‘Megalopolis’: How the On-Set Drama Could Be a Blessing in Disguise
Another year, another drama on a Francis Ford Coppola film. Megalopolis is shooting at the moment, and recent reports aired some behind-the-scenes drama that could actually be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved.
On January 9, The Hollywood Reporter ran a story on Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis undergoing serious production troubles. According to multiple sources, the upcoming sci-fi film, which has been shooting in Atlanta for a couple of months, lost in recent days its production designer and supervising art director, and at the beginning of December, Coppola himself fired the entire VFX team. A person on set called it “absolute madness”, and given Coppola’s track record, the film is giving off serious Apocalypse Now vibes. (The 1979 film is one of the most infamously troubled productions in Hollywood history, inspiring the iconic behind-the-scenes documentary Hearts of Darkness.)
Francis Ford Coppola’s response to the Hollywood Reporter story
The day after, Coppola released a statement to Deadline denying any major drama and reassuring everything is going on schedule. The Godfather director said:
“I love my cast, I love what I’m getting each day, I am on schedule and on budget, and that’s what is important to me.
I’ve never worked on a film where I was so happy with the cast. I am so happy with the look and that we are so on schedule. These reports never say who these sources are. To them, I say, ha, ha, just wait and see. Because this is a beautiful film and primarily so because the cast is so great. I’ve never enjoyed working with a cast who are so hardworking and so willing to go search for the unconventional, to come upon hidden solutions. It is a thrill to work with these actors and the photography is everything I could hope for. The dailies are great. So if we’re on schedule, and I love the actors and the look is great, I don’t know what anyone’s talking about here.
My first goal was to make a love story with heart, but then you realize it’s about love and disloyalty and every aspect of human life,” he said. “It echoes many other aspects of human life, like our planet being in danger, but ultimately a very optimistic film that has faith in the human ability to heal any problem that is put before us.
“My cast is the most wonderful group of actors, who are doing beautiful work and there isn’t one case of where I wish I had cast another way,” Coppola said. “Every night I go see the dailies, and I understand why I am going through all of this. I love what I see, every night. The look of the film is exactly what I dreamed.”
Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, and Aubrey Plaza on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
He did acknowledge the firing of the entire VFX team, but attributed it to Megalopolis using experimental technology in filming, and a calculated strategy to keep the film within budget, as he felt it was better to do the visual effects in post. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coppola intended to use the StageCraft technology pioneered by The Mandalorian and later used by The Batman or Thor: Love and Thunder, but in a move to save money, he’s shifted towards the traditional greenscreen approach.
Budget is also a major concern for the production, according to The Hollywood Reporter story. Coppola is self-funding the $120 million project from the tens of millions he made after selling his Northern California wineries, and interestingly enough, the one claim he hasn’t disputed is the over-budget concern. Instead, he simply added that the film is on schedule:
“We’ll finish the film in spring of 2023, and we’re totally on schedule, which is hard to do on a big picture. I don’t know how many films can say that eight weeks in but we are and that’s a fact.”
Adam Driver’s response to the Hollywood Reporter story
Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
In the previous statement, Coppola also mentioned multiple times how thrilled he’s with the cast he’s assembled (though suspiciously left out any mention of the off-camera crew). This includes Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne (who also worked with Coppola in Apocalypse Now), Jon Voight, Forest Whitaker, Talia Shire, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, and Dustin Hoffman. Driver himself also released a statement to Deadline denying any drama:
“I’d like to briefly respond to The Hollywood Reporter article published Monday, January 9th. All good here! Not sure what set you’re talking about! I don’t recognize that one! I’ve been on sets that were chaotic and this one is far from it.
The environment that’s being created by Francis, is one of focus and inspiration. As of now, we’re on schedule, making our days, and honestly, it’s been one of the best shooting experiences I’ve had. Our crew is fast and inventive, our costume department is on point, the actors are incredible and willing, and Francis is one of the most insightful and caring people to work with. I’m very proud to be making this movie with him, and them, and though I haven’t interviewed everyone, I can confidently say that that’s the general attitude on set.
Yes, it is true that the art department resigned and VFX were let go. Not all departments find cohesion on films and rather than suffer through and making decisions that leave a lasting impression on the film, people quit, get fired, or part ways. It’s unfortunate when it happens, but this production is not out of pocket in comparison to other productions; especially to the point that it merits an article about us descending into chaos. That characterization is inaccurate.
No one signed up for this movie expecting the process to be conventional. We were expecting the opposite in the pursuit of making something unique. The only madness I’ve observed is that more productions aren’t allowed to be as creatively wild and experimentally focused, precisely because someone else is paying for it. It’s an effort and risk by Francis that I feel should be applauded, not publicly mischaracterized as troubled.”
How the Megalopolis drama could benefit everyone involved
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- Aubrey Plaza on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
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- Adam Driver on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
Many, including this writer, were quick to roll their eyes after the THR story broke. This isn’t Coppola’s Hollywood anymore, and while in the 1970s he delivered arguably the two best movies ever made, in The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, and another all-timer with Apocalypse Now, the director’s last feature film was 2011’s Twixt (29% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 29 reviews), his third film in the 21st century. He is, no doubt, one of the best directors of all time, but this is a business he barely recognizes anymore, and modern VFX technology clearly is out of his league.
This might not have been a concern when Marvel Studios hired James Gunn or Taika Waititi, who had never worked on big-budget extravaganzas before, but they were being kept in check by the studio and everyone around them, to make sure they were there to tell the story properly. Coppola is on his own here, and he’s famous for changing his entire plans on the fly if he is not confident with how things are going. Firing Harvey Keitel from Apocalypse Now and replacing him with Martin Sheen might be the cherry on top of the cake, baked with the time he fired his VFX team and his production designer on Dracula, or when he changed directors of photography in the middle of shooting The Conversation.
These were concerns that I had going into filming Megalopolis, and that I think are valid. Martin Scorsese, for instance, has been keeping up with modern filmmaking, and still, The Irishman‘s meant-to-be revolutionary visual effects were highly criticized in late 2019. There is a massive cloud of déjà vu over this film, and while the THR story was surprising, it was not a shocker. However, in just 24 hours, Coppola and his team were able to flip a PR nightmare on its head, and the conversation now has changed significantly.
Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
It is absolutely false that any publicity is good publicity (ask Harvey Weinstein if you don’t believe so), but in this particular case, this is a true statement. While three months ago Megalopolis was an afterthought for the Hollywood press, especially smaller outlets trying to search for the next big Marvel or DC story to attract viewers, the movie might have entered many people’s radars for the first time. The theme? It’s not that it’s undergoing trouble. It’s that “the last time this happened, we got Apocalypse Now. What is he cooking now?” With his statement, Coppola has now come out on top and more than ever before, there might be some excitement for this film beyond whatever the tagline “From the director of The Godfather” might bring us.
Adam Driver has also gained some major points in town with his statement — not that he needed them anyway, being one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood at the moment, but this has told every casting director and producer that he’s a major asset to bring to your film. Talent abounds in Los Angeles, and while Driver is arguably one of the best, the truth is that if he was impossible to work with, other ten people will appear that will get the job done and audiences probably won’t be able to tell the difference. But he’s not impossible to work with, in fact, he is loyal to his crew and his director, no matter what happens.
Finally, and least important of all, but also worth mentioning, the trades have also gained some respect, though with different people. Deadline has essentially become a marketer-for-hire for companies in Hollywood — not only they helped course-correct the ship on Megalopolis, but they also changed the conversation about Tim Miller stepping in for Eli Roth to direct Borderlands reshoots (both Mike Fleming-authored articles), and in early December, they acted as reps for The Rock when they published an article explaining how the film would be profitable — Puck News later confirmed that this was based on false financial information that The Rock’s team leaked to the outlet.
At the same time, reading between the lines of Driver and Coppola’s statements, one can see that The Hollywood Reporter’s story was at least semi-accurate, so that trade has also gained some validity points with their readers (much needed in these times after James Gunn is essentially shooting down any false reports that may concern DC Studios).
Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza on the set of Megalopolis. Photo via JustJared
Megalopolis release date
Coppola told Deadline that plans are for the film to wrap shooting this spring, before undergoing significant post-production. He is not intending for this film to be released during the festival season — he has larger plans, as he explained:
“I’m interested in a theatrical release in theaters, and Imax theaters and I am excited about the possibility that for the first time in history, a movie could open up on the same day everywhere in the world. And that’s what my goal is.”
With the movie’s unconventional production and distribution strategy, it’s impossible to predict when this could come out, though it’s highly unlikely we’ll see it in 2023. If a studio was backing the project, we’d probably predict a fall 2024 release, in time for awards season, but that is very much up in the air at this point.
We will let you know of any developments regarding Megalopolis.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
