STEVEN SPIELBERG - COPPOLA'S NEW STAR WAS SPIELBERG DISCOVERY

COPPOLA'S NEW STAR WAS SPIELBERG DISCOVERY

Movie newcomer ALDEN EHRENREICH struck gold when a joke video he shot for a pal's Batmitzvah was seen by STEVEN SPIELBERG.
The movie mogul just happened to be a guest at the party - and he was so impressed with what he saw onscreen he offered to set the teenager up with an agent.
He recalls, "I was 14 and me and my friend Johnny made this video for this girl's Batmitzvah that was this jokey thing where I was playing around and eating dirt and doing all this ridiculous stuff. They played it at the Batmitzvah and Steven Spielberg happened to be a guest there and really liked me in the video. He referred me over to Dreamworks and I got an agent through that."
Ehrenreich spent years auditioning for parts he didn't land until another movie hero, Francis Ford Coppola, gave him his big break in his new film Tetro.
He adds, "I had my screen test at Francis Ford Coppola's vineyard in Napa. I stayed one night at his house which was gorgeous and drank a lot of his wine. I had my second screen test in Argentina, where the film was shot, and came home and found out I got the part."