Francis Ford Coppola Explains Why He’s Spending His Own $120M on ‘Megalopolis’

Francis Ford Coppola popped up on the Paramount Pictures lot on Feb. 22 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Godfather, his iconic 1972 best picture Oscar winner.

The auteur and winemaker, 82, spoke at a dedication of Francis Ford Coppola Avenue on the lot, sat for a Q&A opposite stars James Caan, 81, (who arrived in a wheelchair) and Talia Shire, 75, and walked the carpet and posed for pics with studio brass like president and CEO Brian Robbins. But on a night that honored the past, Coppola was keen to talk about the future by way of his next project, the long-gestating Megalopolis.

He confirmed that he’s fronting $120 million of his own money to make the futuristic picture with a cast including Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac and Forest Whitaker and a longer list of rumored players. Coppola recently told GQ that Megalopolis is a love story set in a futuristic city that doubles as a philosophical investigation of the nature of man.

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Jon Voight, on hand for the Godfather screening, confirmed to THR that he’s in discussions to join the cast and has read the script. Coppola started writing it in the 1980s and has tinkered with it ever since. “It’s an extraordinary vision. I mean, it’s really daring and brave,” explained the 83-year-old, who previously teamed with Coppola on 1997’s The Rainmaker. “[The story] has great dynamics to it and it’s a surprise. It will be an extraordinary movie, packed with very, very talented actors, too. He’s really throwing all of his cards down.”

Shire, Coppola’s sister and frequent collaborator, said she, too, has read it. “He’s making something great and important,” she said. As to whether there’s a role for her in the film, she would only say, “I hope so.”

It’s not the first time he’s opened his bank account to finance his own films. He reportedly plunked down $30 million to make Apocalypse Now, something that was perceived as a major gamble in the 1970s. The film went on to become a big success, grossing nearly $100 million worldwide and winning two Oscars. He took a gamble a few years later on One From the Heart, and that one didn’t work out in his favor. It became a financial disaster, earning a paltry $636,796 at the box office.

On the verge of taking another big swing, Coppola would only say, briefly, why he opened up his wallet to make the passion project. “There’s a certain way everyone thinks a film should be, and it rubs against the grain if you have another idea. People can be very unaccepting, but sometimes the other idea represents what’s coming in the future. That is worthy of being considered.”

A version of this story first appeared in the March 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.