, because it’s very realistic and it totally reminds me of high school. I also like how the girls deliver the lines, because it’s almost self-aware, but it’s also honest and touching. Again, who knows how this works out in the film edit version, but here it’s absolutely effective.
– You’re young. You don’t know why you do things. But there’s always a reason.
Once again it’s all James Franco. This line could have easily been delivered to sound like something uber-cheesy and completely unbelievable, but he sells it. I don’t know if the character in the film is a positive one, but he certainly seems to be full of these one-liners that are designed to make a naive girl like April fall for him. Does he believe his own BS? Is it even seen BS in the movie? Though to say. I like his Adidas tracksuit by the way.
Other Things I Loved:
The title cards. The neon green, the font, the spacing: Everything is perfect. The text as well: “In every town there are girls looking for love. There are boys looking for trouble. There are men looking for both.”
The costumes. Lots of patterns: Stripes, leopard, pois (that is polka dots). I love it, I think it adds to the already cool aesthetic. The lighting is perfect, I think this film is going to look gorgeous.
Val Kilmer. Did you notice the mug with his face on it? It’s one split second, but I randomly noticed it yesterday and thought it was hilarious. What’s up with his hair? I don’t know why but he sort of reminds me of Busta Rhymes.
Here are some more stills from the movie, which once again highlight Autumn Durald‘s splendid, some have called it luminous, cinematography.
I also wanted to share some set photos I found around the web (namely google and the official Facebook page of the film). It looks like it was a fun shoot and hey that Gucci blanket is so kick ass. Seriously, I don’t know how people can dislike James Franco.
And finally here are some great pictures of the director herself: Gia Coppola. I think she looks stunning and you can definitely see the resemblance with Sofia.
black is white 
Now I’m looking forward to this film as well!
You have just about convinced me that “Palo Alto” is worth watching. 🙂
“- Do you even think she’s pretty?
– She’s pretty.
– I don’t think she’s that pretty”
–> Heard this exact conversation COUNTLESS times when I was in high school.
As for James Franco, he’s definitely pulled some questionable stunts, but I’ve been a fan of his ever since he refused to bullshit his way through the Oscars in 2011. (I mean that sincerely. Most people took Anne Hathaway’s side, but she was painfully awkward and not funny at all. You could tell from the “previews” that Franco hated to be involved in such a pointless charade).
Haha nice! 🙂
Yeah, I don’t like all the project he choses, but I love his persona. He’s just so likable. And movie wise he mostly gives his best. Like in Spring Breakers, he owns the film!
This looks like a real beauty. Looking forward to this. Cheers for the lavish appraisal Davide!
Thank you, Tom! Couldn’t agree more and I do enjoy lavish 🙂