As we suspected yesterday, Francis Ford Coppola's “Megalopolis” has been confirmed to premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday May 17, 2024 (via Deadline).
Coppola has already won the Palme d’Or twice (“The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now”) and he’ll be aiming for his third one this coming May. The Cannes jury this year will be led by Greta Gerwig.
Obviously, this Cannes/Megalopolis leak, no doubt coming from the Coppola camp, is meant to counter attack yesterday’s THR takedown. I expect Cannes, who must be very unhappy about the leak, are quickly writing a press release announcement.
Deadline writer, Mike Fleming Jr, took some shots at the “shotty” reporting aimed at “Megalopolis,” a sly dig at THR’s hit piece from yesterday.
Since he put up his own $120 million to make the film, one would imagine the press would not rush to judgment, but there have been some catty sourced reports. It’s like déjà vu from Apocalypse Now.
I saw “Megalopolis” and understand why Coppola made it and what his ultimate goal is. He’s trying to get future generations invested in the film, long after he is dead, and question what is happening to the world and where it leaves inhabitants 100 years from now, and asks maybe there is a better way.
I watched as numerous people congratulated Coppola, with tears in their eyes. Not everybody will love the film right off the bat, and cynics might cling on to the film’s price tag and the narrative. I don’t think Coppola made this film for them.
It’s not hard to parallel the negative press Coppola has been getting for “Megalopolis” to the troubled production and toxic writeups he got when he made “Apocalypse Now.” As Fleming states, “there were plenty of cynics back then trafficking in rumors that the movie was out of control and would end his career”.
This, of course, does not mean that “Megalopolis” will turn out to be as seminal a film as “Apocalypse Now,” but the least we can do is appreciate and be open to the fact that one of the greatest living filmmakers self-funded an immensely risky passion project such as this one. I can’t wait to see it.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.