For Los Angeles native Gia Coppola, Hollywood Boulevard became the stage for her latest project, EDIE—a dreamy, side-scrolling portrait of hometown LA’s most surreal strip, captured entirely on the Google Pixel 10 Pro. The film collapses the boundary between documentary and daydream, letting eccentric characters, street oddities, and fleeting details unfold with the intimacy of a handheld sketch.
EDIE is full of striking subjects, but one of its most important characters is the camera itself: the Google Pixel 10 Pro. Coppola shot the entire project on the device, foregrounding the phone’s role in reshaping cinema itself. Billions now watch films on their phones; Coppola flips that dynamic, using the small screen to create imagery built for the big one. A gesture toward the increased accessibility of filmmaking, and living proof that professional-grade stories can live in anyone’s pocket.
In our conversation, we kept returning to the tension between the small screen and the large one. Directors like Coppola are flipping the model, using phones to create works intended for galleries and festivals. The Pixel 10 Pro sits at the center of this shift, a tool that increases accessibility to filmmaking by putting professional-grade quality in anyone’s hands. As Coppola explains, what matters most is the story, and how Google Pixel is opening the door for more voices, perspectives, and experiences to reach the world.
Henry Levinson: The film captures Los Angeles in a hypnotic, side-scrolling rhythm. What role does the city play in shaping that perspective?
Gia Coppola: It really stems from my childhood. I grew up above Hollywood Boulevard and still live a few houses away. I’ve always been fascinated by Americana; the way our culture values eccentricity, and how Hollywood wears its flaws on its sleeve. Those characters you see on Hollywood Boulevard—Spider-Man next to Freddy Krueger, or someone walking a pink goat—become your normality there.
I was also thinking of my grandmother’s artwork. She made meditative documentary films and taught me to see everything around us as potentially beautiful, depending on how you look at it. That shaped this project: a simple study, like David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, seeing the world with fresh eyes. I also thought of Ed Ruscha’s Every Building on the Sunset Strip, creating a time capsule of a street I love.
The installation component was equally important. I wanted it to be interactive, using two parallel screens that make you shift your gaze, almost like a Sunday comic strip.
Levinson: The Sunset Strip is such a charged setting. What drew you specifically to Ruscha’s photographs as a spark for this project?
Coppola: Ruscha’s work was essentially a long series of photographs. With my background in photography, I wondered: how could I make a “living photograph”? Something consistent in frame, following Hollywood Boulevard, but layered with people I find unique.
So, I thought, what if Jane, the star of the film, was like an alien arriving on Earth, and her first experience was Hollywood Boulevard? Like Splash or Elf, it’s someone seeing everyday absurdities for the first time.
Levinson: Did you storyboard much, or was it about reacting to the street in real time?
Coppola: I rarely storyboard. I prefer things to fall into place organically. We scouted locations to test the Pixel 10 Pro, but mostly responded to what we found.
There was this guy in a cowboy hat and board shorts standing like a statue, straight out of Midnight Cowboy. I asked if he’d return so we could capture that exact image. But beyond that, it was about letting Jane interact naturally with Hollywood Boulevard. Short, simple, and sweet.
Levinson: The film was captured entirely with the Google Pixel 10 Pro. How did that shape the project?
Coppola: The phone made it possible. Shooting on a Pixel allowed us to be nimble and discreet, capturing candid moments without interrupting real life as a large film camera would. That intimacy was essential—it felt like just another day on Hollywood Boulevard.
Levinson: I find the relationship between phones and film fascinating. In places like Bollywood, filmmakers create massive, highly detailed productions designed for the big screen, yet most of their audiences end up watching on small phone displays. You’re flipping that dynamic by using a phone to make a film that’s intended for galleries and festivals. How do you see that relationship?
Coppola: For me, the medium doesn’t change the approach. I still work with my same collaborators—the people who make me feel confident and bring joy to the process.
I’m nostalgic, but also pro-technology. I see it as a way to meld old and new. Tools like AI or smartphones won’t replace human emotion or storytelling, instead they’re ways to elevate it. And the Pixel democratizes filmmaking. You don’t need fancy gear to tell a great story.
Levinson: Sean Baker’s Tangerine also comes to mind—shot on a phone, and in my opinion, one of the best portrayals of LA. Did the Pixel give you that same dynamic relationship between subject and city?
Coppola: Absolutely. It made the shoot feel comfortable, non-invasive—like home. It was important that we didn’t disrupt the flow of life on Hollywood Boulevard.
At one point we left a prop briefcase hidden behind a tree. When Jane crossed the street, she was supposed to discover it. But someone stole it. And honestly, that chaos felt right—that’s Hollywood Boulevard.
Levinson: As both an experienced director and someone using a Pixel for the first time, what excites you about the device?
Coppola: The Pixel 10 Pro has endless features. It’s technically vast. I used it in the simplest way, but someone more technically inclined could do incredible things. The quality of the lens and the post-production options are remarkable.
For me, the simplicity was the appeal. But what excites me most is seeing what others could create with it. The possibilities really are never-ending.
Levinson: Were there any surprises?
Coppola: I kept it simple, so no wild technical discoveries on set. But outside of filmmaking, the Pixel’s features, like real-time translation, blew me away. That kind of tool has implications for film too, with things like international accessibility.
Levinson: Do you see phones and traditional film cameras coexisting in the future?
Coppola: Definitely. Tangerine is a perfect example of bridging those worlds—an old Hollywood-style story told with modern tools. That’s what excites me: finding ways to make something cinematic, beautiful, and human with new technology.
Levinson: More people can now make films with just what’s in their pocket. What does that mean for the art world?
Coppola: It means more voices, more unique perspectives. Story always comes first, and the more people who can share their experiences, the better.
Someone once told me: the joy of life is learning from people different from you. If you don’t do that, you’re leaving love on the table. That’s what I want: more stories shared across divides. The Pixel makes that possible.
Levinson: When audiences watch Edie, what do you hope they take away?
Coppola: I don’t want it to feel pretentious. It’s a simple time capsule of a unique place. Something to let wash over you, then revisit, noticing new details each time.
For me, it’s about the extraordinary in the ordinary. Finding beauty in oddities. That’s what Hollywood Boulevard has always been for me, and what I wanted to capture with the Pixel.
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