“What might be a really sad finish to his career”: Francis Ford Coppola’s Worst Enemy Was Himself for Megalopolis That Became a Nightmare for Everyone Involved

Despite the many faux beginnings, middle, and endings to his self-assured masterpiece, Francis Ford Coppola had only really begun to find a way to film his dream project after a 40-year-long wait. In the process, he not only lost a substantial part of his beloved and successful winery estate but also dealt with the illness and subsequent death of his wife, Eleanor Coppola.

The madness and creativity that went into Coppolaʼs self-financed film drove almost every major crew member to the brink of insanity as some of them quit halfway through filming. The stories that filtered out from behind the scenes of the infamous film, even before its premiere, have made it a curious case for critics and audiences alike.

Francis Ford Coppola Achieves an Impossible Nightmare

After extensive research, The Guardian has compiled an on-set and off-screen history of the filming of Megalopolis that reads like fiction more than reality. The events and occurrences that made up the lives and days of every single unit involved with what could very well be Francis Ford Coppolaʼs final film cannot be described in words but only understood through experience. Fortunately, Coppola had the foresight to ask the same from his good friend, the British director Mike Figgis.

The documentary, which will surely be biased in favor of Coppola, however, cannot ignore the nightmarish conditions that permeated the working conditions on the set of the film every day. From complaints of the directorʼs alleged inappropriate behavior to accusations about him smoking marijuana in his trailer for hours while the cast and crew waited outside, the impossible film that took 40 years to be manifested into reality has an equally wild backstory that will go down in history.

In the meanwhile, the on-set outcries from crew and production members have already begun to color outside opinions about the director. The exasperation on the sets grew so loud that one crew member went so far as to suggest, “This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we were all standing around going: ‘Has this guy ever made a movie before?’”

Criticism Surrounding Francis Ford Coppolaʼs Megalopolis

The heavily worded and cruel critics will come after but for now, Francis Ford Coppola has to contend with criticism aimed at him from his own backyard. The sets of Megalopolis was a war zone from the sound of it. The little backstory from The Guardianʼs behind-the-scenes account is as difficult to digest as it is easy to believe. After all, this isnʼt the first time Coppola has done something similar to put his vision on the big screen.

However, believing in Coppolaʼs status as an auteur becomes challenging when accusations fly regarding his artistic vision. Primarily, the evolving set designs became a contentious point of debate between the creator and his team. As one crew member put it, “Every time we would have a new meeting, it was a different idea.” But Coppola reasoned: “How can you figure out what Megalopolis looks like when I don’t even know what Megalopolis looks like?” Others claimed:

“We’d all just go along with it, trying to make the best out of it. But pretty much every day, we’d just walk away shaking our heads wondering what we’d just spent the last 12 hours doing.”

The pre-screening of the film labeled Megalopolis with the reputation of being “batshit crazy.” In fact, a studio executive went so far as to claim, “It’s so not good, and it was so sad watching it… This is not how Coppola should end his directing career.” Similar sentiments echoed from the crew on set who claimed, “We were all aware that we were participating in what might be a really sad finish to his career.”

However, where some saw the destruction of a Hollywood titan, others saw an incredible vision behind his process – “This film is like Einstein and relativity in 1905, Picasso and Guernica in 1937 – it’s a date in the history of cinema.” Director Gregory Nava announced, “I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t do anything for the rest of the day.”

Among all the hullabaloo surrounding the soon-to-be-released film, one thing remains certain. The divisive reactions will continue to flood the gates of Francis Ford Coppolaʼs visionary Megalopolis until time and enough generational gap determine it to be an inevitable masterpiece that was too ahead of its time to be appreciated fully. After all, no mad genius was truly a product of his time but always ranked lightyears ahead.

Megalopolis will premiere on May 17, 2024.