An offer she couldn't refuse

Rome held its second annual International Cinema Festival Oct. 18 to Oct. 27. The festival was a huge operation involving many different venues around Rome. The main venue for the festival was Renzo Piano’s Auditorium, one of the few contemporary pieces of architecture that has been built near the center of Rome in the past twenty years.

Five of my friends and I were lucky enough to find tickets for the world premiere of “August Rush,” an American film directed by Kirsten Sheridan, for

5 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the auditorium. We were running a few minutes late and managed to pick up our tickets from one of the many temporary structures set up at the site at exactly 5 p.m.

As we were making our way into the auditorium complex, we passed by the red carpet just in time to see the stars of “August Rush” walking in. (Well, we didn’t actually see them, but we saw a lot of people taking pictures of them.)

We were very excited by our near-superstar encounter and quickly made our way to the Sala Santa Cecilia, one of the concert halls in the auditorium. The hall was beautiful with its plush, red chairs and amazing wood-clad acoustical clouds. The screen was lit up with spotlights and anticipation filled the large room.

Within a few minutes, the lights dimmed and a booming voice announced (in Italian) that some of the stars of the movie would be coming on stage to say a few words along with the director. We sat on the edge of our seats as actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Freddie Highmore, along with Sheridan, were introduced in both English and Italian. Unfortunately, Keri Russell and Robin Williams weren’t able to make it that night. Fifteen-year-old Freddie Highmore impressed the crowd by saying a few words in Italian.

After all that excitement, the movie finally began. The movie is a love story about a young boy with amazing musical talent. I won’t say any more than that, but I really enjoyed it and recommend it to everyone.

After the movie, my friends and I chatted about the night’s events while following the crowd outside. We decided we hadn’t had enough star-sightings for one night, so we staked out a spot near the press box and red carpet and waited. After a few minutes of talking and taking pictures, a cameraman in the press box turned and asked me if I could help him. I said, “Sure,” and climbed over the barricade into the press box without waiting to hear what it was that he needed.

He handed me his microphone and said that all he needed me to do was hold it while he interviewed someone. I quickly asked whom I would be helping him to interview, and he casually replied, “Francis Ford Coppola.”

He proceeded to explain that his name was Thomas and he worked for a German news company that was making a documentary about Francis Ford Coppola’s new movie, “Youth without Youth,” which stars Tim Roth and Alexandra Maria Lara. Needless to say, I was very excited and a little nervous to help interview such a talented and famous man.

We waited for about half an hour for Coppola and his family to arrive, all the while taking pictures and watching many other stars walk down the carpet. When Coppola and his family arrived, every camera was flashing and all video cameras were filming. He slowly made his way toward us, stopping to talk to other people of the press along the way until finally he stood right in front of Thomas and me.

I held the microphone in front of him and just stared as Thomas asked him, “How are you feeling just ten minutes before the world premiere of your new movie?” Francis Ford Coppola replied that he was very excited for his family to see it, including his film director daughter, Sophia Coppola. He also explained that the movie is a little different and recommended possibly seeing it twice to better understand it. Coppola seemed pretty relaxed, and he even made eye contact with me a few times while he spoke.

Just before Mr. Coppola continued down the carpet, Thomas quickly asked him, “Why Rome for the premiere?” Mr. Coppola responded, “Why not Rome? It’s a great city!”

I laughed and thought to myself, “I completely agree.” Where else would I have had a chance like this to go to an international film festival and rub elbows with the stars?

Sarah Cutler is an architecture senior studying in Rome, Italy, for the quarter.