Some screenings of “Megalopolis” include an appearance by a live actor. This is one of many ways director Francis Ford Coppola’s new film subverts cinematic norms.

Megalopolis has been making headlines for years, but the film has been in Francis Ford Coppola’s head for decades.

In the sci-fi epic, in theaters September 27, Adam Driver plays an idealistic architect who challenges the regressive status quo of the corrupt mayor of New Rome (Giancarlo Esposito). Coppola, who directed The Godfather And Apocalypse now, The idea for the film first came to him in 1977. He sold part of his winery to invest $120 million of his own funds into the production Megalopolis so he could make it outside of the studio system.

Coppola told Yahoo Entertainment at the Toronto International Film Festival that he took a break from filmmaking after writing and directing the 1997 film The Rainmaker to try to learn more about “what cinema was and what (its) kind of cinema was.”

“Megalopolis is the result of what I have learned about myself and a complete expression of how I work when I am part theater director, part film director, part grandpa, part philosopher and not afraid of taking risks,” he said.

The ultimate “Megalopolis” My experience includes a live actor

Coppola’s experience in the theater and his fascination with technology gave him the desire to try something new: giving an audience member at a film screening the opportunity to ask one of the characters a question on the screen, and giving that character the opportunity to interact with one to respond to individual messages. He compared it to Amazon’s Alexa technology, which he planned to use for the film, according to the Telegraph, but the team working on the project was laid off in 2022.

“Technology will eventually allow us to do things like this in the cinema. The cinema will not stay… the same. (Studios) want it to stay the same because they want to sell it to you,” Coppola said. “They want to sell you something that you’re addicted to, like a certain type of potato chip that you can’t stop eating. This is her dream. That’s why they do franchises.”

The live actor element of Megalopolis The film that made it to theaters isn’t quite what Coppola had in mind, but it’s still unique. In screenings dubbed “The Ultimate Experience,” a person in the theater approaches the screen and asks the driver’s character a question during a “press conference.” After about two minutes, the live actor leaves the film and the film continues as normal.

Why Driver and Esposito joined the cast

Megalopolis has had a long journey to the cinema. Coppola began working on the script in the 1980s and eventually held table readings in 2001 – but the film’s plot, involving a catastrophe that destroys New Rome, was a little too similar to the 9/11 terrorist attacks for comfort could continue.

He revived the project in 2019 and in 2022 it was finally in production after hundreds of script revisions.

Driver told Yahoo Entertainment that people might expect Coppola to be “dictatorial” on set because he had certain motives “in his head for 20 years,” but that wasn’t the case. He praised the director for his “cooperation”.

“With all movies, there’s a pressure…if someone is spending a lot of money for us to be here, everything has to be kind of great,” Driver said. “But because of the environment the director sets up, it quickly evaporates.”

The actor initially turned down the lead role Megalopolis because he was “a little run down” from filming so many other projects. Then Coppola sent him a new copy of the script overnight with a new version of a scene they had discussed.

“The fact that he did that – how articulate he was and how generous he was – I think that’s too great,” Driver said. “Then he made it so that I could go home every weekend.”

Esposito, who plays Driver’s character’s rival, told Yahoo Entertainment that he read the script Megalopolis”many years ago.” He worked with Coppola on his 1984 film The Cotton Club and said the director is exactly the kind of person he enjoys working with.

“I want to work with people who are inquiring, who have great visionary ideas, who I would consider writers, and who want to find out what film is through their interaction and relationship with the actors who faithfully deliver their words,” he said .

“I like Francis. Actually me Love “Francis, because he’s just so comfortable in his own skin and has so much knowledge and passion for the story he’s trying to tell,” Esposito continued. “He tells you stories so your brain can expand, and isn’t that inspiration?”

The many controversies of “Megalopolis”

After the film was shot, controversy erupted Megalopolis didn’t stop. The film received mixed reviews after its Cannes premiere and the trailer had to be pulled in August because it contained fabricated quotes from critics. Crew members reportedly complained about the “old-school” environment on set, and Coppola was accused of behaving inappropriately toward female extras. He has denied allegations of misconduct.

In August, Coppola told Rolling Stone that he didn’t want to do that Megalopolis He said the cast makes it “a bright Hollywood production.” He said the cast was made up of people who had been “canceled,” including Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman. Both were accused of sexual assault.

“For me, it’s always crazy what you can and can’t do,” Coppola told Yahoo Entertainment about filmmaking. “I think artists should be allowed to do what they love, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do.”

Coppola’s ultimate vision

Driver may be the star of the film, but to him it’s Coppola’s film.

After Megalopolis In a clip that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Driver could be seen turning the focus of a camera from him to Coppola. Driver told Yahoo Entertainment that he did it in part because it was “nice, but a little uncomfortable” to have a camera with you while people clap. (It also went viral in its 2021 premiere Annette (for smoking a cigarette during the ovation). The main reason, however, was that Coppola was “the one who did it.”

“He would say the opposite – that we all did it together,” Driver said. “Everyone in this room has been impressed by the films he’s made, and here he’s been trying to do this thing for over 20 years…he’s kind of a remarkable human being.”

Coppola said his favorite line he has written Megalopolis The script delivers Driver’s character at the end: “You can be anything, and you must.”

“We are all a family. You are my cousin. “All of these children are our children,” Coppola said. “I wanted a film that expressed the hope that we are a brilliant species, that there is nothing we cannot solve… if we understand that we can.”

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