Everyone’s talking about Thursday’s premiere in Cannes of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” FFC invested $100 million of his own money into this spectacular. Few have seen it. Coppola is bringing it to Cannes without a distributor, and in competition.
Surely, it will get a headline making 10 minute standing ovation. That will be the story.
But Coppola isn’t the only one who has his career on the line. So does star Adam Driver.
Everyone loves Adam Driver, and he’s had an amazing run. But in reality, Driver has not starred in a hit film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” If it weren’t for his “Star Wars” movies, playing Kylo Ren, Driver’s box office report card isn’t so good.
To wit: “Ferrari” was a total bust. “House of Gucci” was a minor one. “Annette” was barely a movie. No one saw “The Last Duel” or “65.” This is from hard numbers, objectively. Driver works a lot — and is always outstanding — but the material has often undermined his talents.
Driver did his best acting in Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” which was for streaming only. He was just as good in “White Noise,” but it also didn’t play in theaters. They can’t count on his box office report.
So there’s a little pressure for Driver that “Megalopolis” become a success tomorrow night. It’s not like he’ll never work again, but his trajectory just gets more challenged. Let’s hope for the best.
