After the most lingering anticipation, the Megalopolis is finally set to come into being, carrying a weight full of behind-the-scenes fun facts and controversies stirred up. The movie premiered last Thursday at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and has successfully managed to leave the audience in a daze, despite the challenges it has faced throughout the filming.
With its initial concern of budget deficits and lagging behind the schedule to the crew members walking off the set, the movie came a long way. Needless to say, what’s a good movie without some tidbits in store!
Let’s take a look at the top 15 must-know facts about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis before it releases:
15 Must-know Facts About Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis
Megalopolis had its big premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2024. The movie hasn’t found a global distributor yet, so we don’t know when it will be released worldwide. Coppola finds balance between ambition and obstacles, 40 years into the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s brainchild, Megalopolis.
Here’s what went on behind the scenes before it was released.
First movie in 13 years
After 13 years of long gap from the silver screen, Francis Ford Coppola has brought this movie alive in his screenplay and direction. This is the longest gap he has had since his directorial debut movie. Meanwhile, he has explored on several endeavors, such as directing opera Turandot (2009), a documentary on his winery, and the last feature film he has worked on is ‘Twixt’ (2011).
120 million dollars on directors plates
The unorthodox storyline and its experimental original have cost Coppola 120 million of his worth, because no major studio has dared to bankroll it. In order to make this passion-project come alive, he had to sell off a portion of another passion empire of his, the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, to finance the movie.
Though Coppola has a rather unabashed take on it, as he said after the Cannes premiere, “To all of the studio big shots, I proved that I’m free and they’re not. Because they don’t dare leap into the unknown. And I do. That’s the only way to prove that you’re free.” Coppola pauses and then adds, with a grin. “I don’t recommend it.”
No assurance of media distributors
Despite the extraordinary attributes and uncertainty of being fan- favorites, the movie has yet to have a studio buyer. The chances are that mainstream audiences may have a perplexed emotion toward the movie rather than a generic one, which makes it risky enough for any distributor. Still, there’s a fraction of possibility for its big release with IMAX theater as well as exclusive streaming platforms.
Crew members walked out of the set!
There’s been speculation on ill-coordination among the crew members. The art department, including the chief supervising art director, had parted ways with the movie, while the production designer and the creative VFX team were let go as well. The reason for this chaos would be a lack of cohesion, which was causing major troubles for the making of the film and could potentially appear on the screen.
Use of the real-time-generating CGI projection
The movie was set to have a real-time-generating CGI projection background, according to Coppola’s initial plan, called The Volume within Disney. However, the skyrocketing cost had brought its way back to the traditional green-screen.
The inspiration
As Coppola intended, the Second Catiline Conspiracy has stemmed the storylines that go according to the feud between Roman senator Lucius Sergius Catilina and Marcus Tullius Cicero. Additionally, the inspiration behind it all emerged with “Things to Come” by H.G. Wells, alongside two of the books by David Graeber, The First 5000 Years and Bullshit Jobs, as well as The Dawn of Everything by David Wengrow.
More than 300 rewrites!
Before self-financing the project, Francis Ford Coppola rewrote the dystopian epic saga about 300 times in order to achieve perfection. Coppola also added that the media often recalls that the movies took four decades to make, which is not necessarily the case. Most of these years, he kept on taking notes and anecdotes on historical events, observed political cartoons and connected dots, and building characters inspired by surroundings, It wasn’t that he was constantly working on the movie, rather slowly encapsulating his thoughts and ideas.
Dedicated the movie to his late wife
Coppola mentioned that “Megalopolis” has always been a film dedicated to his dear wife Eleanor. He had hoped to celebrate her birthday together this May 4th, but since that wasn’t possible, he decided to share a gift on her behalf with everyone.
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Theatrical exposure is part of the movie
The ‘Megalopolis’ has a theatrical interaction between the audience and one of its characters. As the movie premiered at Cannes last week, an audience member came into collaboration on the stage during the scene, conversing with the character right in front of the screen.
This sparked fascination among the present viewers whether the theatrical exposure would be planted within the global release in movie theatres, or was it just a skit for the exclusives?
10 minutes of standing ovation at the screening
Leaving the audience overwhelmed in admiration, at the grand Lumiere Theatre, Coppola experienced a three-minute standing ovation from the audience right before the screening even started.
And the grand gesture appeared yet again; after experiencing the film for the first time in front of a live audience, it received a 7-minute-long standing ovation.
A dramatic musical performance in the movie
The most surprising twist, right in the middle of the movie, contains a musical performance in a dystopian New York city reimagination. It’s not a typical song-and-dance routine; think more along the lines of an X Factor-style performance, which is meant to showcase a stir up in the context of the film.
The theme speaks for itself
The theme for the costumes and aesthetics have their own drama going on. The elegance of 1920s Art Deco intertwined with modern capitalism, added with the whimsy of 19th-century circus vibes, and not to mention the timeless adornment of old-school Hollywood glam. Along with some futuristic elements.
As for the costumes, envision flowing toga-style dresses paired with glistening golden wreath jewelry and sturdy gladiator sandals to top off the ensemble!
Shakespeare-esque attempt at dialogues
In the movie, the characters’ dialogue swings between intense seriousness and unexpected bursts of humor. While they’re not directly quoting Shakespeare or delving into voiceover narration about history, their speech carries a grand theatricality, almost as if they’re channeling the words of renowned philosophers. Presumably , the quotes would remain iconic in the future.
Allegations and disorganization
Before the release of “Megalopolis,” a recent report by The Guardian alleges that Coppola had caused various issues during the movie’s production. The report suggests instances of Coppola harassing multiple extras. Additionally, anonymous crew members claim that he frequently arrived hours late to filming and insisted on shooting sequences that were not part of the original script.
These concerning reports about his on-set behavior raise doubts about whether this film will mark a successful conclusion to his illustrious filmmaking career.
Plot, theme and dystopian setting
In a clash of pragmatics and idealism in society, the story relies on a dystopian New York City, where Cesar, with his time manipulation ability, battles Mayor resistance. Cesar’s past fuels his fight for change. Julia, another major character who bridges the opposing forces, adds emotional depth, navigating her own complex history amidst the clash for the city’s future.
Takeaways
Beyond all this behind-the-scenes chaos and hassle, Megalopolis knows no bounds to make its grand entrance on the global theater, though reportedly it is to have a limited release. Francis Ford Coppola, the director of “The Godfather,” has a following that is eager to witness his mastery.
[Video Credit: @WatchMojo]
References:
- Buchanan, K. (2024, May 16). Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Debut at Cannes: What to Know. The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/movies/megalopolis-francis-ford-coppolas-guide.html
- Butcher, S. (2024, May 17). Megalopolis: The Five Wildest Things About Francis Ford Coppola’s Sci-Fi Saga. Empire. Retrieved 5 20, 24, from https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/megalopolis-five-wildest-things-francis-ford-coppola-sci-fi-saga/
- Cuerden, A. (2024, May 15). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/05/15/francis-ford-coppolas-long-awaited-megalopolis-finally-premiering-at-cannes-after-absolute-madness-alleged-on-set-what-to-know/?sh=446a696d1212
- Pitman, R., Sharma, D., Rosenberg, S., Protheroe, B., Raymond, C. N., Dailly, P., Forsberg, T. B., Ladd, H., & Bove, K. (2024, January 20). 10 Most Exciting Things To Expect From Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola’s New $120M Sci-Fi Movie. Screen Rant. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://screenrant.com/megalopolis-movie-most-exciting-things-expect/
- Quinn, R. (2024, May 17). Megalopolis Gets 7-Minute Ovation at Cannes. Newser. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.newser.com/story/350472/megalopolis-gets-7-minute-ovation-at-cannes.html
- MOJO.(2024, 14 May).Top 10 Behind the Scenes Facts about Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLPnhPwSMss&t=445s
