The Beguiled (2017 film) for a biracial character from the novel, she cast white actress Kirsten Dunst. "The Guardian" said Coppola was criticized for engaging in whitewashing, to which the director said she made the changes so as "not [to] brush over such an important topic in a light way," and that "[y]oung girls watch my films and this was not the depiction of an African American character I would want to show them." The Beguiled (2017 film) The Beguiled is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, based on the novel of the same name (originally published as "A
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and film composer. He was a central figure in the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. After directing "The Rain People" (1969), he co-wrote the 1970 film "Patton", earning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay along with co-writer Edmund H. North. His directorial prominence was cemented with the release in 1972 of "The Godfather", a film which revolutionized movie-making in the gangster genre, earning praise from both critics and the public before winning three Academy Awards—including his second Oscar (Best Adapted Screenplay,