Rumored to be in the mix for several festivals, Francis Ford Coppola’s expensive, long-gestating “Megalopolis” is expected to premier at the Cannes Film Festival this May. According to Deadline’s The Dish, Coppola’s film, which he funded himself to the tune of over 100 million, will play in competition on the Croisette on May 17.
A film Coppola had conceived of back in the 1970s, around the era of “Apocalypse Now,” the epic film started resurfacing in the late aughts but only became a reality in the last two years.
The film—said to be a grand operatic epic drama—is about an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.
The ensemble cast, including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman and D. B. Sweeney.
Deadline says the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals desperately wanted the film, but Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux ultimately won out. The full 2024 Cannes Film Festival line-up comes out on Thursday, Apri 11.
News of “Megalopolis” premiering at Cannes arrives amid reports that the project is too experimental and essentially faces an uphill battle for a sale. The Hollywood Reporter ran a rather damaging story yesterday talking to many insiders who were present for a private IMAX screening of the movie in New York.
While everyone talked about the film under conditions of anonymity, and some spoke about it in reverent terms, the article essentially had the undercurrent of skepticism and doubt that Coppola would ever find the big kind of sale he is looking for.
“Megalopolis” cost a reported $120 million to make and would need a huge studio-sized commitment for a big theatrical release (that would be intended for an IMAX release as well. But the general sentiment of the article was that its commercial prospects were low, getting a big studio to buy it would be unlikely, and its prospects were more akin to an arthouse indie or streamer with money that still might be unlikely to shell out the kind of big spend and marketing commitments that Coppola is seeking.
“There is just no way to position this movie,” one source is quoted as saying. “Everyone is rooting for Francis and feels nostalgic,” another attendee added. “But then there is the business side of things.”
Coppola’s quick decision to go to Cannes is likely sped up by this report. If the filmmaker hopes to find a big splashy deal, there’s no better way to receive it than if/when the film is showered with praise and one of those legendary long-standing ovations at Cannes. Whether that translates to sales at a big studio or an A-list streamer is another matter, though. Cannes is super arthouse-friendly, but the market and climate for films in North America is currently a much different, dimmer matter.
