Jon Voight has mega-opinions about his latest film “Megalopolis.”
Voight told Variety that he does not believe his “Megalopolis” character was based on Donald Trump, and that he would have told director Francis Ford Coppola he was “out of line” to use him for a Trump satire.
In “Megalopolis,” Adam Driver is an architect who envisions saving his corrupt city and transforming the metropolis into a utopia. The city’s conservative mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) clashes with Driver’s character, which incites January 6-esque protests. Of course, the conception of the film dates back decades, but we do know that Coppola hates Trump and Voight loves the guy.
Variety asked Voight if Trump, whom Voight has equated to Abraham Lincoln, was satirized in the film by his character.
“I didn’t see that,” Voight said. “If I had, I would have told Francis he was out of line.”
During the Cannes press conference (via Variety) for the “Megalopolis” world premiere, Coppola said, “Men like Donald Trump are not at the moment in charge, but there is a trend happening in the world. There is a trend toward the more neo-right, even fascist division, which is frightening. Anyone who was alive during World War II saw the horrors that took place, and we don’t want a repeat of that. To do a Roman epic set in modern America, I had no idea that the politics of today would make that so relevant.”
He added at the time, “One of the things I might say about our wonderful cast is that they reflect all sorts of political ideas. Jon, you have different political opinions than me.”
That remark caught Voight off guard.
“I’ve been telling Francis to make that movie for over 30 years,” Voight said. “I really don’t know why he thought that was the time to talk about our politics.”
To Variety, Coppola said of Voight, “Working with Jon is always an interesting, potent and joyful collaboration. He’s an artist, and I enjoyed our time together making ‘Megalopolis.’”
Coppola has been an outspoken critic of Trump for years. The director told Time in 2018 that he was familiar with the former president long before his government bid.
“Well, I know Donald Trump. I went to the same military school as him,” Coppola said. “He was a 13-year-old rich kid going to a boarding school. Over the years, I must say he really didn’t impress me as being as awful as he’s evolving. It makes me wonder why that’s happening. What they say in the never-ending news cycle is that these are psychological insecurities causing bad qualities to come out. He wasn’t such a bad guy 20 years ago. But I never knew him really well.”
