The Last Showgirl Director Gia Coppola Reveals How Badly She Wanted Pamela Anderson For The Role: "So Grateful It Worked Out"

Francis Ford Coppola's filmmaking legacy remains safe in the hands of his progeny, including his daughter Sofia Coppola and his granddaughter Gia Coppola. The latter doesn't have that many titles to her name yet, but her latest endeavor has made waves on the film festival circuit and is now a top contender for major awards. The Last Showgirl stars Pamela Anderson as Shelley, an aging dancer who faces existential dread when she learns her Las Vegas show Le Razzle Dazzle is on the verge of closing its doors.

Anderson has already garnered a Golden Globe nomination for her vulnerable performance, which sees her contend with the fading power of show business and the rise of more modern methods of provocation. She is joined by Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays former Razzle Dazzle dancer-turned-cocktail-waitress Annette, Billie Lourd as Shelley's estranged daughter Hannah, Dave Bautista as revue producer Eddie, Brenda Song as fellow dancer Mary-Anne, and Kiernan Shipka as the youngest member of the crew. With their help, Shelley must face her future without the passion that has fueled her life for so long.

Related The Last Showgirl Review: Pamela Anderson Stuns In Gia Coppola's Melancholic Vegas Drama Pamela Anderson stuns in Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl, a melancholic melodrama about a closing Vegas show that manages to hit all the right moves.

ScreenRant interviewed Coppola about how she saw the changing landscape of Las Vegas as a metaphor for the state of America in The Last Showgirl, and why it was so vital that Pamela Anderson play the lead role of Shelly.

Gia Coppola Explains How She & Pamela Anderson Came Together For The Last Showgirl

“I got turned down within an hour, so I knew that she didn't read it, and I had to find an alternative route.”

ScreenRant: I really loved The Last Showgirl. It was such a moving piece, and I really loved Pamela [Anderson]'s performance in it. I know that you had said you felt confident she had to take the role of Shelly, you wanted her really badly for it. What was your original pitch to her before you knew she wanted it just as badly?

Gia Coppola: Well, I sent the script to her agents at the time and went through the generic protocols because I don't know her in any way. I just really admire her. But I got turned down within an hour, so I knew that she didn't read it and I had to find an alternative route, but I just couldn't take no for an answer. And I asked anyone and everyone I knew if they knew her son because I saw he was an EP on her documentary. He really vetted me and made sure like, "Is she going to be in good company?" And I promised him that I was going to protect her, and I really have so much love for her. I can see in her documentary that she's really itching to express herself in dramatic roles, and that she is just full of such an interesting life and has so much optimism in her way that she approaches life. And, yes, there are similarities to her character and her personal life, but also a lot of dissimilarities that it would be enticing for her to showcase her capabilities as a dramatic actress. And it was funny, when we finally spoke to each other, she was really selling herself to me, but I was like, "No, I'm trying to sell myself to you." I'm just so grateful that it worked out, because I really couldn't envision anyone else other than her for the role.

The Last Showgirl’s Razzle Dazzle Production Is A Metaphor For Americana

“That analog versus digital and appreciation for nostalgia is the undercurrent of this movie.”

ScreenRant: I also love how in a lot of ways the Razzle Dazzle production feels like a metaphor for how society or the entertainment industry treats women. What aspects of the actual dance and the show did you want to bring out in the movie and did your work in music videos help with that?

Gia Coppola: Well, Las Vegas in itself is such a metaphor for the Americana, and I think I've always been fascinated by that setting just because it visually can convey so much of this meaning. It's glittery, but what goes on behind the sort of facade, and who are the people that make this magic come to life - that's always stayed with me. The world of Razzle Dazzle was based off of a real show, the Jubilee. And that really fascinated me: that this image of the showgirl is such an icon for Las Vegas, yet it doesn't exist anymore. That's partly because this production that used to go on required a lot of money and it just sort of dwindled. When I saw what those shows used to be, it was so artful. I can see just in the landscape of Las Vegas, of this sort of discarding of things that no longer serve us. Our culture is effortless to discard; out with the old and in with the new. You see the Tropicana being demolished and then the Sphere coming up, and I see that just in every industry, and with people just being replaced by machines. That analog versus digital and appreciation for nostalgia is the undercurrent of this movie and dictated my choices, wanting to shoot on film and things like that.

More About The Last Showgirl (Originally Released In 2024)

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The Last Showgirl, a poignant film of resilience, rhinestones and feathers, stars Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl co-stars Oscar, SAG Award, and Golden Globe winner Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly’s best friend, who brings her own unique interpretation and brilliance to the story, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, and Billie Lourd.

Check back soon for our other The Last Showgirl interviews:

Pamela Anderson & Jamie Lee Curtis

Kiernan Shipka & Brenda Song

The Last Showgirl releases in theaters nationwide on January 10.

Source: Screen Rant Plus