14/44
Coppola fully abandoned the project in 2007, and didn't begin developing it again until 2019
Chronology
The city of New Rome faces the duel between Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist in favor of an Utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, with her loyalty divided between her father and her beloved.. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script in the early 1980s, but the film was kept on the back-burner partially due to his financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001 after filming 30 hours of second unit footage and holding table read with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Edie Falco, and Kevin Spacey, but the project was scrapped after the September 11 attacks, because a scene from the script (page 166) "predicted" the attacks.
Hamilton Crassus III: What do you think about this boner I’ve got?
Throughout the movie there are many moments where the hand movements jump between cuts.. The "Ultimate IMAX Experience" version of the film features a live actor asking questions during the filmed press conference.. Referenced in The John Campea Show: Adam Driver To Lead Francis Ford Coppola's New Film Megalopolis (2022). My PledgeWritten by Grace VanderWaalPerformed by Grace VanderWaalCourtesy of Columbia RecordsBy arrangement with Sony Music EntertainmentProduced and Orchestrated by Kris Kukul.
Envy, jealousy, greed, and the lust for power are other themes that shape the essence of this work
"Megalopolis" is a film I wanted to like, primarily because it's an incredibly expensive indie project, written, produced, financed, and directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola-an auteur who has been planning this work for 40 years and loves it so much that he personally rated it 10/10 on the film platform Letterboxd. Moreover, the experience of sitting in a nearly empty IMAX theater with just a few others added to the atmosphere… However, aside from Adam Driver's Oscar-worthy performance and the stunning visual frames that looked beautiful on the massive screen, nothing else in this film is worth praising.The plot follows the genius scientist Cesar, inventor of the revolutionary material "Megalon," with which he plans to build a utopian city of the future-"Megalopolis." This is one of the film's central themes-obsession with perfection in a world and society far from it. Coppola doesn't shy away from weaving in political commentary as well as reflections on human existence.When I reflect on the film's themes, one might think this is a good film.
The only character I connected with was Cesar, thanks to Adam Driver's brilliant performance
On the contrary, all of these themes are destroyed by narrative chaos, which in my opinion stems from the director's pretentious ambition to present an unprecedented 'megalomaniac' work of art. The editing and narrative are disjointed-the film jumps from scene to scene with no coherence, which became tiresome after just fifteen minutes. By the midpoint, I had completely lost interest in the story and was simply waiting for it to end.Even though most of the cast is well-known, it's difficult to connect with any of the characters-most are shallow, and some are entirely unnecessary. His ability to convey Cesar's mania, dialogue, and emotions is likely the reason I stayed engaged at all, rather than the depth of the character itself.