CQ director Roman Coppola came to SIFF last week to promote his film. Floppy-haired, soft-spoken, and well-but-casually dressed (monogrammed pink dress shirt under a tailored jacket over jeans and Vans), Coppola spoke to me at the W Hotel. (And though I didn't ask him about his father, I was reminded of the old man when I looked into Roman's deep brown eyes.)--Sean Nelson

The Stranger: When people talk about music videos, they always use very negative terms like 'style over substance' to describe video's negative influence on moviemaking. With CQ, which is very stylish, videos and commercials seem to be crucial influences on not only the look, but the substance.

Roman Coppola: "It's tricky, you know? I mean, talking in broad strokes, it's true that many videos--if you chance across MTV--are just slick and soulless; just a lot of glossy candy. But the videos that I've done, and people like Michel [Gondry], Spike [Jonze], and Mike Mills, who's about to do a movie, is a whole other branch. Style is important, but it's only just another tool to serve what you're doing. I do agree that the look and the feel of my movie.... I wanted to nail it, because my movie would suck if it didn't feel right for the style of the time. But for me it doesn't have anything to do with music videos at all. It's a true appreciation for style and working in a vernacular that it's a component of. But forgetting all that, I just wanted to make a movie that's, like, My '60s European Movie. I love these movies, like Modesty Blaise and Danger: Diabolik on the one hand, and then Godard films, Antonioni films, Fellini films on the other. I wanted to do that."