It almost felt like a savior, this movie, because I felt like it helped me … I was real empty inside so this was an incredible thing that made me smile.~ Stephen Dorff

(Photo credit: smh.co.au)

San Francisco — I recently had the fabulous opportunity to interview director Sofia Coppola (Marie Antoinette) and actor Stephen Dorff (Blade) for their new film "Somewhere," about a Hollywood bad-boy, who has a sobering experience when his 11-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning, suddenly comes to live with him.

During the roundtable interview at The St. Regis, Coppola and Dorff were casually dressed; Coppola in jeans and a striped tee, Dorff in jeans, and a flannel shirt layered over a t-shirt — he sported a lumberjack look.

Listen to what Coppola and Dorff had to say in an interview with The Chic Spy.

The Chic Spy to Sofia Coppola:

What should viewers take away?

TCS to SC:

What was the strategy behind the character?

TCS to Stephen Dorff:

How did you draw on the emotional scenes?

Sofia Coppola, Stephen Dorff, and Elle Fanning at the "Somewhere" premiere at the Venice Film Festival. (Photo credit: stylerumor.com)

Questions from other reporters:

Reporter: Obviously you guys are doing these interviews back-to-back. Is that something you can get use to or do you see it as part of the job to do roundtables and press junkets?

Sofia Coppola: Our movie is coming out so I am happy to get the word out, to talk about it, and hopefully get some inetrest.

Stephen Dorff: Yeah, it's pretty much part of the job. It makes it a lot more exciting to do it when you have a really good movie to talk about (laughs). I've had nothing but a kind of genuine feeling from the press for this film, in Venice, Paris, and now America — so far so good.

Reporter: Is there more authenticity or maybe is it even more fun to shoot and set your movie in Hollywood and have a movie about actors?

SC: For me the movie could be [about] any profession. It's not so much about him working as an actor. I just set it in that world because it is entertaining and also it's a world that is familiar to me and I try to write about something I feel like I know enough about. But I feel like the themes are universal that anyone could relate to the journey he is on and the relationship.

Reporter: Did you base Johnny on anyone?

SC: Oh, a lot of people (laughs). I've met a lot of actors who have lived at the Chateau Marmont and he's lived there (gestures to Dorff). It was a combination of people I've met and stories I've heard, kind of all put together.

Reporter: Since the part is really reflective with less dialogue and more watching him [the character]. Do you find that harder than a film with more dialogue?

SD: I found this movie to be the most challenging as an actor I've ever had. In most movies, things are over-said there's a lot of words, there are explosions going around … I found that this is the most naked, the most raw. There's a behavioral part, it's about finishing a kind of unconscious space where if I acted any bit where it felt like I was acting, I just think it wouldn't have worked and I think it would have unraveled what Sofia was trying to do.

Reporter: How do your movies reflect your own journey as a director and a person starting from the very beginning until now?

SC: I don't know, I just write about or make films about, the things that are on my mind. I try and be intuitive, analyze why I am interested in something … I feel like I learn something every time and hopefully I grow with each one.

"Somewhere" opens Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010.

Chicly Yours,
The Chic Spy