Francis Ford Coppola’s highly anticipated, high-budget film Megalopolis is finally unveiled. Though the film hasn’t yet marked its official premiere, it opened yesterday in Los Angeles for select people in the Hollywood industry to secure a prospective buyer. Since it wasn’t a public premiere, the reviews of the film are kept under wraps, but the details regarding the film have already been swirling around, making it a highly anticipated film of the year.
The filming of Megalopolis began in November 2022 and was completed by March 2023. However, interestingly, Coppola conceived the idea for Megalopolis during the filming of Apocalypse Now (1979). Now, after decades of planning, the film is ready to be served to the audience.
As aforementioned, the film’s reviews have not yet been disclosed, but viewers’ excitement after watching the film could be sensed as the unveiled event found Beyond Fest’s account tweeting, “Having seen Megalopolis, we can confirm there’s never been, or ever will be, a director as crazy as Francis Ford Coppola. What a privilege to be on the same planet as him.”
Meanwhile, entertainment journalist Matt Belloni reported an attendee saying, “It’s unflinching in how batshit crazy it is.”
Coppola’s upcoming movie is an epic science fiction drama, which he also wrote and produced. Describing the nature of the film and praising Coppola’s directorial vision, Deadline‘s Mike Fleming reports, “Coppola’s new film is crackling with ideas that fuse the past with the future, with an epic and highly visual fable that plays perfectly on an IMAX screen. He covers complex themes in a remarkably brief two hours and 13 minutes, not including credits.”
Coppola’s film is largely self-funded, made with a whopping budget of $120 million.
What makes Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis an anticipated one?
When Francis Ford Coppola’s name is attached to a film, how can you not expect something great on its way? Coppola is that visionary auteur from the film industry, widely considered one of the greatest directors of all time. The filmmaker is primarily known for making movies in the drama and crime genres. However, he has never shied away from experimenting and exploring other genres throughout his career. His notable contributions to the film industry include films like The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and many more.
Now, the filmmaker is set is deliver another major project, which is expected to be another masterpiece of his filmmaking career. His upcoming film Megalopolis features an ensemble cast, including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman and D. B. Sweeney.
The intensity of Coppola’s upcoming film can be gauged by its detailed synopsis, which reads:
“The destruction of a New York City-like metropolis after an accident brings clashing visions of the future. On one side is an ambitious architectural idealist, Cesar (Adam Driver). On the other is his sworn enemy, city Mayor Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). The debate becomes whether to embrace the future and build a utopia with renewable materials or take a business-as-usual rebuild strategy replete with corruption and power brokering. In between their struggle is the mayor’s socialite daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), a restless young woman who grew up around power and is looking for meaning in her life.”
Known for setting high bars and serving as an inspiration for others, Coppola’s Megalopolis is highly anticipated. 84-year-old Coppola continues to pour his heart into each project as if it were his last.
While some might speculate that Megalopolis could be his parting shot, Coppola dismisses such a notion, clarifying that he has already begun work on his next film. Speaking to Deadline, Coppola shared insights into his forthcoming project, stating, “One way I knew Megalopolis was finished is that I’ve begun work on a new film,” he tells Deadline. “It won’t be cheap by any means, but I don’t know it can be called ‘an epic film.’”
Megalopolis is expected to be released in the United States in late 2024 after it was unveiled for the selected press.
