“Megalopolis” just might be the film with the biggest hype and mystery this fall season…
After debuting at Cannes, the self-funded feature from auteur Francis Ford Coppola has had quite the media frenzy. First, the film was plagued by rumors of a chaotic set. Then, Coppola was accused of kissing extras against their will. Coppola has denied both allegations.
And then the first trailer that was released to promote the film included fake quotes from iconic critics seemingly created by an AI chatbot. Distributor Lionsgate issued an apology, telling IndieWire, “we screwed up.”
Now, we’re getting a new and fully sanctioned look at “Megalopolis.”
Adam Driver leads the film as a pseudo alter-ego of writer/director Coppola, playing an architect who envisions saving his corrupt city and transforming the metropolis into a utopia. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) clashes with Driver’s character, just as the mayor’s daughter (Nathalie Emmanuel) becomes romantically entangled with him.
Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, D.B. Sweeney, Jason Schwartzman, Baily Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar also star.
Ensemble cast member Fishburne, who narrates the trailer, even weighed in on the recalled marketing materials for the film. Fishburne told The Hollywood Reporter that couldn’t “be bothered with whatever that is” when the controversy first was announced. Simply put, Fishburne had more important things to do, like watch the Democratic National Convention. As for the trailer that was taken down by Lionsgate, he added, “Yeah, it’s weird.”
“Weird” definitely seems to cover the gist of the “Megalopolis” premise, too. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote in his review that “Coppola’s wild and delirious fever dream inspires new hope for the future of movies.”
Coppola himself recently told Empire that “Megalopolis” is a “dangerous” feature, much like his most beloved films.
“The film leaps into the unknown unafraid. It’s a dangerous thing to do,” he said. “As we know, the art we revere — Bizet’s ‘Carmen,’ artists like Picasso, Monet, and Matisse — is art that in its time was considered too risky or a failure. ‘Apocalypse Now’ is a perfect example. When it came out, people said, ‘What the hell is this?’ But they never stopped going to see it. With ‘Megalopolis’ you can’t put a label on it. And that’s great. That’s the kind of film I like.”
“Megalopolis” premieres September 27 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
