While Sofia Coppola is in the editing room ahead of a fall release of her Priscilla Presley drama, she’s found time to complete her first book and, as recently revealed, team with Suntory Whisky on a new short film celebrating their centenary. Of course featured in her second feature Lost in Translation two decades ago, her father and Akira Kurosawa also shot a commercial for the company in the early 80s. For the spot, she recruited Keanu Reeves, reuniting the talents after they briefly dated when meeting on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The project, which also features snippets of other promotions from the company throughout the years, will be followed by documentary shorts featuring Keanu Reeves and directed by Roman Coppola titled “The Nature and Spirit of Japan,” arriving later this summer.
“Suntory has held a pretty long relationship with Keanu over the years,” Coppola told Harper’s Bazaar. “When they said it was their 100th anniversary, I said, “Oh, can we look through all your archives?” My starting point knowing Suntory is from when I was a little kid, when my dad did a commercial with Akira Kurosawa for Suntory, and that’s where I got the [original] idea when I was writing the script for Lost in Translation—with that memory of them. I asked to look through all the archives, and they had an old commercial with Keanu and different people, and they said that they wanted to do something with Keanu again, because he’s really a sincere fan of the whisky. So, I thought, Perfect! We tried to incorporate something new with all the archive footage.”
“As the pioneer of Japanese whisky, the House of Suntory played a significant role in shaping culture and leading craftsmanship in Japan over the last century,” said Jon Potter, Managing Director of the House of Suntory. “To mark this historic milestone, partnering with Sofia and Keanu, who are Suntory Whisky fans, makes perfect sense. From our Fifth Generation Chief Blender Shinji Fukuyo’s striking blends to Sofia and Keanu’s unique cinematic creations, this commemoration has surpassed all expectations to celebrate our iconic Japanese whiskies.” [Cocktails Distilled]
Watch below, along with a pair of other Suntory/Coppola collaborations.