Despite being a man that just hit the age of 80, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is only now making the film that he feels is his dream project. After various awards and the adoration of film fans around the world, thanks to classics like “The Godfather” series, “Apocalypse Now,” “The Cotton Club,” “Patton,” and “The Outsiders,” the director is now ready to begin pre-production on his long-awaited film “Megalopolis.”
And in a new interview with Deadline, Coppola discusses the upcoming film, and reveals that he’s already been talking to two of the biggest names in Hollywood about roles.
“At this age, I have to tell you, I am more enthusiastic and excited about the cinema and what it means and what it can be and even with all of the new digital aspects of it, which I think are being misused,” said Coppola.
He added, “I mean, we made the offer now to several actors . I can’t say they’ve accepted, but they were very enthusiastic. One of them is Jude Law and another Shia LaBeouf. I may shortly have my lead actress.”
For those that haven’t been following the decades-long discussion and development of “Megalopolis,” the film is said to be about an architect that aims to create a utopia in New York City but is thwarted by the city’s mayor. The film was being developed in the early-2000s but was halted after the 9/11 attacks.
As for financing, studios, and everything else that goes into making a big-budget film, that’s still to be determined, said the filmmaker. He did say that there might be one company that everyone has heard about that is intrigued by the idea of the film.
Coppola revealed, “But as you know, in the next five years the whole film industry is going to be owned by Apple, Facebook, Amazon. One of those newly emerged media giants is intrigued by the idea.”
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He added, “Studios pretty much don’t do these movies [like ‘Megalopolis’] anymore. Even when they do, they don’t finance them.”
It appears that “Megalopolis” will likely be going into production sooner rather than later. However, the idea of where it might be released (whether its streaming or theatrical) is still up in the air. That being said, new Coppola is never a bad thing, no matter which company pays for the production.
