The Last Showgirl
Posted on Feb 19, 2025 by Admin
What happens in Vegas
Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC shares how she and longtime collaborator Gia Coppola captured the fading glamour of Las Vegas’ famous showgirls, championing Pamela Anderson’s return
Words Miriam Balanescu | Images Roadside Attractions
Las Vegas is certainly no stranger to the screen. From Martin Scorsese’s grubby underbelly of the gambling scene in 1995’s Casino to Steven Soderbergh’s suave Ocean’s Eleven bank heisters, the Sin City backdrop has long been a hotbed for swindlers, hustlers and dreamers in the imaginations of filmmakers. It’s no exaggeration to say that The Last Showgirl presents Vegas in an entirely new light, with its notably unshowy, delicately rendered portrayal.
Uncovering the lives of Las Vegas’ workers – specifically the dying breed of showgirls once synonymous with the city – The Last Showgirl offers a gentler, dreamier spin on this iconic filming location. For DOP Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC, whose credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Loki and the upcoming Michael B Jordan-fronted Sinners, she always knew this was the approach she wanted to take. It’s the trademark style she and her friend Gia Coppola – director of three of her projects to date – have crafted.
“Working with Gia always feels like you’re just hanging out with your best friend, making a little movie,” Durald Arkapaw laughs. “The Last Showgirl is unique because we set out to make a certain type of intimate, personal film, and the results are exactly that.
“Gia and I generally favour softer, dreamier images. I mainly shoot with Panavision anamorphics. My lenses always have loads of personality and fall-off. Lighting is also super important, and it’s always a character in my films. The way I light is dependent on the lens characteristics. They work hand in hand with each other.”
Heralding the return of Baywatch star Pamela Anderson in her most impactful performance yet, the actor plays once-revered showgirl Shelly. Informed that her longstanding show Le Razzle Dazzle is coming to a close, Shelly rekindles her relationship with her daughter. What follows is a tender exploration of the choice women have to make between motherhood and their career. “Gia is now a mother, so it was nice to see her balance motherhood and filmmaking. I’ve done this for the past eight years and found it rewarding,” says Durald Arkapaw.
Homing in on the cast’s female characters – with Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song starring as fellow showgirls – was crucial to the decision to shoot on film. “It was important to have that nostalgia, saturation and density in the image,” explains Durald Arkapaw. “We wanted to capture all the magic that comes with shooting film – the unknown, bravery, excitement and depth. But most important for us was to shoot a small film where we had all the control: no monitors, no video village, no distractions.
“The thing with film is that you can’t have fear. There’s no room for it. You’ll get lots of fear from producers, so you have to be confident in your choices and execution. That’s the beauty of film: you have to trust and be brave. In that, you’ll find the beauty and emotion you want.”
Bespoke anamorphic lenses were created specially for Durald Arkapaw by Dan Sasaki – senior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy at Panavision. “Anamorphic 16mm options are slim or non-existent,” insists Durald Arkapaw. “Not many films are shot in anamorphic on Super 16. I wanted a close focus and fall-off, since we were staying with the women on a handheld camera to track all their emotional cues. Las Vegas can feel like a fishbowl when you visit or live there; I wanted a lens that would make these women look beautiful and help us focus on them.
“The characteristics of these anamorphic lenses helped push that fishbowl idea forward. I did some early tests with Dan and AC Ethan McDonald; one round filming Ethan’s young son and the second featuring my mum as the subject. I showed Gia the resulting images and she loved them. “Dan knows all about my love for the perfect field curvature. He understands that what we ultimately create will be accompanied by particular lighting, to allow those lens characteristics to shine through. All this is to say, I wanted the women to look beautiful and strong.”
The main challenge to Coppola and Durald Arkapaw’s vision for the film was a slim 18-day window for shooting. “We couldn’t have done it without gaffer Brian Bartolini, key grip Miguel Benavides, Ethan and their teams,” she enthuses. “I also brought on AD Jason Lombardo, with whom I work on commercials – he was amazing at guiding the film and integral to its success.”
Everything was shot handheld. “I don’t see handheld as a challenge,” asserts Durald Arkapaw. “If you’re physically up for it and the story calls for it, it’s the best way to dance with your actor. I always operate this way, and it’s the only way I know how to emotionally tell the story.”
Dancing – including an impromptu performance from Jamie Lee Curtis on a casino podium and dazzling sequences choreographed by Gregory Butler – was fundamental to the story. Durald Arkapaw’s experience on lower-budget music videos and musical numbers streamlined the shooting process. “It’s important to give the choreographer a sense of what the camera will actually capture and the time we have to work with,” she explains, “especially in our situation, as we didn’t really have an audience and our stage wasn’t very big.
“It was important on the day to make sure we got all the details Gia wanted – to capture the breadth of what these women do nightly, as well as how beautiful and hardworking they are.”
Among the key details were the vivid colours, flamboyant feathers and shimmering fabrics of Le Razzle Dazzle’s costumes, designed by Coppola’s mother Jacqui. “They both have amazing taste, and I know what goes in front of the lens will have its own personality. I want the costumes to shine, so I take care to get the right contrast and light to reveal the details that matter. It was fun to get dailies back and see all the wonderful colours and reflections that came out of the images. And it was a treat to shoot the ladies in original Bob Mackie designs.”
The marriage of cinematography and subject matter have earned The Last Showgirl comparisons to works by John Cassavetes and Sean Baker, directors Coppola has cited as influences. But Durald Arkapaw reveals no other films were used as reference points: “Gia does send me references, but mostly photography. Some are exact, for mood, others are abstract. I know her so well I don’t have to ask for much explanation.”
One of the most memorable scenes in the film is set on a rooftop at sunset – a sequined Anderson wearing a bold plume of orange and pink. “Gia liked the rooftop location because we could see the Strip and feel the weight of Vegas,” recalls Durald Arkapaw. “I made sure with the AD that we were up there at the right time for blue hour. I always like to shoot important wide shots right before the sky turns black. I remember after those dailies stills came in, I sent them to Gia. She said, ‘I think that’s the first image we release,’ and I agreed. It was so obvious when you saw it.
“These women, both on and off the camera, have led such amazing and full lives – I wanted to make sure they looked powerful and gorgeous.”
This story appears in the February 2025 issue of Definition
