We had reported in January that filmmaker Mike Figgis was shooting a behind-the-scenes documentary on Franco’s Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.”
How transparent Figgis will be in his document of the “Megalopolis” set remains to be seen, but there’s definitely been drama with key creative talent, such as the visual effects production supervisor, production designer, and supervising art director, having been fired last December over “creative differences.”
One hopes that Figgis doesn’t only catch the chaos, but Coppola, the legend, at work on what could very well be his swan song.
Figgis was a guest of honor at the Ischia Global film and Music festival. He’s given us additional details as to what to expect when it comes to Coppola’s epic. He describes the film as “Julius Caesar meets Blade Runner" and that “Megalopolis” should be ready for Cannes 2024.
Figgis, who directed “Leaving Las Vegas,” met Coppola through his nephew Nicolas Cage and says that his “Megalopolis” documentary will accompany the film’s release — it will feature interviews with Scorsese, Lucas and Spielberg.
It is a futuristic film, set in a New York that will be called New Rome (at its center an architect who wants to rebuild the utopian metropolis after a disaster). It’s very philosophical, but also veers towards political satire. Francis is obsessed with Roman history, its roots. I will document everything, from our chats to the long waits on the huge set and also the well-known problems that occurred during production, including layoffs, a story emphasized by the press.
He says he was there for the whole 5 month shoot, talking to Coppola about the whole production process as it was happening. Coppola just finished shooting extra scenes on the border between Italy and Switzerland. The film is still in the editing phase in Atlanta.
Coppola, the legendary Oscar-winning director is self-funding “Megalopolis,” a passion project more than three decades in the making. The cost is said to be around $120 million for the epic.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.