Gian-Carlo Coppola Gian-Carlo Coppola Gian-Carlo Coppola (September 17, 1963 – May 26, 1986) was an American film producer. Coppola was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of set decorator/artist Eleanor Coppola (née Neil) and famed film director Francis Ford Coppola. As the eldest Coppola sibling, he was the older brother to Roman and Sofia. Gian-Carlo was close friends and once a couple with Tracy Reiner, daughter of director Penny Marshall. Gian-Carlo began his professional filmmaking career at the age of 16, working closely with his father. Like his brother and sister, Gian-Carlo—known to his family and friends as Gio—often featured in
Vincent Ward (director) epic, "The Last Samurai" was a film inspired by a project developed by Ward. The film was in development for nearly four years and after approaching several directors, including Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Weir, he became executive producer. In the end, the job of director went to Edward Zwick. In 2005 he returns to New Zealand and recovers his more immediate history, that of the bloody British colonization during the second half of the 19th century. All the constants of Ward come back here with greater force, condensed in the "modern" formation of a country with a deep "primitive"