CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 17: Francis Ford Coppola attends the "Megalopolis" Photocall at the 77th annual ... [+]
Megalopolis director Francis Ford Coppola—who spent $120 million of his own money to fund his new movie epic—predicts where he thinks studios are headed the day after his film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Coppola took questions at a press conference in the South of France Friday following the film’s gala red carpet premiere Thursday. The film is in competition at Cannes not only for the coveted Palme d’Or but it is also still looking for a U.S. distributor.
Deadline reported earlier this week that Coppola has already secured international distribution for his film.
Questioned by Variety about the state of the studio system in Hollywood, Coppola had a dire prediction for the future of the big studios that helped build Tinseltown.
“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 at the press conference.
“Obviously, new companies like Amazon
Coppola Talks The Politics Of ‘Megalopolis’
In the logline of the film released by the Cannes Film Festival, the description reads, “Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare.
“Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”
Adam Driver plays Caesar in Megalopolis, while Giancarlo Esposito portrays Mayor Cicero and Nathalie Emmanuel plays Julia. The film’s all-star cast also includes Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Laurence Fishburne and Shia LaBeouf.
Asked at the press conference about his thoughts on former President Donald Trump, Coppola noted that while Trump is currently not in charge, he’s noticed a “frightening” trend going on around the globe.
“There is a trend happening in the world toward 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,” Coppola said at the press conference, via Variety. “So again, I think it’s the role of the artist, the films, to shine light on what’s happening in the world.”
While Megalopolis breaches the political sphere, Coppola pointed out that his ensemble cast reflects “all sorts of political ideas.”
“This is not one notion,” the filmmaker said.
Rotten Tomatoes critics attending the Cannes screening are split in their reviews of Megalopolis, which currently stands at a 50% “rotten” rating based on 24 reviews.
Until it finds U.S. distribution, Megalopolis is awaiting its U.S. release date.
