James Mockoski - Film Archivist and Restoration Supervisor at American Zoetrope
James Mockoski, head of production and archives at American Zoetrope joins us this week to discuss his work supervising the restoration department for Director Francis Ford Coppola’s production company. We discuss his recent work on the 4K Dolby Atmos release of Apocalypse Now: Final Cut and other titles including The Conversation, The Godfather and Lost in Translation. ABOUT AMERICAN ZOETROPE: American Zoetrope (also known as Zoetrope Studios from 1979 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Opened on December 12, 1969, the studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-Star Wars films (THX 1138, American Graffiti), as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV. Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations. Initially located in a warehouse on Folsom Street, the company's headquarters have since 1972 been in the historic Sentinel Building, at 916 Kearny Street in San Francisco's North Beach neighbourhood. Coppola named the studio after a zoetrope he was given in the late 1960s by the filmmaker and collector of early film devices, Mogens Skot-Hansen. "Zoetrope" is also the name by which Coppola's quarterly fiction magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story, is often known. American Zoetrope is now owned entirely by Coppola's son and daughter, directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola, while a majority of the film library is now owned by Lionsgate. www..zoetrope.com/american-zoetrope