In a recent appearance on the Back to One podcast, actor Jon Hamm admitted that he was part of a table read for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” He eventually wasn’t cast in the film, but remembers the experience quite vividly.
“Look at what Francis Ford Coppola is doing right now. He’s making a $300 million movie that he just has wanted to make. I did a table read of it, I know how impossible this movie is to make. But he’s making it. And God bless him, that’s exactly what he should be doing.”
Hamm’s inside look at Coppola’s epic “Megalopolis” left him shocked at the thought that this movie could even get made:
“I was like, ‘I don’t know how he’s gonna make this movie. I sat at a table with Al Pacino, Shia LaBeouf, all these amazing actors. I thought ‘I don’t know know what this is gonna be, but I’m unbelievably happy to be here in this room on the Paramount lot where 45 years ago he made ‘The Godfather’ when Robert Evans was walking around. Like ‘okay, I’ll be part of this.’”
Some “Megalopolis” set photos leaked earlier in the year. The costumes looked flamboyantly over-the-top. But, hey, what do we know about the story and Francis Ford Coppola’s overall vision for this epic.
The film is said to be a Roman-style epic, so the wild costumes did make sense, but they looked pretty wild. Shia LaBoeuf’s drag look was .. something. The best plot description I could find …
“Megalopolis is centered around the aftermath and reconstruction of New York City following a disaster that wrecked the city and wiped off its urban infrastructure. Amid this chaos is an architect who is intent on braving the odds to rebuild New York City as a utopia after the devastating natural disaster.”
Suffice to say, a lot of people are confused about what to expect when it comes to this film, which is refreshing. How can anyone root for it to fail? Even if it’s the biggest financial failure in Hollywood history, I'd much rather watch a big ambitious swing like this one, that has some semblance of artistry and passion, than any generic algorithm-driven blockbuster.
Coppola even sold a large share of his successful winery to back the project. Why? Because he damn well can. He probably has money to spare. At least this will give the master TOTAL CREATIVE CONTROL over the whole project.
“Megalopolis” is still in the middle of some heavy duty post-production. No release date has been announced. The main cast is composed of Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Kathryn Hunter, James Remar and Giancarlo Esposito.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.