Movies

Gia Coppola proving her worth with ‘Palo Alto’

Believe it or not, Gia Coppola, 27, had never seen her grandfather’s most famous film until recently — when James Franco got her to watch it.

“My family had already seen [‘The Godfather’] so many times, they didn’t want to watch it,” she says. “So just recently, James sat me down and we watched ‘The Godfather’ I and II straight through. We finished at 4 in the morning.”

Now, Gia’s made her directorial debut with “Palo Alto” — the film adaptation, starring Franco and Emma Roberts, of Franco’s book of short stories about badly behaved teens. It hits theaters Friday. So did Gia ask her famous filmmaking family for tips?

“I definitely asked for advice here and there, but I was really leaning on James as my teacher.”

The Coppola family tree

1 of 11
Carmine Coppola: The patriarch. Composer for “The Godfather” films.WireImage
Francis Ford Coppola: Son of Carmine. Director, “The Godfather” films, “Apocalypse Now.”WireImage
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Talia Shire: Daughter of Carmine. Actress, “Rocky.” WireImage
Nicolas Cage: Son of August. Actor, “Moonstruck,” “The Rock.”WireImage
Jason Schwartzman: Son of Talia. Actor, “Rushmore.”Getty Images
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Sofia Coppola: Daughter of Francis. Director/writer, “Lost in Translation,” “The Bling Ring.”Getty Images
Roman Coppola: Son of Francis. Writer, “Moonrise Kingdom.”WireImage
Gia Coppola: Daughter of Gian-Carlo. Director, “Palo Alto.”Getty Images
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