One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Francis Ford Coppola, takes on what might be his most ambitious project. Having the idea begun in the 1980s, Coppola takes a swing at his magnum opus to critique modern society and offer a potentially new route for humanity to take. But genius doesn’t come without its critiques, as hinted at in the ‘Megalopolis’ trailer. Let’s look at what to expect and the controversy it brought.
What’s the Story
There’s not a whole lot that can really be gleaned from the trailers that are available online. ‘Megalopolis’ comes from the mind of the iconic writer, director, and producer Francis Ford Coppola. Known for his iconic ‘The Godfather’ trilogy and ‘Apocalypse Now,’ Coppola has been working on this film for about four decades.
‘Megalopolis’ follows Cesar Catilina, played by Adam Driver, as he utilizes his genius to create a utopian future. His primary antagonist in accomplishing this goal is Mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by Giancarlo Esposito, who is looking to maintain his power and the status quo. A classic family drama splits the two main characters as the mayor’s daughter, Julia, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, falls in love with Cesar.
The film, which was written in the 1980s, began its pre-production in 2001. It was totally scrapped after the September 11 attacks that year. Four decades after its initial inception, we get to see the final film.
The Controversy
‘Megalopolis’ has had a few trailers come out at this point. It’s also premiered at film festivals, most notably Cannes. But the big controversy is much more recent than that. A Lionsgate spokesperson provided a statement to Variety saying, “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis’. We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.”
Lionsgate is the company behind ‘Megalopolis’ production. They released a trailer on Wednesday morning that had quotes from critics taken out of context to make it seem like Coppola’s most famous and popular films were received poorly. This is patently false. The quotes were faked and falsely represented those it was trying to use for advertising purposes.
The trailer, as stated, has been taken down now. Although there are plenty of copies available to see on various sites, the official trailer has been pulled. Ironically, the controversy has created a bit more buzz for the film. Currently, it sits at a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It will come out everywhere on September 27.
Final Thoughts
Although the initial critical reception isn’t too hot, that doesn’t mean ‘Megalopolis’ will be a bad film. There are times when critical reception is contradicted by public reception. This tends to happen with artsy movies, where the crowd doesn’t like them as much as the critics, and blockbusters, where the critics don’t like them while the general public does.
There’s a chance for this film to go either way. The idea alone of critiquing society is always fun to watch and even more fun to break down and discuss with a group. Despite the controversy, there’s a good chance that the big-name actors and iconic director are enough to bring in large crowds for ‘Megalopolis’.
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