The first trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” just came out.
It is a real passion project and he’s spent ~50 years bringing it to life, including self-financing the $120m budget by selling his winery.
Here’s the timeline:
1977: Originates the idea for a film about the re-building of New York after a disaster (he was 38 and this was while he was finishing up “Apocalypse Now”).
1983: Writes 400 pages of script excerpts and films notes.
1989-1996: Tries to get funding for the film but studios balk.
2001: Actors audition for the script and he films 30+ hours of background footage around New York (he pauses the entire project after 9/11).
2009: Picks the project back up and re-writes the script 300+ times over the next decade.
2019: Sells a big stake in Francis Ford Coppola winery (which he launched with his wife — RIP Eleanor — in 2010) to finance the movie.
2022-23: Films “Megalopolis” during COVID in a difficult production.
It’s not the first time Copolla has bet the farm. He put up ~$10m, mortgaged his home and gave up royalties on “The Godfather” to finance 1979’s “Apocalypse Now”. It was an insane production but he owned all rights and has made ~$100m from the IP.
He also self-financed his next film — 1982’s “One From The Heart” — but it was a complete dud and he lost $26m.
I have no idea if “Megalopolis” will be good but the cast looks legit including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman…
…and I feel compelled to watch for how much Coppola put on the line still into his mid-80s.
The first trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” just came out.
It is a real passion project and he’s spent ~50 years bringing it to life, including self-financing the $120m budget by selling his winery.
Here’s the timeline:
▫️1977: Originates the idea for a film about the re-building of New York after a disaster (he was 38 and this was while he was finishing up “Apocalypse Now”).
▫️1983: Writes 400 pages of script excerpts and films notes.
▫️1989-1996: Tries to get funding for the film but studios balk.
▫️2001: Actors audition for the script and he films 30+ hours of background footage around New York (he pauses the entire project after 9/11).
▫️2009: Picks the project back up and re-writes the script 300+ times over the next decade.
▫️2019: Sells a big stake in Francis Ford Coppola winery (which he launched with his wife — RIP Eleanor — in 2010) to finance the movie.
▫️2022-23: Films “Megalopolis” during COVID in a difficult production.
It’s not the first time Copolla has bet the farm. He put up ~$10m, mortgaged his home and gave up royalties on “The Godfather” to finance 1979’s “Apocalypse Now”. It was an insane production but he owned all rights and has made ~$100m from the IP.
He also self-financed his next film — 1982’s “One From The Heart” — but it was a complete dud and he lost $26m.
I have no idea if “Megalopolis” will be good but the cast looks legit including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman…
…and I feel compelled to watch for how much Coppola put on the line still into his mid-80s.
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