Francis Ford Coppolawill finally see his film,Megalopolis, premiere at the Cannes Film Festival following what has been a long road to get the film to the big screen. The movie is still without a distributor in North America, with many saying it’s a pricey and risky endeavor to invest in, given how off the way the film truly is. Much of this was known already but what is emerging now is just how allegedly chaotic things were on set and some of the stories involvewhat is described as ‘old school’ behavior from the director himself.
According to a report fromThe Guardian, 85-year-old Coppola would pull women onto his lap during filming and allegedly kissed female extras who were in various states of undress to get them"in the mood.“In defense of this, Darren Demetre, executive co-producer ofMegalopolis, said that the director gave extras"kind hugs and kisses on the cheek. It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film.“Demetre went on to add,“I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behavior during the course of the project.”
The alleged kissing took place during a two-day-long filming sequence that is set in a nightclub. The piece also details other issues on set that made the shoot fraught and extremely chaotic. The main performers, such as Adam Driver, have only spoken positively about their experience making the movie, but others say it could rivalthe making ofApocalypse Nowin terms of how difficult some of the shooting was.
Crew members allegedly quit halfway through filming, while Coppola added more complications by starting a property redevelopment during the making of the movie. One crew member states,“It was like watching a train wreck unfold day after day, week after week, and knowing that everybody there had tried their hardest to help the train wreck be avoided.”
Megalopolis Allegedly Faced Other On-Set Issues
Megalopolis
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
GettingMegalopolismade has been a 40-year journey for Coppola as it’s very much a passion project for the director. Even though he has been describedas an auteur filmmakerby some, other crew members allege that a lot of time was wasted due to the director himself because he had no plan in place on certain days to film big sequences in the project.
“He would often show up in the mornings before these big sequences and because no plan had been put in place, and because he wouldn’t allow his collaborators to put a plan in place, he would often just sit in his trailer for hours on end, wouldn’t talk to anybody, was often smoking marijuana…And hours and hours would go by without anything being filmed. And the crew and cast would all stand around and wait. And then he’d come out and whip up something that didn’t make sense, and that didn’t follow anything anybody had spoken about or anything that was on the page, and we’d all just go along with it, trying to make the best of it.”
Megalopolis Went Through 50 Years of Failure Before Becoming the Most Important Movie of 2024
Megalopolis has been a longtime passion project of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola. A very, very long time.
Things allegedly got so badat one point in December 2022, that about halfway through the 16-week shoot, most of the visual effects and art teams had either quit or been fired. Mike Figgis, who directed a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the film, went on to say,“I think he had to work quite hard then to figure out how to replace them. I think he just wanted to liberate himself while he was shooting. So he didn’t have to wait for stuff, and he’d say ‘Oh, I’ll fix it late. I’ll fix it in post. Which I guess he’d done.”
Demetre has commented further about Coppola’s on-set behavior, and he spoke highly about the veteran filmmaker as a director and producer on what turned out to be a massive independent film funded by the filmmaker himself.
“I have known and worked with Francis and his family for over 35 years. As one of the first assistant directors and an executive producer on his new epic, Megalopolis, I helped oversee and advise the production and ran the second unit. Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision.”
InMegalopolis, after an accidentdestroys a decaying New York City-like metropolis, Cesar Catalina (Driver), an architect with the ability to control time, aims to rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia. Opposing him is corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo. The film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman.
Megalopoliswas selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and will premiere there on May 16.
