As we know, working on a Francis Ford Coppola could be a challenging process. Look at the infamous documentary Heart of Darkness for an example of how difficult things can get. Now, let’s get the documentary crew ready again, because another Coppola movie is reportedly imploding.
The Hollywood Reporter broke a new story detailing the issues that have arisen during the production of Megalopolis, the latest from Francis Ford Coppola. THR notes, “The filmmaker is halfway through filming in Atlanta,” and one source calls the set “absolute madness.” How mad is it? Coppola’s Megalopolis has lost critical, creative talent, including its production designer (Beth Mickle) and supervising art director (David Scott).
These resignations come after Coppola fired the entire visual effects team in the first part of December. With the firing of the VFX team and the resignations, THR notes that the film now has no art department.
“The Art Directors Guild supports all Art Departments to ensure proper staffing and scheduling and is currently looking into the situation with Megalopolis to determine the next steps,” a spokesperson for the Art Directors Guild, which reps both art directors and production designers, said in a statement. “We have no further comment at this point.”
Now, another issue that has begun to arise is the ballooning budget. Coppola’s Megalopolis is set to feature an all-star cast that includes Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, and Dustin Hoffman. Along with the cast, Coppola originally intended to use the tech they used to film The Mandalorian. Still, Megalopolis is attempting a less costly, more traditional green-screen approach due to costs.
The 83-year-old director has described the film as a passion project and is even spending his money, which THR jokes are a “cardinal Hollywood rule.” In late 2021, news broke that the director would self-finance the $120 million film. Since then, the budget has expanded to an unknown number, and the film is now only halfway through its 80-to-90 day shoot.
SEE ALSO: 1975: The Year Francis Ford Coppola Dominated the Oscars
UPDATE: Coppola has responded to THRs report with a statement downplaying the troubles, stating that the decision to let the VFX team go as “basically about managing cost” and that “I love my cast, I love what I’m getting each day, I am on schedule and on budget, and that’s what is important to me.”
“I’ve never worked on a film where I was so happy with the cast,” said Coppola. “I am so happy with the look and that we are so on schedule. These reports never say who these sources are. To them, I say, ha, ha, just wait and see. Because this is a beautiful film and primarily so because the cast is so great. I’ve never enjoyed working with a cast who are so hardworking and so willing to go search for the unconventional, to come upon hidden solutions. It is a thrill to work with these actors and the photography is everything I could hope for. The dailies are great. So if we’re on schedule, and I love the actors and the look is great, I don’t know what anyone’s talking about here.”
