The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola is planning to put up over $100 million of his own money to finance his dream project, Megalopolis. In the works for several years, Megalopolis is described as an ambitious love story akin to a Roman epic but set in a timeless New York City. The film centers on an architect’s dream of building a utopia after a disaster ravages the city.
Megalopolis has been rejected by many studios over the years, but that hasn’t deterred Coppola from making one last push. Megalopolis was officially announced last year, with Coppola eying Oscar Isaac, Cate Blanchett, Forrest Whittaker, Jon Voight, Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, and James Caan to star.
It’s been over a decade since Coppola’s last film, Twixt, was released, and the legendary filmmaker is eager to return to movies. Coppola says he wants to make a movie that’ll be remembered for ages and one everybody will see at least once a year, forever, like 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
In a recent interview with GQ, Coppola discussed his undertaking to bring to life his long-time passion project, Megalopolis, and how he is willing to spend a fortune if that’s what it takes to make the film. This isn’t the first time Coppola has self-financed a movie. He did the same with Apocalypse Now and One from the Heart, with the latter’s box-office performance leaving him bankrupt. But he is willing to take the risk again.
Coppola owns a lucrative wine business in California and has amassed a huge fortune. Last year he sold some of his wineries and will use the capital to fund Megalopolis. "I couldn't care less about the financial impact whatsoever. It means nothing to me," said Coppola when reminded of his earlier misfortunes. He added, "Well, it's not as if $120 million is the extent of what I have. I have bequeathed much to all my children. And then they themselves, the greatest thing I bequeathed to my children is their know-how and their talent."
Coppola plans to film Megalopolis in late 2022 and estimates it will take at least three years to make. Hopefully, the film will be worth the wait.
Francis Ford Coppola Is Not A Fan Of Superhero Movies
In support of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola also expressed his views on superhero movies back in 2019, calling them "despicable." Talking to GQ, Coppola doubled down on his criticism, saying that the repetitive nature of Marvel movies has started to affect other big movies as well.
There used to be studio films. Now there are Marvel pictures. And what is a Marvel picture? A Marvel picture is one prototype movie that is made over and over and over and over and over again to look different. Even the talented people—you could take Dune, made by Denis Villeneuve, an extremely talented, gifted artist, and you could take No Time to Die, directed by Cary Fukunaga—extremely gifted, talented, beautiful artists, and you could take both those movies, and you and I could go and pull the same sequence out of both of them and put them together. The same sequence where the cars all crash into each other. They all have that stuff in it, and they almost have to have it, if they're going to justify their budget. And that's the good films, and the talented filmmakers.
Francis Ford Coppola and the troublesome making of The Godfather will be fictionalized in the upcoming Paramount+ series The Offer. The series will be told through the eyes of producer Albert S. Ruddy (Miles Teller). Coppola will be played by Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts franchise).
The Offer debuts on Paramount+ on April 28, 2022.