It has been distributed in Europe for just a few days, but no studio has bought it to release it in the United States. And, after the latest information, the situation in Megalopolis has become even more complicated. So much so that we could already say that Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction film is the most problematic film of 2024.
According to The Guardian, Coppola always carried out inappropriate behavior during the filming of the film. Accusations have been made against the director for forcing naked or scantily clad female extras to sit on his lap and attempting to kiss them to “get them in the mood” in a scene set in a nightspot.
Harassing the actresses has not been the only improper thing that the filmmaker has done, according to several witnesses. Several sources point out that the team lost many hours of work because Coppola spent hours smoking marijuana without doing anything.
“Sometimes, he would show up in the morning before these big sequences, and, because there was no plan and he wouldn’t let his collaborators make a plan, he would usually sit in his trailer for hours, not talking to anyone, often smoking marijuana… And they would pass hours without filming anything,” says a source.
Once the filmmaker deigned to step out of his trailer, he would “make up something that made no sense and didn’t follow anything anyone had said or anything that was on the page.” The team, for its part, tried to make the best of each occasion.
Almost every day we walked away shaking our heads and wondering what we had been doing for the last 12 hours.
One crew member has described the filming situation as “watching trains crash day after day, week after week, and knowing that those present had done everything they could to help prevent the train crash.””
On the other hand, after opting for a more traditional green screen for the special effects, Coppola said, ‘I don’t want to make a Marvel movie.’ “In the end, that’s what he ended up doing,” says one team member.
THE FIRST PROBLEMS
The problems with Megalopolis already began in January 2023, when IndieWire stated that the project was in danger due to differences between Coppola and some members of the film. Adam Driver, the film’s protagonist, denied what happened. “Everything is fine here!” said the actor in a statement. “I don’t know what set you’re talking about! I don’t recognize it! I’ve been on chaotic sets, and this one is far from that.”
To these problems, we must add the signing of Shia LaBeouf, who appears in the film’s trailer but without the preview focusing much attention on the actor. LaBeouf, who starred in part of the controversy behind the science fiction film “Don’t Worry, Darlin” in 2022, faced denunciation by his ex-partner FKA Twig in December 2020. She accused him of “physically and mentally” abusing her during their relationship. Among other things, he claimed that the actor had given her a sexually transmitted disease and that he choked her “until she had bruises.”” The actor admitted the facts and blamed her alcoholism. The trial has been postponed to October 2024.
Megalopolis has cost about 120 million dollars and has come out of Coppola’s pocket. It is distributed in France and Spain and will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Will this contest save the future in the United States of a film that seems like a suicide to release? One industry insider notes in Variety about whether this will hurt the project: “In this case, my gut feeling is no. I’m sure there was outdated, out-of-step behavior that should not be tolerated.” However, in “This Concept, the film will stand or fall on its own meritss.”
