Imax has committed screens around the world to show Francis Ford Coppola‘s “Megalopolis,” the company’s CEO Richard Gelfond confirmed at a Cannes Film Festival event on Thursday.
The film’s trailer, which debuted on Tuesday, said that “Megalopolis” would be coming to Imax theaters this year — but it was not specified that the release would be global.
The run-up to the premiere of Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed epic at Cannes on Friday has been filled with anticipation and controversy, partly because “Megalopolis” has yet to secure a U.S. distributor — though a global release with Imax may help sweeten the pot. The film has found distribution in France and other international territories, including the U.K., Spain and Italy.
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“Megalopolis” follows architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), who after an accident destroys a New York City-esque metropolis, works to rebuild it as a sustainable utopia. Corrupt mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) challenges Cesar and wants to stick to the status quo, but his daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) comes between the two men.
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The sci-fi drama also stars Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Talia Shire, Grace VanderWaal, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, Chloe Fineman, Madeleine Gardella, Balthazar Getty, Bailey Ives, Isabelle Kusman, James Remar and D. B. Sweeney.
Coppola has been trying to make “Megalopolis” for decades, eventually using $120 million of his own money from his wine empire to produce the film. It is competing for this year’s Palme d’Or, which Coppola won twice previously for “The Conversation” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979).