Gia Coppola initially struggled to cast the lead role in her film The Last Showgirl until she discovered Pamela Anderson’s documentary Pamela, a Love Story. Coppola was drawn to Anderson’s artistic talent, vulnerability, and fearlessness, leading her to cast Anderson despite initial resistance from Anderson’s team. The film, featuring Anderson alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Billie Lourd, received positive reviews at TIFF and is set for a December release.

When filmmaker Gia Coppola set about casting the lead for her third film, The Last Showgirl, finding her titular Las Vegas showgirl posed quite the challenge. Coppola’s film follows Shelly, a seasoned performer whose life is thrown into disarray when her show—one of the last of its kind on The Strip—is set to close. Shelly is a deeply complex character, a study of a singular woman whose role required both old-school glamour and hard-won resilience. For Coppola, envisioning who could do justice to Shelly’s essence was no easy feat.

“I couldn’t really envision who was right for the role of Shelly. I kind of would think of Marilyn Monroe or actors that were no longer present, no one else really felt right,” Coppola explained during a Sunday evening Q&A in New York City. Casting a modern-day showgirl with the same timeless grace and vulnerability she admired in classic Hollywood icons seemed like an impossible task—until she watched Pamela, a Love Story, the 2023 Netflix documentary directed by Ryan White. The documentary offered a new lens on Pamela Anderson, beyond the Baywatch bombshell image, and illuminated Anderson as a thoughtful artist, sparking Coppola’s interest in her for the role.

Pamela, a Love Story presents Anderson in a raw and refreshingly intimate light. The film reorients our understanding of Pamela Anderson, showing her as more than just a pop culture icon, but also as a creative and thoughtful individual. White’s film set the record straight, painting a vivid picture of Anderson’s experiences beyond the tabloids and shedding new light on her personal depth. “I came across her documentary, and I just could see so many parallels of Shelly, but also I could see this artist that was so creative and so knowledgeable of art and philosophy and just the way she approached life,” Coppola explained. The sincerity, vulnerability, and artistic spirit Anderson exhibited throughout the documentary deeply resonated with Coppola, and suddenly, she could see no one else as Shelly.

However, getting Anderson on board wasn’t as simple as Coppola hoped. Despite her enthusiasm, Coppola encountered initial resistance from Anderson’s team. “I was eager to meet her,” Coppola shared, “but I got turned down within an hour [of reaching out to her team about the part], which wasn’t from her. So I had to persevere and find alternate routes [to get to her].” Persistence ultimately paid off. When Coppola and Anderson finally connected, there was an instant chemistry between the two. “It was really fun when we did connect because I was selling myself to you, and you were very excited at selling yourself to me,” Coppola laughed, recalling her first conversation with Anderson.

The end result is nothing short of impressive. Anderson’s portrayal of Shelly in The Last Showgirl, alongside co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, and Billie Lourd, has received widespread acclaim following the film’s TIFF premiere. Critics praised Anderson’s vulnerability and authenticity, qualities that Coppola saw right from the beginning. With The Last Showgirl set for a December release, the film is already gaining momentum, with many eagerly awaiting Anderson’s comeback in a role that feels like it was written just for her.

Watch the Trailer for The Last Showgirl Below:

Roadside Attractions will release “The Last Showgirl” in Los Angeles on Friday, December 13 with a national release to follow on Friday, January 10.