If anyone other than Sofia Coppola had made Somewhere, they'd have been accused of ripping off Sofia Coppola.

Sofia Coppola's latest offering about a disillusioned actor and his daughter is refreshingly slow-paced.

how better to sample the Sturm und Drang of the planet's busiest metropolis than on its most famous train? The Yamanote Line loops overland around the buzzing heart of Tokyo, stopping at many of its biggest attractions. One of the transport wonders of the world, its brisk, frictionless efficiency should be on any list of Japan's best, most inexpensive pleasures.

Sofia Coppola returns to themes of rootless celebrity in a film so good that, in future, she can ditch those bored actors and move on to something new

Lost in La La land

The days of Elle Fanning being mistaken for older sister Dakota are coming to an end. She recently got the chance to stepout of Dakota’s sizeable movie star shadow at the Venice Film Festival, where Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, in which she co-starswith Stephen Dorff, won the Golden Lion. Meeting at LA’s Sunset Tower hotel, Elle is easy going, giggly, ethereal, a self described“girly girl” who loves Beyoncé, ballet, vintage clothing and Marilyn Monroe.

Coppola returns with a quirky tale of a girl and her famous dad

The iTunes festival pulled another spectacular performance out of the bag, within the ever-trendy walls (wall?) of Camden's Roundhouse. The ridiculously popular but rarely spotted French band Phoenix (who will also be playing at this year's Field Day, in partnership with The Independent) were supported by "folktronica" artist James Yuill.

When Spike Jonze got his hands on Where the Wild Things Are it was a dream come true. But he didn't deliver the cuddly film the studio wanted, he tells James Mottram

In theory, the Best Director Academy Award is gender-neutral. It is therefore astonishing that it has taken more than 80 years for it to be awarded to a woman. Kathryn Bigelow's triumph on Sunday exposed just how male-dominated US film-making remains, especially when it comes to directing.

If you like your ballet to reflect real life then dancer and choreographer Jonathan Watkins's new work, titled New Watkins, which premieres tonight at the Royal Opera House is for you. It's his first work for the main stage and an intriguing look at five separate modern day "slices of life". There's a young carefree group in the kitchen at a house party who are all living for the moment; a dysfunctional "sofa couple" where the man is constantly focused on the TV, while his girlfriend vies for his attention; an energetic piece inspired by the street culture ritual of shoefiti, where gangs throw trainers over telephone wires to mark territory; a Lost in Translation-style isolated woman in a waiting room and finally, a male commuter who's stuck in a boring routine.

Once upon a time in Hollywood, the man behind the camera was king. Today, studios are more interested in blockbusting franchises and big bucks than in nurturing new voices and visionaries – and our screens are suffering as a result, says Kaleem Aftab

Sofia Coppola is their official groupie and they recorded their album on the Seine. Rob Sharp meets the achingly hip Phoenix

In spite of all their cool connections (singer Thomas Mars is the partner of Sofia Coppola and designer Hedi Slimane is a friend and fan), the term "guilty pleasure" still works best when describing Phoenix's music.