The 2024 Cannes Film Festival is underway with Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act starring Léa Seydoux and Louis Garrel serving as the opening-night film.
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof and Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking...
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof and Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking...
- 5/17/2024
- by Pete Hammond, Joe Utichi, Damon Wise, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Francis Ford Coppola has surely expected a better turn of events for his spic sci-fi drama Megalopolis that has been in his mind for almost 50 years before the production started.
Having been set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year, the movie was definitely one of the most anticipated flicks brought by the widely acclaimed director and s star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf and many others.
Sadly, the film’s grandeur hasn’t made its trick yet.
Now that Megalopolis got its official premiere with Coppola and the main cast being present at the festival, most of those who got to see the movie the other day aren’t that enthusiastic anymore. Some even had a blatant Wtf reaction claiming that the director brutally violated all of the cinema’s pivotal rules.
World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy seemingly joined the list of those...
Having been set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year, the movie was definitely one of the most anticipated flicks brought by the widely acclaimed director and s star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf and many others.
Sadly, the film’s grandeur hasn’t made its trick yet.
Now that Megalopolis got its official premiere with Coppola and the main cast being present at the festival, most of those who got to see the movie the other day aren’t that enthusiastic anymore. Some even had a blatant Wtf reaction claiming that the director brutally violated all of the cinema’s pivotal rules.
World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy seemingly joined the list of those...
- 5/17/2024
- by benjamin-patel@startefacts.com (Benjamin Patel)
- STartefacts.com
Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” starring Emma Stone, freaked out Cannes Film Festival on Friday night with an anthology of stories about sex cults, cannibalism and general debauchery.
Lanthimos’ follow-up to “Poor Things” earned a 4.5-minute standing ovation, with the director and his cast — including Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau and Joe Alwyn — leaving while the applause was still going. “Kinds of Kindness” tells three distinctive stories with cast members playing different roles in each. There were a few walkouts during the Cannes premiere, most of them coming after the film’s gorier, second chapter. Lanthimos abruptly left the screening and didn’t speak to audience members once the clapping stopped.
The film, like many of Lanthimos’ avant-garde offerings, overflows with outré plot twists as well as some outrageous moments — like Chau licking sweat off her followers as part of a cult ritual, a man who becomes...
Lanthimos’ follow-up to “Poor Things” earned a 4.5-minute standing ovation, with the director and his cast — including Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau and Joe Alwyn — leaving while the applause was still going. “Kinds of Kindness” tells three distinctive stories with cast members playing different roles in each. There were a few walkouts during the Cannes premiere, most of them coming after the film’s gorier, second chapter. Lanthimos abruptly left the screening and didn’t speak to audience members once the clapping stopped.
The film, like many of Lanthimos’ avant-garde offerings, overflows with outré plot twists as well as some outrageous moments — like Chau licking sweat off her followers as part of a cult ritual, a man who becomes...
- 5/17/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.As part of our Cannes 2024 coverage, we invited critics, filmmakers, and programmers to give their first impressions of the festival. Sign up for the Weekly Edit to receive exclusive reports from the Croisette straight to your inbox.Giovanni Marchini CamiaThe reconstruction of Napoléon, as seen by Abel Gance, was the first film to play at this year’s festival—after the Berlinale’s TinyHouse, this is symbolism at its most ready-made. Impossible to watch this inordinately glorious, inordinately chauvinistic film at Cannes without thinking of Thierry Frémaux, the festival world’s very own Napoleon, the man everyone loves to hate. As rumors of an impending labor strike and #MeToo bombshell crescendoed ahead of that evening’s opening ceremony, no image could have been more fitting than Napoleon braving a furious storm on a rickety fishing boat, a French flag fashioned into a sail as his only lifeline.
- 5/17/2024
- MUBI
If you dove head first into Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, you would get a concussion. The filmmaker’s supposed opus––a glitzy, gargantuan, long-gestating project that he conceived of in the late ‘70s, attempted to make more than once in the ‘80s, rewrote countless times over the last four decades, and eventually self-financed for $120 million due to lack of external support––has had cinephiles like myself drooling over its scope and potential for years. Alas, there is no deep end in this pool.
Don’t let that deter you though. Receive it with a healthy dose of doubt and let it reshape (and perhaps healthily lower) your expectations. Because, at the end of the day, for better and for worse, in awe and in tired confusion, Megalopolis is a garish wonder to behold.
Coppola recently said that “[his] first goal always is to make a film with all [his] heart,” and...
Don’t let that deter you though. Receive it with a healthy dose of doubt and let it reshape (and perhaps healthily lower) your expectations. Because, at the end of the day, for better and for worse, in awe and in tired confusion, Megalopolis is a garish wonder to behold.
Coppola recently said that “[his] first goal always is to make a film with all [his] heart,” and...
- 5/17/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Francis Ford Coppola is gearing up for the release of his magnum opus, Megalopolis. The project has been several decades in the making, and Coppola has pulled out all the stops for his dream project. This included getting together a huge cast of talented actors from different walks of life and with varying degrees of fame.
Suggested“I’ve only felt that twice”: Robert Duvall Predicted He Was Making History With The Godfather Before the Movie Had Even Finished Filming
One such actor was Jon Voight, who is part of the ensemble cast of Megalopolis. In the past, Voight and Coppola found reason to disagree on ideological matters. The two industry veterans have sometimes not seen eye to eye on matters concerning the state of politics. But Coppola recently revealed that despite their differences, Voight was fully supportive of the filmmaker’s ambitious movie project during the early years of its conception.
Suggested“I’ve only felt that twice”: Robert Duvall Predicted He Was Making History With The Godfather Before the Movie Had Even Finished Filming
One such actor was Jon Voight, who is part of the ensemble cast of Megalopolis. In the past, Voight and Coppola found reason to disagree on ideological matters. The two industry veterans have sometimes not seen eye to eye on matters concerning the state of politics. But Coppola recently revealed that despite their differences, Voight was fully supportive of the filmmaker’s ambitious movie project during the early years of its conception.
- 5/17/2024
- by Neeraj Chand
- FandomWire
Despite Francis Ford Coppola criticizing Marvel’s influence on Hollywood, it was an MCU series that overlapped with his “Megalopolis.”
Aubrey Plaza, who plays character Wow Platinum in Coppola’s epic and also stars in upcoming “Agatha All Along” Disney+ series, told Deadline that she brought some Marvel shenanigans to the “Megalopolis” set. Both projects were filmed on the same lot in Atlanta, with their respective productions overlapping for two weeks.
“I would literally go from one to the other and would put my Wow wig on and my Wow costume on. And then the next day, I would go to the ‘Agatha’ set and I’d be dressed as a warrior witch with a dagger and stuff. At one point, when I was dressed in the Marvel character, I snuck onto the ‘Megalopolis’ set and I started harassing Giancarlo Esposito and Adam [Driver] and everyone,” Plaza recalled. “It was absolutely insane behavior.
Aubrey Plaza, who plays character Wow Platinum in Coppola’s epic and also stars in upcoming “Agatha All Along” Disney+ series, told Deadline that she brought some Marvel shenanigans to the “Megalopolis” set. Both projects were filmed on the same lot in Atlanta, with their respective productions overlapping for two weeks.
“I would literally go from one to the other and would put my Wow wig on and my Wow costume on. And then the next day, I would go to the ‘Agatha’ set and I’d be dressed as a warrior witch with a dagger and stuff. At one point, when I was dressed in the Marvel character, I snuck onto the ‘Megalopolis’ set and I started harassing Giancarlo Esposito and Adam [Driver] and everyone,” Plaza recalled. “It was absolutely insane behavior.
- 5/17/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Speaking at Cannes, the director says Megalopolis, his reworking of ancient Rome’s Catiline conspiracy, has become ever more prescient
Megalopolis review – Coppola’s passion project is megabloated and megaboring
The US, whose founders tried to emulate the laws and governmental structures of the Roman republic, is headed for a similarly self-inflicted collapse, director Francis Ford Coppola has said at the premiere of his first film in more than a decade.
“What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” Coppola told a press conference at the Cannes film festival on Friday. “Our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic.”...
Megalopolis review – Coppola’s passion project is megabloated and megaboring
The US, whose founders tried to emulate the laws and governmental structures of the Roman republic, is headed for a similarly self-inflicted collapse, director Francis Ford Coppola has said at the premiere of his first film in more than a decade.
“What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” Coppola told a press conference at the Cannes film festival on Friday. “Our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic.”...
- 5/17/2024
- by Philip Oltermann in Cannes
- The Guardian - Film News
In a year that includes a new Deadpool outing, George Miller’s return to the Fury Road, and a Dune sequel, it’s saying something that for many, the most anticipated movie of 2024 – and the one with the biggest question mark around it – is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Earning his place in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors with Apocalypse Now, the Godfather movies and more, Coppola is an auteur whose return deserves our attention. But with his comeback film having been gestating for decades, not to mention requiring Coppola to shell out millions of his own dollars for the production, it demands it.
Set in a Roman Empire-inspired reimagining of New York City, Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catalina, an architect with physics-defying powers and dreams of building a utopian society. That dream sees him clash with the city’s Mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who...
Set in a Roman Empire-inspired reimagining of New York City, Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catalina, an architect with physics-defying powers and dreams of building a utopian society. That dream sees him clash with the city’s Mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who...
- 5/17/2024
- by Sophie Butcher
- Empire - Movies
After batting around the mind of Francis Ford Coppola for nearly half-a-century, Megalopolis was bestowed upon the world yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival. While reactions were expectedly divisive (read our review here), we’ve now gleaned more insight from the director’s process thanks to the official press conference. Coppola, who was joined by the film’s cast and crew, among them a handful of members of his own family, talked about the communal process of making the epic.
When asked about the political state of the world with the reign of Trump, Coppola responded, “Well, men like Donald Trump are not, at the moment, in charge but there is a trend happening in the world towards the more neo-right even fascist tradition, which is frightening, because anyone who was alive during World War II saw the horrors that took place and we don’t want a repeat of that.
When asked about the political state of the world with the reign of Trump, Coppola responded, “Well, men like Donald Trump are not, at the moment, in charge but there is a trend happening in the world towards the more neo-right even fascist tradition, which is frightening, because anyone who was alive during World War II saw the horrors that took place and we don’t want a repeat of that.
- 5/17/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Above: 1980 Japanese poster for Apocalypse Now. Design by Eiko Ishioka, artwork by Haruo Takino.With Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestated Megalopolis having premiered yesterday at Cannes, it's a good time to look back at the posters from his 60-year-long career. The only problem is that many posters for his films are either too well known or nothing to write home about. Like Coppola’s career itself, there are peaks and valleys—one of my very first posts for Notebook, almost exactly fifteen years ago, was about the gorgeous design for The Rain People (1969)—but a career retrospective of his posters seems like it might result in less than the sum of its parts. Yet of all his posters there are three rare Japanese designs that have always stood out as utterly extraordinary: two for Apocalypse Now (1979) and one for Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992).I’ve always seen these posters attributed to Eiko Ishioka,...
- 5/17/2024
- MUBI
The long-awaited Cannes premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis has finally happened and while the audience at Cannes seemingly loved the movie, the critics are… well… polarized, to say the least. We have already seen some mixed reviews not long after the secret buyers’ screening, which did not go as planned for Coppola, and while the filmmaker has put a lot of effort into the marketing campaign, Cannes was the next important stop for the movie, which is still looking for a distributor. The movie is expected to get a limited theatrical release this year ahead of the awards season, but based on the early reactions, Megalopolis might not be as grand as the story behind it suggests.
Megalopolis is an interesting story altogether. The movie was conceived way back in 1979, while Coppola was filming Apocalypse Now, one of the greatest war movies ever made and it...
Megalopolis is an interesting story altogether. The movie was conceived way back in 1979, while Coppola was filming Apocalypse Now, one of the greatest war movies ever made and it...
- 5/17/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Megalopolis trio: Nathalie Emmanuel, Adam Driver and Francis Ford Coppola in Cannes Photo: Richard Mowe Holding court at the Cannes Film Festival today after last night’s keenly anticipated premiere of the long awaited Megalopolis the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, 85, suggested that he was sanguine about the $120 million he has personally invested in the project over the decades. The film still awaits a US distribution deal although Imax has agreed to give it a run of screenings in its dedicated cinemas. Distributors in five European countries have signed up to what was been described as an epic Roman fable set in an imagined modern America.
Coppola reflected at a media gathering: “In the end there are so many people when they die say I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that. When I die I am going to say I got to do this, I got...
Coppola reflected at a media gathering: “In the end there are so many people when they die say I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that. When I die I am going to say I got to do this, I got...
- 5/17/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” was every bit the sensation people were expecting—with some critics calling the self-financed neo-Roman civic engineering drama a masterpiece and others calling it a disorganized mess.
The 85-year-old auteur, one of the few to have won the Palme D’Or twice, was sure to bring the same level of chaotic energy to his post-screening press conference. He took shots at the studios and suggested the tech companies might permanently dethrone them,
The best was when a man with a European accent, citing the film’s hope for the future, asked the writer-director if he has fears about today’s political climate when “men like Donald Trump are in charge.”
Coppola cited the worldwide trend to “neo-right, even fascist traditions, which is frightening for anyone alive during the horrors of World War II.”
He concluded that it is up to artists to shine a light on that,...
The 85-year-old auteur, one of the few to have won the Palme D’Or twice, was sure to bring the same level of chaotic energy to his post-screening press conference. He took shots at the studios and suggested the tech companies might permanently dethrone them,
The best was when a man with a European accent, citing the film’s hope for the future, asked the writer-director if he has fears about today’s political climate when “men like Donald Trump are in charge.”
Coppola cited the worldwide trend to “neo-right, even fascist traditions, which is frightening for anyone alive during the horrors of World War II.”
He concluded that it is up to artists to shine a light on that,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival continues on Day 4 with the world premieres of Three Kilometers to the End of the World, Oh Canada directed by Paul Schrader, and The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos presented the world premiere of Kinds of Kindness reuniting with past collaborators Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley from Poor Things.
Lanthimos was joined on the carpet by cast members Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, and Hunter Schafer on Friday, May 17 at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Other guests who attended the gala included Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Pierfrancesco Favino, Kristen Dunst, Demi Moore, Mike Faist, James Franco, Sophie Wilde, Victoria Justice, Tess Barthélemy, Judith Godrèche, Kelly Rutherford, Eva Longoria and Bebe Vio.
Related: ‘Kinds of Kindness’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley & More
Tonight,...
Director Yorgos Lanthimos presented the world premiere of Kinds of Kindness reuniting with past collaborators Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley from Poor Things.
Lanthimos was joined on the carpet by cast members Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, and Hunter Schafer on Friday, May 17 at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Other guests who attended the gala included Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Pierfrancesco Favino, Kristen Dunst, Demi Moore, Mike Faist, James Franco, Sophie Wilde, Victoria Justice, Tess Barthélemy, Judith Godrèche, Kelly Rutherford, Eva Longoria and Bebe Vio.
Related: ‘Kinds of Kindness’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley & More
Tonight,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
On the second night of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Judith Godrèche told the mostly female crowd assembled on a beach next to the Palais, “This film is for you!” The French actor-director was presenting her short “Moi Aussi,” a last-minute addition to the festival lineup that covers sexual misconduct in the French film industry. Godrèche has become something of an ambassador to the fledgling movement after she came forward in February with claims that she was preyed upon and groomed as a minor by directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon, allegations they both deny. The beach screening kicked off what many hope will be a sweeping French #MeToo reckoning.
But the festival and its accompanying film market also will feature several men who have been the subject of #MeToo allegations that range from sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. The awkward presence of such actors as Shia Labeouf and James Franco,...
But the festival and its accompanying film market also will feature several men who have been the subject of #MeToo allegations that range from sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. The awkward presence of such actors as Shia Labeouf and James Franco,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Tatiana Siegel
- Variety Film + TV
The 20024 Cannes Film Festival is in full swing now, and it’s arguably been dominated by expensive passion projects that could be seen as vanity projects by their makers. The first one, Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited “Megalopolis,” landed yesterday to much consternation and mixed reviews; ours was positive, but still slightly baffled, and the film currently sits at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. The next big self-financed project debuting soon on the Croisette is “Horizon: An American Saga,” an epic Western from writer/director and star Kevin Costner.
Continue reading ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ Trailer: Kevin Costner’s 2-Part Epic Civil War Western Premieres In Cannes Soon at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ Trailer: Kevin Costner’s 2-Part Epic Civil War Western Premieres In Cannes Soon at The Playlist.
- 5/17/2024
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Now that Megalopolis has premiered, nothing has actually changed. The film is a self-consciously impractical act that few would care nearly as much about if it weren’t very publicly known to have cost $120 million of Francis Ford Coppola’s personal money. That’s the kind of extravagant gesture you don’t get to ever see on this scale, and hence destined to be praised for being willed into existence amidst a sea of algorithimically conceived risk-aversion—or, alternately, decried as a hubristic folly in the trades with a palpable subtext of “how dare he?” Megalopolis is praiseworthy for mostly predictable reasons: lavish eccentricity, […]
The post Cannes 2024: Megalopolis first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Cannes 2024: Megalopolis first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/17/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Now that Megalopolis has premiered, nothing has actually changed. The film is a self-consciously impractical act that few would care nearly as much about if it weren’t very publicly known to have cost $120 million of Francis Ford Coppola’s personal money. That’s the kind of extravagant gesture you don’t get to ever see on this scale, and hence destined to be praised for being willed into existence amidst a sea of algorithimically conceived risk-aversion—or, alternately, decried as a hubristic folly in the trades with a palpable subtext of “how dare he?” Megalopolis is praiseworthy for mostly predictable reasons: lavish eccentricity, […]
The post Cannes 2024: Megalopolis first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Cannes 2024: Megalopolis first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/17/2024
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The time has come for audiences to finally get a look at Francis Ford Coppola’s new passion project, Megalopolis. The buzz has always given the impression that it would be an incredibly divisive movie and from the sounds of the first reactions coming out of Cannes from its premiere, it has been. Critics have been throwing around terms like “mess,” “bloated” and “boring.” However, they also throw around words like “stunning” and “engaged.” This sounds like the kind of madness that the filmmaker aimed to bring to unsuspecting audiences, and as Coppola self-funded this film, he had no suits looking over his shoulder in the making of it.
Coppola experienced the kind of freedom his friend Martin Scorsese had gotten when working with Netflix and Apple. When asked about his thoughts on streaming services, Coppola foresees a future where movie studios face their own “Megalopolis.” According to Deadline, the...
Coppola experienced the kind of freedom his friend Martin Scorsese had gotten when working with Netflix and Apple. When asked about his thoughts on streaming services, Coppola foresees a future where movie studios face their own “Megalopolis.” According to Deadline, the...
- 5/17/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman is not here for wannabe fashion critics making mean comments about her recent look at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedian took to social media on Thursday (May 16), addressing trolls who slammed her Cannes outfit. The nasty comments came from the Check the Tag Instagram account, which posts photos of celebrities and their outfits and lets users vote on whether to approve or disapprove the look. Stylist Yael Quint put together Fineman’s look for the famed film festival, where the actress was on hand for her upcoming sci-fi movie Megalopolis. Fineman’s outfit included a sparkly red Celine by Hedi Slimane gown and a Cartier necklace. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Check the Tag poll received 946 responses, with 63% of voters giving her outfit the disapproving X emoji. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Check the Tag (@checkthetag) Some commenters said...
- 5/17/2024
- TV Insider
Francis Ford Coppola has done well at Cannes, winning the Palme d’Or twice, for “The Conversation” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979), another film mired in controversy during production that sailed into release as a critical and box office success ($85 million worldwide), nominated for eight Oscars and winning two. Now the winemaker is back in Cannes with controversial “Megalopolis,” a 2 hour, 18 minute movie which he debuted at a gala premiere Thursday night to the usual sustained standing ovation (measured between seven and 10 minutes). There were a few boos at the press screening. He had dreamed of making the overstuffed extravaganza for 40 years since he wrote early versions of it in the ‘80s, but finally spent $120 million of his own money to produce and direct it.
Coppola faced drama on the set. He replaced VFX and art department members over clashes in filmmaking methods. Adam Driver, who plays a Robert Moses-style builder who...
Coppola faced drama on the set. He replaced VFX and art department members over clashes in filmmaking methods. Adam Driver, who plays a Robert Moses-style builder who...
- 5/17/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
“To do a Roman epic set in modern America, I had no idea that the politics of today would make that so relevant,” Francis Ford Coppola said Friday in Cannes about this $120 million 40-years-in-the-making epic Megalopolis.
The movie follows The City of New Rome, an allegory for New York City, in which Adam Driver’s architect Cesar Catilina squares off with a regressive status quo mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) as well as radical renegade Clodio Pulcher (Shia Labeouf) in the hopes of building a utopian society.
“What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” The Godfather filmmaker said during a press conference for the movie after it’s Cannes world premiere on Thursday night.
“Our politics have taken us to the point where we might lose a republic, and so it’s not people who...
The movie follows The City of New Rome, an allegory for New York City, in which Adam Driver’s architect Cesar Catilina squares off with a regressive status quo mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) as well as radical renegade Clodio Pulcher (Shia Labeouf) in the hopes of building a utopian society.
“What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” The Godfather filmmaker said during a press conference for the movie after it’s Cannes world premiere on Thursday night.
“Our politics have taken us to the point where we might lose a republic, and so it’s not people who...
- 5/17/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
What makes for a Cannes Palme d’Or winner? Ignore the critics, because it’s up to the jury, this year led by president Greta Gerwig, to decide.
While far-flung prognosticators might consult the ever-updating Screen Daily international critics’ grid for the writing on the walls, predicting winners is more about assessing the makeup and tastes of the jury. Screening 22 films are filmmakers like J.A. Bayona, Nadine Labaki, and Hirokazu Kore-eda, plus actors like Lily Gladstone, Ebru Ceylan, Eva Green, and Omar Sy. Though past Palme d’Or winners indicate jurors respond to emotion, more recent winners have been less typically audience-pleasing. Last year’s Palme d’Or recipient, “Anatomy of a Fall,” was hardly an overwhelmingly emotional movie, but its smart screenplay and great performances took it beyond Cannes all the way to a Best Original Screenplay Oscar win (for director Justine Triet and her partner and co-writer Arthur Harari...
While far-flung prognosticators might consult the ever-updating Screen Daily international critics’ grid for the writing on the walls, predicting winners is more about assessing the makeup and tastes of the jury. Screening 22 films are filmmakers like J.A. Bayona, Nadine Labaki, and Hirokazu Kore-eda, plus actors like Lily Gladstone, Ebru Ceylan, Eva Green, and Omar Sy. Though past Palme d’Or winners indicate jurors respond to emotion, more recent winners have been less typically audience-pleasing. Last year’s Palme d’Or recipient, “Anatomy of a Fall,” was hardly an overwhelmingly emotional movie, but its smart screenplay and great performances took it beyond Cannes all the way to a Best Original Screenplay Oscar win (for director Justine Triet and her partner and co-writer Arthur Harari...
- 5/17/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis has divided Screen International’s Cannes jury grid critics, receiving an average score of 2.1.
The sci-fi epic from the veteran director scored five threes (good) and four ones (bad) with three critics giving it twos (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Adam Driver leads Coppola’s latest feature as an architect trying to rebuild New York. Other cast include Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Shia Labeouf and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Also landing on the jury grid was Andrea Arnold’s Bird with an average score of 2.4. The surrealist drama received five threes and five twos,...
The sci-fi epic from the veteran director scored five threes (good) and four ones (bad) with three critics giving it twos (average).
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
Adam Driver leads Coppola’s latest feature as an architect trying to rebuild New York. Other cast include Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Shia Labeouf and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Also landing on the jury grid was Andrea Arnold’s Bird with an average score of 2.4. The surrealist drama received five threes and five twos,...
- 5/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Winner of two Palme d’Ors, Francis Ford Coppola‘s makes a huge return to Cannes with a film that will not go unnoticed in Megalopolis. With the price tag of about 120 Sean Baker features, this Julius Caesar salad (forgive the pun) dishes out a lot of ideas with a mega cast of Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, Isabelle Kusman, Bailey Ives, Madeleine Gardella, Balthazar Getty, Romy Mars, Haley Sims, Dustin Hoffman.
Gist: A project decades in the making, Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America.…...
Gist: A project decades in the making, Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America.…...
- 5/17/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Afternoon, Max Goldbart here with your International Insider on day four of a super-busy Cannes. Read on, and sign up here.
‘Megalopolis’ Is Talk Of Cannes
A more straightforward affair: After a tense build-up shaped by endless rumors of an imminent #MeToo expose and a potential labor strike, the first week of this year’s Cannes Film Festival has been a more straightforward affair. The most controversial event so far has been Thursday evening’s premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s highly-anticipated Megalopolis. The critical response has been predominantly positive, with some very high highs and inevitably a few low lows. Deadline’s Damon Wise praised the movie, calling it a “mad modern masterwork that reinvents the possibilities of cinema”. He said the film is “something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated, and drawn to pretension like a moth to a flame. It is also, however, a pretty stunning achievement, the...
‘Megalopolis’ Is Talk Of Cannes
A more straightforward affair: After a tense build-up shaped by endless rumors of an imminent #MeToo expose and a potential labor strike, the first week of this year’s Cannes Film Festival has been a more straightforward affair. The most controversial event so far has been Thursday evening’s premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s highly-anticipated Megalopolis. The critical response has been predominantly positive, with some very high highs and inevitably a few low lows. Deadline’s Damon Wise praised the movie, calling it a “mad modern masterwork that reinvents the possibilities of cinema”. He said the film is “something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated, and drawn to pretension like a moth to a flame. It is also, however, a pretty stunning achievement, the...
- 5/17/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival press conference for his film Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola said he thinks that the traditional US studios may not survive in the future.
He said: “I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations.
“New companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft have plenty of money, so it might be that the...
He said: “I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations.
“New companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft have plenty of money, so it might be that the...
- 5/17/2024
- ScreenDaily
Francis Ford Coppola's self-funded passion-project, Megalopolis, screened at the Cannes Film Festival last night, and the first reviews for the sci-fi epic have now been shared online.
Depending on which critics you choose to trust, the movie is either a masterpiece, an unmitigated disaster, or somewhere in between!
Despite reports of audiences giving the film a 10-minute standing ovation, reviews have been decidedly mixed, which is represented by an early Rotten Tomatoes score of 50%.
Only 22 verdicts have been added so far, so this score is sure to change when press screening take place down the line. But with such a polarizing reaction, we don't anticipate it fluctuating too much.
Have a read through some of the reviews at the links below.
#Megalopolis Review: "It's not likely to go down as one of the more incisive responses to our bitterly polarized political landscape. Nor does it ever quite settle on a uniform tone,...
Depending on which critics you choose to trust, the movie is either a masterpiece, an unmitigated disaster, or somewhere in between!
Despite reports of audiences giving the film a 10-minute standing ovation, reviews have been decidedly mixed, which is represented by an early Rotten Tomatoes score of 50%.
Only 22 verdicts have been added so far, so this score is sure to change when press screening take place down the line. But with such a polarizing reaction, we don't anticipate it fluctuating too much.
Have a read through some of the reviews at the links below.
#Megalopolis Review: "It's not likely to go down as one of the more incisive responses to our bitterly polarized political landscape. Nor does it ever quite settle on a uniform tone,...
- 5/17/2024
- ComicBookMovie.com
On Friday afternoon, at the most anticipated press conference of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola fielded questions about his latest work, Megalopolis, which had its world premiere at the fest in competition on Thursday night, deeply diving critics and audience members. The presser started more than half an hour late, a little unusual for Cannes, which unlike Hollywood events, generally run on time. But the filmmaker arrived in high spirits, stating that hearing applause at the premiere gave him feelings of “relief and joy.”
Coppola, 85, spent decades — and $120 million of his own money — trying to get the sci-fi epic across the finish line. The shoot was chaotic, THR reported in real time, with key creative talent quitting or being fired along the way; and this week The Guardian quoted sources from the set who suggested that Coppola made unwanted advances towards actresses.
Coppola was not...
Coppola, 85, spent decades — and $120 million of his own money — trying to get the sci-fi epic across the finish line. The shoot was chaotic, THR reported in real time, with key creative talent quitting or being fired along the way; and this week The Guardian quoted sources from the set who suggested that Coppola made unwanted advances towards actresses.
Coppola was not...
- 5/17/2024
- by Scott Feinberg and Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Francis Ford Coppola shared his thoughts on the current studio system during the Cannes Film Festival press conference for his self-financed epic “Megalopolis,” saying that they might not be around much longer.
“I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations,” Coppola said in response to a question from Variety. “Obviously, new companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft, they have plenty of money, so it might be that the studios we knew for so long, some wonderful ones, are not to be here in the future anymore.”
The presser also veered into the political, with Coppola being asked if the film is a commentary on Donald Trump,...
“I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations,” Coppola said in response to a question from Variety. “Obviously, new companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft, they have plenty of money, so it might be that the studios we knew for so long, some wonderful ones, are not to be here in the future anymore.”
The presser also veered into the political, with Coppola being asked if the film is a commentary on Donald Trump,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Matt Donnelly, Ellise Shafer and Tatiana Siegel
- Variety Film + TV
As Megalopolis continues to seek a U.S. distribution deal, its writer-director Francis Ford Coppola was asked to comment on the state of the film industry and whether the movie’s best destination is on streaming.
“Streaming is what we use to call home video,” was the director’s first response to the query, after the question was posed Friday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference, a day after the pic’s world premiere screening.
Coppola then added that his hope is his dystopian epic finds a home in “large theater with 600 to 700 people.”
Related: ‘Megalopolis’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Aubrey Plaza & More
“I feel the film industry is about people getting hired to meet debt obligations — their job isn’t to make good movies, but to pay their debt,” he said.
“These new companies — Amazon, Apple, Microsoft — they have plenty of money.
“Streaming is what we use to call home video,” was the director’s first response to the query, after the question was posed Friday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference, a day after the pic’s world premiere screening.
Coppola then added that his hope is his dystopian epic finds a home in “large theater with 600 to 700 people.”
Related: ‘Megalopolis’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Aubrey Plaza & More
“I feel the film industry is about people getting hired to meet debt obligations — their job isn’t to make good movies, but to pay their debt,” he said.
“These new companies — Amazon, Apple, Microsoft — they have plenty of money.
- 5/17/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Francis Ford Coppola, the fabled director behind classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has poured 40 years of his life and $120 million of his own money into his latest passion project, Megalopolis. This self-funded sci-fi epic follows an architect with the power to stop time as he attempts to rebuild a devastated metropolis as a utopia, despite facing opposition from the corrupt Mayor.
Francis Ford Coppola | Source: Wikimedia Commons/Gerald Geronimo
With a star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza, expectations are definitely high for this long-awaited film. Making Megalopolis was an expensive and laborious procedure; thus, its box office performance will have a significant influence on Coppola’s legacy in the future.
Since the movie’s May 16, 2024, Cannes Film Festival premiere, initial reviews have been released, and they are polarizing.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis: A Cinematic Revolution or a Misfire?
At its Cannes Film Festival premiere on Thursday,...
Francis Ford Coppola | Source: Wikimedia Commons/Gerald Geronimo
With a star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza, expectations are definitely high for this long-awaited film. Making Megalopolis was an expensive and laborious procedure; thus, its box office performance will have a significant influence on Coppola’s legacy in the future.
Since the movie’s May 16, 2024, Cannes Film Festival premiere, initial reviews have been released, and they are polarizing.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis: A Cinematic Revolution or a Misfire?
At its Cannes Film Festival premiere on Thursday,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
IMAX reveals a sizeable list of films coming to the format in 2025: here’s what to expect and when to expect it.
When it was reported around this time last year that Tom Cruise was engaged in a rather ‘spirited’ series of conversations with studio executives regarding Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning's IMAX allocation, it ushered into the foreground a fact that had steadily been emerging over the last few years.
The IMAX technology (and ticket price uplift that accompanies it) has established itself as something of a kingmaker in Hollywood. Studios that can secure the longest IMAX runs for their films can gain a much-needed commercial edge over their rivals.
Such was the case with Dead Reckoning, as the film’s brief IMAX window was surely a factor in it being beaten at the box office by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a movie mostly featuring people in rooms talking.
When it was reported around this time last year that Tom Cruise was engaged in a rather ‘spirited’ series of conversations with studio executives regarding Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning's IMAX allocation, it ushered into the foreground a fact that had steadily been emerging over the last few years.
The IMAX technology (and ticket price uplift that accompanies it) has established itself as something of a kingmaker in Hollywood. Studios that can secure the longest IMAX runs for their films can gain a much-needed commercial edge over their rivals.
Such was the case with Dead Reckoning, as the film’s brief IMAX window was surely a factor in it being beaten at the box office by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a movie mostly featuring people in rooms talking.
- 5/17/2024
- by Dan Cooper
- Film Stories
Coppola’s passion project screens at Cannes film festival to seven-minute standing ovation, but reviews have been polarising
After 40 years in the making, Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis has finally premiered at Cannes film festival – to polarising reviews that have variously called the film “staggeringly ambitious”, “absolute madness”, and “bafflingly shallow”.
Megalopolis, which screened at Cannes on Thursday night to a seven-minute standing ovation, was once considered a pipe dream for its years of false starts and abandoned shoots as well as its baroque, borderline unfilmable premise about “political ambition, genius and conflicted love” where “the fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems”.
After 40 years in the making, Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis has finally premiered at Cannes film festival – to polarising reviews that have variously called the film “staggeringly ambitious”, “absolute madness”, and “bafflingly shallow”.
Megalopolis, which screened at Cannes on Thursday night to a seven-minute standing ovation, was once considered a pipe dream for its years of false starts and abandoned shoots as well as its baroque, borderline unfilmable premise about “political ambition, genius and conflicted love” where “the fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems”.
- 5/17/2024
- by Michael Sun
- The Guardian - Film News
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in May 2023. It has since been updated with new films to crack the Cannes 5-minute mark.]
Each Cannes Film Festival is accompanied by the annual debate about whether the length of a film’s standing ovation is an accurate measure of its quality. But whether you see the practice of tracking ovation times as a fun cinephile tradition or an oversimplified waste of time, there’s no denying that it happens every year. For certain film industry observers, the number of minutes of applause that a buzzy movie receives on the Croisette is as significant as the first wave of reviews.
Cannes audiences have long been known for their bold responses to new movies. There’s virtually no such thing as a lukewarm response at the world’s biggest film festival — or at least, nothing that an American audience would recognize as lukewarm. Virtually all films receive either a standing ovation or loud boos. The over the top responses are a ritual in and of themselves,...
Each Cannes Film Festival is accompanied by the annual debate about whether the length of a film’s standing ovation is an accurate measure of its quality. But whether you see the practice of tracking ovation times as a fun cinephile tradition or an oversimplified waste of time, there’s no denying that it happens every year. For certain film industry observers, the number of minutes of applause that a buzzy movie receives on the Croisette is as significant as the first wave of reviews.
Cannes audiences have long been known for their bold responses to new movies. There’s virtually no such thing as a lukewarm response at the world’s biggest film festival — or at least, nothing that an American audience would recognize as lukewarm. Virtually all films receive either a standing ovation or loud boos. The over the top responses are a ritual in and of themselves,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
by Cláudio Alves
Wild Diamond (2024) Agathe Riedinger
The first two days of competition screenings have whipped up a storm at the Cannes Film Festival. Things started normal enough with Agathe Riedinger's Wild Diamond, this year's only feature debut vying for the Palme. Reactions were a tad tepid, but the same can't be said about Magnus van Horn's Girl with the Needle, which has horrified some viewers. All hell broke loose on the second day of competition, when both Andrea Arnold's Bird and Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis had their world premieres. The British auteur earned general praise, though some found it confounding. As for the American master's long-awaited opus, opinions are so divided that a chasm seems to have broken open across the Croisette. Some say it's a catastrophe of epic proportions, while others see value in its epic mess. Whatever the case, it sounds like a fascinating watch,...
Wild Diamond (2024) Agathe Riedinger
The first two days of competition screenings have whipped up a storm at the Cannes Film Festival. Things started normal enough with Agathe Riedinger's Wild Diamond, this year's only feature debut vying for the Palme. Reactions were a tad tepid, but the same can't be said about Magnus van Horn's Girl with the Needle, which has horrified some viewers. All hell broke loose on the second day of competition, when both Andrea Arnold's Bird and Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis had their world premieres. The British auteur earned general praise, though some found it confounding. As for the American master's long-awaited opus, opinions are so divided that a chasm seems to have broken open across the Croisette. Some say it's a catastrophe of epic proportions, while others see value in its epic mess. Whatever the case, it sounds like a fascinating watch,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Who is Francis Ford Coppola? A wondrous madman? A delicate tyrant? It’s clear he loves chaos and knows you love it too. Is this why he’s so attracted to working with actors who have their own chaotic (often despicable) public personas? Is he drawn to working with and capturing them because he believes they’ll understand him and his process more than others or is he trying to understand something about himself? Maybe both. Filmmaking is his art and art is his way of reckoning with the world around him. It’s why his re-edits are often better than the originals. Time has granted him more understanding and he does his best to transmute that back into the work. Time is also an obsession of his, so much so that to view any of his work without also contextualizing where it sits within his personal history is a...
- 5/17/2024
- by Harrison Richlin
- Indiewire
"Don't let the now destroy the forever." There will be no one review that will say everything that one could say about this film. No one critic will be able to cover it all, nor will they be able to accurately describe the experience of watching this film. It is a film that needs to be seen (with your own eyes) to be believed. As cliche as that is to write, considering this is the spectacular new $100M+ passion project from the cinema legend Francis Ford Coppola, it couldn't be truer anyway. Megalopolis premiered today at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, leaving critics baffled, confused, astounded, and intrigued. No matter what I have to say, no matter my own thoughts, this is just one quick take on it and great cinema is about discussing many interpretations and perspectives. That said, Megalopolis is definitely not a new masterpiece. Maybe it will be considered one in 20 years?...
- 5/16/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” which premiered at Cannes Film Festival on May 16.
The wait is over: Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi drama “Megalopolis” has finally premiered at Cannes Film Festival, shocking and dividing critics.
The film, a $120 million epic starring Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito and Shia Labeouf, was financed by Coppola himself — and has yet to secure a distributor in the United States. Regardless, the movie earned a 7-minute standing ovation from Cannes, as Coppola hugged Driver and Esposito and delivered an emotional speech dedicating the film to hope and family.
Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge wrote in his review that the film “is positively awe-inspiring in some places and an absolute eyesore in others, until you pull back and try to take it all in.” Though reactions have been mixed, the film was undoubtedly jam-packed with scenes that...
The wait is over: Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi drama “Megalopolis” has finally premiered at Cannes Film Festival, shocking and dividing critics.
The film, a $120 million epic starring Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito and Shia Labeouf, was financed by Coppola himself — and has yet to secure a distributor in the United States. Regardless, the movie earned a 7-minute standing ovation from Cannes, as Coppola hugged Driver and Esposito and delivered an emotional speech dedicating the film to hope and family.
Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge wrote in his review that the film “is positively awe-inspiring in some places and an absolute eyesore in others, until you pull back and try to take it all in.” Though reactions have been mixed, the film was undoubtedly jam-packed with scenes that...
- 5/16/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
It’s finally here. After many reports about production issues, screenings and 40 years worth of waiting, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
The anticipated epic is being met with a lot of mixed reactions (and confusion) from the reviewers, some lauding the audacity of the movie and others questioning its existence.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney offers: “It’s windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky, quoting Hamlet and The Tempest, Marcus Aurelius and Petrarch, ruminating on time, consciousness and power to a degree that becomes ponderous. But it’s also often amusing, playful, visually dazzling and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity.”
Over the last couple of months, multiple reports about Megalopolis — including from THR — have shed light on the project that Coppola has been discussing for decades. He poured a stunning $120 million of his own money...
The anticipated epic is being met with a lot of mixed reactions (and confusion) from the reviewers, some lauding the audacity of the movie and others questioning its existence.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney offers: “It’s windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky, quoting Hamlet and The Tempest, Marcus Aurelius and Petrarch, ruminating on time, consciousness and power to a degree that becomes ponderous. But it’s also often amusing, playful, visually dazzling and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity.”
Over the last couple of months, multiple reports about Megalopolis — including from THR — have shed light on the project that Coppola has been discussing for decades. He poured a stunning $120 million of his own money...
- 5/16/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
How often do you think about ancient Rome? If you're director Francis Ford Coppola, the answer is apparently "quite a lot." HIs latest film is "Megalopolis," a passion project that he had to finance himself in order to have full creative freedom, and it takes place in a crumbling city called New Rome, following an architect named Cesar (Adam Driver) as he seeks to build a more sustainable future. It's some wacky stuff, and Coppola has bought in completely.
The very first batch of reviews and reactions to "Megalopolis" are coming out of Cannes Film Festival in France, where the film made its world premiere. Given the movie's troubled production and absolutely wild teaser trailer, it should come as no surprise that the reviews are as intense as they are mixed, though most praise the unique sci-fi epic for its audacity and willingness to fully commit to its ideas and world.
The very first batch of reviews and reactions to "Megalopolis" are coming out of Cannes Film Festival in France, where the film made its world premiere. Given the movie's troubled production and absolutely wild teaser trailer, it should come as no surprise that the reviews are as intense as they are mixed, though most praise the unique sci-fi epic for its audacity and willingness to fully commit to its ideas and world.
- 5/16/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Messy, Maddening, Masterpiece: The first reviews for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis have arrived
Francis Ford Coppola has spent decades bringing Megalopolis to life. The director began crafting the project back in the ’80s but recognized that it would require a huge budget to match its massive scope, so it spent decades on the shelf. Now, after spending upwards of $120 million of his own money, Coppola has brought Megalopolis to the Cannes Film Festival, and the reviews have begun to pour in.
THR‘s David Rooney said, “It’s windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky, quoting Hamlet and The Tempest, Marcus Aurelius and Petrarch, ruminating on time, consciousness and power to a degree that becomes ponderous. But it’s also often amusing, playful, visually dazzling and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity. I can’t say I was always engaged over its two hours-plus run time, but I was always curious about where it was going next. Is it a good movie?...
THR‘s David Rooney said, “It’s windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky, quoting Hamlet and The Tempest, Marcus Aurelius and Petrarch, ruminating on time, consciousness and power to a degree that becomes ponderous. But it’s also often amusing, playful, visually dazzling and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity. I can’t say I was always engaged over its two hours-plus run time, but I was always curious about where it was going next. Is it a good movie?...
- 5/16/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
After months of speculation, the critical book has finally been opened on Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. The early word? Predominantly positive, with some very high highs and inevitably a few low lows.
Below, we run through some of the first reactions.
Deadline’s Damon Wise praised the movie, calling it a “mad modern masterwork that reinvents the possibilities of cinema”. He said the film is “something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated and drawn to pretension like a moth to a flame. It is also, however, a pretty stunning achievement, the work of a master artist who has taken to Imax like Caravaggio to canvas. It is a true modern masterwork of the kind that outrages with its sheer audacity.”
He continued: “Halfway through, there’s a very audacious gimmick that tears down the fourth wall in ways younger filmmakers can only dream of. Coppola breaks many of the cardinal...
Below, we run through some of the first reactions.
Deadline’s Damon Wise praised the movie, calling it a “mad modern masterwork that reinvents the possibilities of cinema”. He said the film is “something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated and drawn to pretension like a moth to a flame. It is also, however, a pretty stunning achievement, the work of a master artist who has taken to Imax like Caravaggio to canvas. It is a true modern masterwork of the kind that outrages with its sheer audacity.”
He continued: “Halfway through, there’s a very audacious gimmick that tears down the fourth wall in ways younger filmmakers can only dream of. Coppola breaks many of the cardinal...
- 5/16/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
When news first began circulating that distributors found Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited passion project “Megalopolis” tough to market, people were quick to shrug their shoulders in response. How could a film by the legendary “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director be hard to market? Well, those who shrugged their shoulders had not yet seen “Megalopolis.”
What is “Megalopolis”?
Continue reading ‘Megalopolis’ Review: Francis Ford Coppola’s Epic Is A Madman’s Fever Dream [Cannes] at The Playlist.
What is “Megalopolis”?
Continue reading ‘Megalopolis’ Review: Francis Ford Coppola’s Epic Is A Madman’s Fever Dream [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/16/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- The Playlist
Is Francis Ford Coppola’s controversial magnum opus “Megalopolis” any good?
The two hour and 20 minute dystopian drama certainly divided the audience at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night with its collision course of shocking scenes: a doctored sex tape featuring Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf in drag playing a Trumpian figure and Aubrey Plaza dominating her way through a slew of men.
But there was still a huge amount of respect for iconic director Coppola, who received a four-minute standing ovation upon entering the room. After the credits rolled — which included a tribute to his late wife Eleanor — and the standing ovation began, Coppola hugged Driver and Giancarlo Esposito and got emotional as he made a speech dedicating the film to hope and family.
“Thank you all so much. It is so impossible to find words to tell you how I feel,” Coppola said, then introducing his family members in the audience.
The two hour and 20 minute dystopian drama certainly divided the audience at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night with its collision course of shocking scenes: a doctored sex tape featuring Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf in drag playing a Trumpian figure and Aubrey Plaza dominating her way through a slew of men.
But there was still a huge amount of respect for iconic director Coppola, who received a four-minute standing ovation upon entering the room. After the credits rolled — which included a tribute to his late wife Eleanor — and the standing ovation began, Coppola hugged Driver and Giancarlo Esposito and got emotional as he made a speech dedicating the film to hope and family.
“Thank you all so much. It is so impossible to find words to tell you how I feel,” Coppola said, then introducing his family members in the audience.
- 5/16/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
The most awaited film this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, had its world premiere Thursday night, with the dystopian epic decades in the making landing a seven-minute standing ovation.
Coppola, the 85-year-old director and five-time Oscar winners, bowed as the lights came up inside the Grand Theatre Lumiere. He was congratulated by his Cotton Club star Richard Gere and got a hug from Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux as the ovation carried on.
Said Coppola to the crowd finally: “Thank you all so much — it is impossible to find words how I feel.” He then introduced those around him — including his granddaughter and son and collaborator Roman Coppola and sister Talia Shire. He called his cast “family” and emphasized the movie’s end message: “We should pledge allegiance to our families…that children should inherit a beautiful world from us.”
Coppola gives a speech after...
Coppola, the 85-year-old director and five-time Oscar winners, bowed as the lights came up inside the Grand Theatre Lumiere. He was congratulated by his Cotton Club star Richard Gere and got a hug from Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux as the ovation carried on.
Said Coppola to the crowd finally: “Thank you all so much — it is impossible to find words how I feel.” He then introduced those around him — including his granddaughter and son and collaborator Roman Coppola and sister Talia Shire. He called his cast “family” and emphasized the movie’s end message: “We should pledge allegiance to our families…that children should inherit a beautiful world from us.”
Coppola gives a speech after...
- 5/16/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione, Anthony D'Alessandro and Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating and much-discussed sci-fi epic Megalopolis had its world premiere on Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival, and was greeted with a 10-minute standing ovation inside the Grand Lumiere Theatre, as he gave a hug to each of his his principal stars — among them Nathalie Emmanuel, Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza and Giancarlo Esposito — and threw his hat into the cheering crowd.
Coppola, who lost his wife Eleanor last month, eventually interrupted the applause to take a microphone and introduce the members of his family who were with him, including his son, Roman Coppola, and sister, Talia Shire, both of whom worked on the film. He then said of his other collaborators on the film: “They were all my family. And in fact, as [Driver’s character] Cesar says [in the film], ‘We are all one family.'”
Added the filmmaker: “The most important thing we have, the most...
Coppola, who lost his wife Eleanor last month, eventually interrupted the applause to take a microphone and introduce the members of his family who were with him, including his son, Roman Coppola, and sister, Talia Shire, both of whom worked on the film. He then said of his other collaborators on the film: “They were all my family. And in fact, as [Driver’s character] Cesar says [in the film], ‘We are all one family.'”
Added the filmmaker: “The most important thing we have, the most...
- 5/16/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” just may have broken the internet — and the brains of more than a few critics at Cannes.
Upon the film’s world premiere, fans and critics alike took to social media to capture the “insanity” of Coppola’s latest feature, which has been described by the auteur as a “Roman epic.” Count IndieWire’s David Ehrlich as a fan: In his review, he said that “Coppola’s wild and delirious fever dream inspires new hope for the future of movies.” The film debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and is still looking for distribution, but will definitely get an IMAX release regardless.
Adam Driver leads the feature as a pseudo alter ego of writer/director Coppola, with the Oscar-nominated actor playing an architect who envisions saving his corrupt city and transforming the metropolis into a utopia. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) clashes with Driver’s character,...
Upon the film’s world premiere, fans and critics alike took to social media to capture the “insanity” of Coppola’s latest feature, which has been described by the auteur as a “Roman epic.” Count IndieWire’s David Ehrlich as a fan: In his review, he said that “Coppola’s wild and delirious fever dream inspires new hope for the future of movies.” The film debuted in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and is still looking for distribution, but will definitely get an IMAX release regardless.
Adam Driver leads the feature as a pseudo alter ego of writer/director Coppola, with the Oscar-nominated actor playing an architect who envisions saving his corrupt city and transforming the metropolis into a utopia. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) clashes with Driver’s character,...
- 5/16/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
In the long-gestating, career-encompassing allegory that is “Megalopolis,” director Francis Ford Coppola puts his name above the title and, in the film’s lone act of modesty, the words “A Fable” beneath it. To call this garish, idea-bloated monstrosity a mere “fable” is to grossly undersell the project’s expansive insights into art, life and legacy. Here, backed by an estimated $120 million of the “Godfather” director’s own money, is the sort of big swing audiences and critics have come to adore him for: a recklessly ambitious, ginormous epic in which humanity’s eternal themes — greed, corruption, loyalty and power — threaten to suffocate a more intimate personal crisis. In this case, a conservative politician and a forward-thinking urban designer clash over a mythic city’s future.
It’s Coppola’s fortune, and he can spend it as he likes, but grandiose title aside, it’s not at all clear why...
It’s Coppola’s fortune, and he can spend it as he likes, but grandiose title aside, it’s not at all clear why...
- 5/16/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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