Megalopolis, an ambitious project led by Francis Ford Coppola, is currently filming in Atlanta. On January 9, The Hollywood Reporter spoke of a chaotic production jeopardizing the film. The filmmaker came out of his silence to deny this.
On January 9, The Hollywood Reporter published an article about the filming of Megalopolis, a super-production directed by Francis Ford Coppola, legendary author of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.
According to the sources cited in the article, the filming would have descended into chaos with the departure of many people from the art department and the entire special effects team.
Due to these various problems, the budget would have exploded and the film, which is halfway through its shooting, would be in danger.
Today, Francis Ford Coppola himself has stepped up to deny this information. “I love my cast, I love what I get every day, I stay on schedule and on budget, and that’s what’s important to me”he hammered into the microphone of Deadline.
I love my cast, I love what I get every day, I stick to the schedule and the budget, and that’s what’s important to me.
“I had never been so satisfied with my cast as on this film. My actors make me happy. I’m really happy with what we’re doing on screen and we’re on schedule,” he says.
“This information never indicates who the sources are. As far as I am concerned, I say to them ‘ha ha’, wait and you will see the result. Because it is a magnificent film and above all because the cast is formidable”continues Coppola.
If we’re on time, I like the actors and the pictures are great, I don’t see the chaos in there.
“I have never had the pleasure of working with such a hardworking team so willing to seek out unconventional solutions. It is a pleasure to work with these actors and the rendering to the image is all I could hope for. . The rushes are excellent”reassures the 83-year-old director.
“So if we’re on time and I like the actors and the pictures are great, I don’t see the chaos in that.”, concludes Coppola. For his part, Adam Driver, main actor of the film, also wanted to respond to the article from THR.
“I would like to respond briefly to the Hollywood Reporter article published on Monday January 9. Everything is fine here! You must have taken the wrong set, I do not recognize Francis’s in the one you are describing! I have been on sets which were chaotic and this one is far from it”he asserted.
Nevertheless, the comedian confirmed that part of the art department had left and the special effects team had been fired. However, he assures us that this is normal on a set and that it did not cause any chaos.
I’ve been on sets that were chaotic and this one is far from it.
“Not all departments find cohesion on set and rather than suffer and make decisions that will plague the film, people quit, get fired or go their separate ways”he confided.
As a reminder, the American director wants to strike a blow in what would be his last project. This overly ambitious feature film has been in the works for many years. Coppola even went so far as to invest part of his personal fortune to achieve his ends.
Described by the maestro as a sci-fi film under the influence of novelist Ayn Rand, famous for her works depicting dystopian universes, Megalopolis is set in a New York City trying to rebuild itself after a cataclysm. A reconstruction carried out by an architect who is trying to (re)build a small utopian town called “Cityworld”, in the heart of the Big Apple.
To realize his dream, the artist has hired an exceptional cast: Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Zendaya, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nathalie Emmanuel are in the game. No release date has yet been announced.