Megalopolis () (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

All I know is that if Coppola is crazy excited for this, then so am I.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I don’t know why, but I get “Alita Battle Angel” vibes from this - not so much in plot details but in the sense that James Cameron spent decades shepherding that project to the big screen and the way he’d speak about it, he was talking like it was something revolutionary that no one had ever seen before, and then the movie finally did come out and it wasn’t at all revolutionary - it was just another movie. He took so long getting it made that by the time it came out, every plot line and effects advancement had already been done before. That’s the sense I get here.

But it’s Coppola, so I will almost certainly see it. Even if it is just another movie, Coppola’s movies are still entertaining.

 

[Alex...]

Final casting update:

 

[Alex...]

Spoiler: Some set pics via dailymail

 

[Alex...]

 

[TonyD]

Hoffman?
Thought he got cancelled.

Anyway. This is a FFC movie.
It’s a must see for me.

 

[Alex...]

Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ in Peril Amid Ballooning Budget, Crew Exodus (Exclusive)

The filmmaker is halfway through the movie in Atlanta, with one source describing the set as "absolute madness."

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[TravisR]

Uh Oh!

Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ in Peril Amid Ballooning Budget, Crew Exodus (Exclusive)

The filmmaker is halfway through the movie in Atlanta, with one source describing the set as "absolute madness."

www.hollywoodreporter.com

The budget ballooning, crew quitting and news of a collapsing movie- it's like Apocalypse Now all over again. The old Francis is back, baby!

 

[TonyD]

Well maybe we’ll get this one in a couple more years

 

[Sam Favate]

I hope he can finish this to his satisfaction. Yes, he weathered Apocalypse Now, but he was 45 years younger. At least he’s not in a jungle halfway around the world. I also hope this has a chance of making its money back. It’s going to end up costing $150-200M. Is this the kind of film that can make enough to break even?

 

[TravisR]

It’s going to end up costing $150-200M. Is this the kind of film that can make enough to break even?

I don't think there's any chance of this making its money back but I also think that everyone that put up money knew that they were basically just giving money to Coppola to make a movie he's passionate about rather than hoping to turn a profit. I doubt it'll make $15 or $20 million let alone $150 or $200 million. Depending on its eventual distribution, $1.5 million might be tough.

 

[mark brown]

Where did the 15-20 million box office info come fro?

 

[TravisR]

Where did the 15-20 million box office info come fro?

Since the movie is still shooting, I just made it up as what I think it might make (if they're lucky).

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Well maybe we’ll get this one in a couple more years

I hope and think he can get through the second half of shooting. I would assume this picture, due to the fact that it is a big effects feature and that Coppola is making it to his specifications, will be in post for a considerable amount of time. So, I would guess it will be a while before we get a chance to see it.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The budget ballooning, crew quitting and news of a collapsing movie- it's like Apocalypse Now all over again. The old Francis is back, baby!

Well, Francis is old and so it's like everything old is new again. He seems to make his pictures from chaos, or since he has not made a film like this in a long time, to the people he is working with that have never worked on a Coppola film, this may look like chaos in comparison to what they are used to now.

I was listening to some thoughts on Kubrick's final shoot, Eyes Wide Shut, which shot for 400 something days. That was the shooting time! Obviously, nobody now would be given that kind of time. Not sure what the cost now of shooting 400 days would be, but crews now would find that totally absurd I would think. Plus Kubrick was not making an effects heavy picture. It was basically, a domestic drama/thriller and he just shot and shot and shot and shot. I am thinking a picture like that would probably just have a 45-60 day shooting schedule in almost any case now...and maybe even back then for any director other than Kubrick.

The old masters like Kubrick or Coppola, who shot their pictures in far different ways, I think would confound most film crews working today. They shoot it how they think it should be shot. Kubrick pissed off his photographers at times, upset crew, drove at least one guy to a nervous breakdown with what he was doing...but he did do it the way he wanted to do it.

In the end we got some tremendous pictures that still stand the test of time today from guys like Coppola and Kubrick. Does Francis have one more in him? Can he create something that again blows us all away? I think it is worth the bet that he can.

If he wraps shooting and gets to post hopefully someone will partner up with him and pick up distribution on the film. I really want to sit in a cinema and watch a big Francis Ford Coppola picture again.

I mean since he spent his own money on shooting this, I would think someone would kick in to get it over the finish line. Firings and reports of chaos are fine, these things happen. It may in fact lead to a better film.

Will it make money? Well, maybe over time. I don't think it will have a blockbuster Star Wars type open. Why would it? However, it does fit the mold of at least the type of picture cinemas want to show. It is a big event science fiction feature, that promises big effects and has a big curiosity factor to draw people to see it.

Sadly, we are not in a time where most audiences seem to care about directors anymore. Who made it seems less important than if it is part of a franchise. Maybe Coppola will remind people why director driven films are so great.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I don't think there's any chance of this making its money back but I also think that everyone that put up money knew that they were basically just giving money to Coppola to make a movie he's passionate about rather than hoping to turn a profit. I doubt it'll make $15 or $20 million let alone $150 or $200 million. Depending on its eventual distribution, $1.5 million might be tough.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how some of the Netflix stuff turns a profit or what the formula is for figuring that out. In the traditional sense, if he makes a picture for that much money the film has to make three times that amount to turn a profit. So, it would need to open big, and then add to that with however you calculate streaming revenue, and all that.

Typically, to get to those numbers you need the film to be an international success. So, in several European countries the picture may make money, where they still are attracted to director driven projects. However, in China, where there is a vast population to make money off of, a picture like this, that probably has far more complex dialogue than a super hero or big franchise film, that makes it not as simple a translation, well, this probably does not play in that market. So, you lose that Chinese revenue maybe. A Paul Thomas Anderson picture will not sell in the Chinese market. It's too dependent on more complex dialogue or English centric scenarios.

Coppola here seems to obviously be combining big effects filmmaking with arthouse sensibilities. I guess depending on how he does that, will determine how much appeal this will have internationally.

 

[Alex...]

Coppola has responded.

Francis Ford Coppola shuts down those Megalopolis rumors

"I love my cast, I love what I’m getting each day"

www.gamesradar.com

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yes, apparently both Coppola and Adam Driver have commented and say all is well on the shoot and everything is on schedule.

“I am so happy with the look and that we are so on schedule. These reports never say who these sources are. To them, I say, ha, ha, just wait and see. Because this is a beautiful film and primarily so because the cast is so great. I’ve never enjoyed working with a cast who are so hardworking and so willing to go search for the unconventional, to come upon hidden solutions. It is a thrill to work with these actors and the photography is everything I could hope for. The dailies are great. So if we’re on schedule, and I love the actors and the look is great, I don’t know what anyone’s talking about here.” -FFC

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]

Filming has wrapped, and new synopsis:

In New York, a woman is divided between loyalties to her father, who has a classical view of society, and her lover, who is more progressive and ready for the future.

Francis Ford Coppola's ‘Megalopolis’ Has Finished Filming — World of Reel

Remember in January when the trades claimed this film was in danger of not being completed? Well, it’s now been completed. The cinematic heavens are rejoicing today.

www.worldofreel.com