Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded feature “Megalopolis” has revealed its first-look image after landing a Cannes competition berth. “Megalopolis” is an upcoming sci-fi epic. Set in a New York City-like metropolis, the film follows an accident that destroys the city. Cesar (Adam Driver), an idealist, aims to rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia, while the venal mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), has other plans. Coming between the opposing men and their visions is Frank’s socialite daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel). Tired of the attention and power she was born with, Julia searches for her life’s meaning.
The first official image of “Megalopolis” reveals Driver eyeing the rebuilding of the City of New Rome while Nathalie Emmanuel, as Julia, looks on. The film is structured as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America.
How did ‘Megalopolis’ come to its inception?
Growing up in New York, Francis Ford Coppola was fascinated by the scientific community’s history of dangerous experiments. During this time, films such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) and William Cameron Menzies’s Things to Come (1936) played a significant role in shaping his own vision of science fiction drama, which has now become Megalopolis. The filmmaker conceived the overall idea for “Megalopolis” during the filming of his 1979 film “Apocalypse Now.” Sound director Richard Beggs, who worked with him in the film, described Coppola’s vision for “Megalopolis” as a “gigantic opera, shown over four nights in some place as close as possible to the geographical center of the United States – and people would come from all over, as they do to Bayreuth“
Meanwhile, Coppola described his film as a commentary for the United States, echoing the line, “I believe in America,” from “The Godfather” (1972), under the belief that the country’s founders borrowed from Roman law to develop their democratic government without a king.
The project is made on a reported budget of $120 million. To meet the funds for the film, Coppola sold a significant portion of his wine empire. Recently, the film had a screening for potential buyers, with Universal’s Donna Langley, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, and Sony’s Tom Rothman in attendance at Universal CityWalk. It is still seeking distribution, but the filmmaker has noted his desire for an Imax release.
The film 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.
