There’s been a big kerfuffle the last day or so over Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.”
Yesterday The Hollywood Reporter — with a triple play byline — declared that the movie was awful and unsale-able to a distributor. They said none of the studios wanted it, and no one who’d seen it, liked it.
Oy vey.
Coppola had said “Megalopolis” wouldn’t go to Cannes with a distributor. But, of course, it will — the film will be on the list announced early tomorrow morning. It will play in competition, a real long shot bet considering the advance buzz. It will have “a fifteen minute standing ovation”!
Coppola put up $100 million of his own money. The film costs maybe $120 million. This isn’t the first time he’s gambled the house on a film. “Apocalypse Now” went this way and was a total success. “One from the Heart” was a bust.
Adam Driver stars in a role that I reported Oscar Isaac turned down. Giancarlo Esposito, one of my favorite actors, plays his nemesis in a race to rebuild a New York-like city that has been destroyed. Other actors include Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, D.B., Sweeney, Jason Schwartzman, Baily Ives, Grace Vanderwaal and James Remar.
There have been no screenings in New York so far. The screening in LA included a lot of Coppola pals like Al Pacino and Anjelica Huston. No one who was there came out raving. Even Deadline’s Michael Fleming, who was there, has given it restrained praise. A film that’s called “experimental” with no citations for the actors is worrisome.
Coppola is in the difficult position of having at least three of the best movies of all time — “The Godfather I and II,” and “Apocalypse Now.” There are a half dozen other excellent films on his resume. But the last three were pretty dismal, including one I saw years ago at Cannes called “Tetro” that was a big mess.
So, on to the Cannes announcements tomorrow.
