The minute I read this morning’s Guardian write-up on Francis Ford Coppola; I knew it wouldn’t just be shrugged off. The steady stream of hit pieces against him these last few months have been quite something. The powers that be seem to be very angry that he’s gone out of his way to break the “algorithm” of Hollywood.
The latest assault on Coppola are allegations, via anonymous sources, coming in just three days before “Megalopolis” is set to premiere at Cannes. The venomous disdain towards this film and Coppola is quite something. Here’s an excerpt of what an L.A. based producer told me, via email, a few hours ago:
This is nothing more of a smear campaign from frightened studios who don't appreciate his threat to their business models. It’s a conspiracy to destroy him.
The latest smear has to do with Coppola “allegedly pulling women to sit on his lap” reads The Guardian report. “And during one bacchanalian nightclub scene being shot for the film, witnesses say, Coppola came on to the set and tried to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras. He apparently claimed he was ‘trying to get them in the mood.'”
Defending Coppola, “Megalopolis” executive co-producer, Darren Demetre is telling Variety that Coppola “did kiss some extras on the cheek in a friendly manner” and no one ever expressed to him that Coppola’s behavior made them uncomfortable.
With all that we’ve heard from the media about “Megalopolis,” it’s not that much of a stretch to believe that something is going on here. Prior to The Guardian report, THR’s behind-the-scenes takedown of “Megalopolis” had many talking — the last paragraph, quoting a studio head, stated that “Megalopolis” is “so not good, and it was so sad watching it. Anybody who puts P&A behind it, you’re going to lose money. This is not how Coppola should end his directing career.”
I should mention that THR, Variety, and even The Guardian, have been used in the past as studio mouthpieces, and this sort of reporting is sometimes designed for a specific purpose.
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 Deadline’s Mike 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.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.