Adam Driver plays an architect with big ambitions in Megalopolis. Image source: American Zoetrope
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Megalopolis is supposed to last for over 40 years Dream script
of the world-famous director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) before he actually made the film.
Shortly before the premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival, however, a report from… The Guardian which overshadows the discussion of the content of the film.
Because the 85-year-old director is supported by people involved in the shoot Misbehavior and even lewdness towards female extras accused. We summarize the current information for you.
Filming chaos and inappropriate behavior
From the Guardian report linked above, two main allegations can be extracted from anonymous crew members against Francis Ford Coppola:
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Chaotic working methods and mass layoffs
Coppola is said to be Old school director
tried on the set of Megalopolis without much planning in advance the magic of the moment
to find.
That sounds romantic, but according to one person it led to this a lot of time was wasted unproductivelyfor example when designing the digital backdrops for Megalopolis:
We had these beautiful designs that were constantly evolving, but he could never settle on one. And every time we had a new meeting, it was a different idea. […]
He would often show up in the morning before big scenes and because there was no plan and he wouldn't allow his employees to make a plan, he would often just sit in his trailer for hours, not talking to anyone, smoking marijuana […] And so hours and hours went by without anything being filmed. And the crew and the actors were all standing around waiting.
And then he came out and made up something that didn't make sense, that didn't match what anyone had said or what was written in the script, and we all just went along with it and tried to make the best of it.
This unsatisfactory way of working is said to be… Hollywood Reporter culminating in a large portion of the visual effects team Ford Coppola was fired in the middle of filming.
Another crew member summarizes the circumstances on set as follows:
It sounds crazy to say this, but there have been times when we all stood around and asked ourselves: Has this guy ever made a movie before?
2:16
Megalopolis: In the works for 40 years, now there is a first look at the sci-fi film
Suggestiveness towards female extras
The director is said to have tried several times to pull female extras onto his lap and even kiss them during a two-day shoot of a nightclub scene. to get them in the right mood
says the Guardian's anonymous source.
But there is also a counter statement to this accusation. The film's co-producer, Darren Demetre, has worked with Coppola for over 35 years and describes the incidents as follows:
There were two days when we had a celebratory club scene […] filmed in which Francis walked around the set to convey the mood of the scene by giving friendly hugs and kisses on the cheeks to the actors and background actors.
This was his way of creating and promoting the club atmosphere that was so important to the film. I have not heard of any complaints of harassment or bad behavior during filming.
What kind of movie is Megalopolis anyway?
Francis Ford Coppola is said to have had the first ideas for Megalopolis on the set of Apocalypse Now. Over 40 years, hundreds of script drafts and more than $120 million later The film is now in the starting blocks after it mostly on a virtual set was created.
There have already been the first private screenings and the reactions to them have been very different. As completely crazy
one person describes what he saw, another sums it up: There is simply no way to categorize this film
.
A third opinion says:
[Der Film] is absolutely not good and it was so sad to see him […] This is not how Coppola should end his career as a director.
But there are also positive, even euphoric opinions. The director Gregory Nava exults: Megalopolis is a brilliant, visionary masterpiece. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't do anything else for the rest of the day.
Another person who saw the film at a screening in London is said to have drawn the big comparison in his conclusion:
This film is like Einstein and the theory of relativity in 1905, Picasso and Guernica in 1937 – it is a milestone in the history of cinema.
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The cinema audience will probably not be able to find out in the near future whether Megalopolis is really such a milestone. At the moment there is no known theatrical release either in Germany or internationally.
We have linked other exciting articles about films and series in the box above.