Sofia Coppola said some scenes for Lost in Translation were filmed in Tokyo without permission, and that she was glad the production was not expelled from Japan. In a Guardian interview published October 8, 2026, Coppola said most of the film had permission, while describing some subway and Shibuya Crossing shots as unauthorized. Her account was not independently verified in the available reporting.
The exchange concerned the prospect of being kicked out of the country. Coppola’s remark, reflected in the interview headline, was a recollection of filming in the city, not evidence that the crew faced a confirmed deportation threat.
Interview looks back at earlier films
The Guardian’s reader Q&A also covered Coppola’s mother’s influence, a party at Versailles where New Order played “Ceremony,” and the making of Marie Antoinette. Coppola said her mother filmed nearly 80 hours of behind-the-scenes material. These details were presented as Coppola’s statements in the interview and were not separately substantiated in the supplied research.
The interview appeared amid a 20th-anniversary exhibition for Marie Antoinette at the Petit Trianon in Versailles. The Château de Versailles says the exhibition, developed with Coppola, runs from September 22, 2026, to January 24, 2027. Le Monde reported that Coppola attended its inauguration.
That anniversary context is independently documented, but it does not corroborate the interview’s specific account of the Versailles party or the performance. Nor do the supplied sources independently confirm the circumstances of filming in Tokyo.