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From right to left: Francis Ford Coppola, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac & Forest Whitaker respectively.
Francis Ford Coppola, one of the greatest directors of all time, is currently attempting to resurrect the production of Megalopolis, which has been repeatedly halted owing to budgetary restraints for the past 20 years. He's ready to put everything on the line in order to make his dream a reality.
According to Deadline, the film's budget is expected to be in the $100 million range. Coppola has made it clear that he is willing to put his money where his mouth is in order to make the film he has long desired. Coppola is in talks with Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Cate Blanchett, and Jon Voight, as well as Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jessica Lange, for roles in the film. The stars admit to being excited to work with the director of The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now!, The Conversation, and other classics on a film that has been in the works for decades.
As said by the man himself:
“I’m committed to making this movie, I’d like to make it in the fall of 2022,”
“I don’t have all my cast approved, but I have enough of them to have confidence that it is going to be a very exciting cast. The picture’s going to cost between $100 million and $120 million. Needless to say, I hope it’s closer to $100 million. I’m prepared to match some outside financing, almost dollar for dollar. In other words, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. What’s interesting about that is, there was a documentary about my dream studio, when I owned Zoetrope Studios and I was unafraid to risk everything I had in order to make my dream come true. Well, I really haven’t changed my personality, at all.”
Young Francis Ford Coppola in action.
Coppola revealed Megalopolis is set in a contemporary city, while the story is set in ancient Rome and explores timely themes.
Coppola remarked,
“The concept of the film is a Roman epic, in the traditional Cecile B. DeMille or Ben-Hur way, but told as a modern counterpart focusing on America,”
“It’s based on The Catiline Conspiracy, which comes to us from ancient Rome. This was a famous duel between a patrician, Catiline, and that part will be played by Oscar Isaac, and the famous Cicero, who will be Forest Whitaker. He is now the beleaguered mayor of New York, during a financial crisis, close to the one that Mayor Dinkins had. This story takes place in a new Rome, a Roman epic sent in modern times. The time set is not a specific year in modern New York, it’s an impression of modern New York, which I call New Rome.”
Coppola recognizes that clinging to these serious themes is like swimming against the tide of the film industry, which is enthralled with franchises, grandiose concepts, and tried-and-true formulas. But he's always been a rogue, and he'd like to stake his place once more in the hopes of triumphing.
Following that, we can definitely sense his drive to see a dream that he had put off for more than two decades turn into reality. And that's the kind of grit we want to see more of.
Stay tuned for more coverage!