LA Times: Sofia Coppola, Somewhere & Chateau Marmont

This weekend, the Los Angeles Times's Mark Olsen ran a piece, "The Directors: Sofia Coppola takes a floor at the Chateau Marmont," on Coppola's unique history with the Chateau, the location of her most recent film Somewhere. Coppola always saw her story of Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) and his budding relationship with his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) taking place there. For Dorff's character, the Chateau, according to Coppola, summed up where he is: "It's sort of a rite of passage for an actor to live at the Chateau Marmont. It means you've made it, but you're still 'down-to-earth'." But just because you want to shoot at the famed West Hollywood hotel, doesn't mean you can. In Olsen's article, Philip Pavel, general manager of the hotel, explains:

People ask all the time...It was specific to Sofia's relationship with the hotel. She's been a member of the Chateau family as long as I've been here. When she approached André Balazs, the owner, there was an innate sense of trust that her project would have integrity and reflect the true nature of the hotel.