" unquestionably one of the ways to advance a movie . "
Almost 50 years later,Megalopolisis finally here.
The epic sci-fi drama film’strailerwas released on Aug. 21, marking the return of one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood. However, it’s a project that has been coming for a very, very long time.
Megalopolis,written and directed byFrancis Ford Coppola, is a longtime passion project that’s had quite the journey to produce. It takes place in a crumbling metropolis called New Rome.
The movie features a star-studded ensemble cast, includingAdam Driveras Cesar Catilina, an ambitious architect who can control time.
Giancarlo Espositois Mayor Franklyn Cicero, Cesar’s nemesis and the corrupt mayor of New Rome.
Nathalie Emmanuel is Julia Cicero, Mayor Franklyn’s aristocratic daughter, and Cesar’s love interest.
Aubrey Plazais Wow Platinum, a TV news personality who is in love with Cesar.
Shia LaBeoufis Clodio Pulcher, Cesar’s cousin who is also in love with Julia.
And cinematic heavyweights Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman are also part of the stacked cast.
The epic sci-fi drama metaphorically parallels the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC, in which Lucius Sergius Catilina attempted to overthrow the Roman consuls Gaius Antonius Hybrida and Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Coppola had the idea for this film in 1977 and began developing the script in the early ’80s.
The film was initially set to be filmed in 1989 but was shelved after Coppola prioritized other projects, such asBram Stoker’s Dracula(1992) andThe Rainmaker(1997).
For the next few years, the film would be involved in a series ofallegedconflictson set, which Coppola and some actors have disputed. For instance, key crew members were replaced mid-production, and Coppola was accused of problematic on-set behavior.
In a television obtained byVariety , the director is shown engaging in unprofessional behaviour toward crowd members .
The film’s road to completion, currently at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, is a story reminiscent of past Coppola productions. Other films that would later become celebrated classics were also doubted in their earliest days, and based on the trailer, he’s well aware of this.
Before any actors appear on screen, theMegalopolistrailer seemingly calls out critics of his past films, includingThe Godfather, Apocalypse Now,andBram Stoker’s Dracula.
From this opening alone, the internet was talking in anticipation of what could be one of the year’s biggest films. Here’s what some people are saying:
It takes real guts for a filmmaker to put out those negative reviews from early screenings to promote their picture ahead of its public release .
in spades one of the ways to push a motion picture .
One person said, “The fact that Francis Ford Coppola does all the marketing himself, from his own money and this was the best trailer that he could come up with those insane bad reviews that he got for his past movies is absolutely crazy. Respect the king right there, no one does it like him!”
this kinda lead hard
the critic at the beginning of the megalopolis trailerpic.twitter.com/wMXt1FTYfI
Owen Gleiberman , cite in the trailer for callingBram Stoker ’s Dracula"A beautiful mess , " respond . “ Even if you ’re one of those people who do n’t like critics , we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths . Then again , the trivial outrage of all this is that the whole ‘ Megalopolis ’ trailer is built on a false story . "
If anything,Megalopolisis unapologetically Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, and it’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out.
Megalopoliswill arrive in theaters on Sept. 27, 2024.
