Ahead of the debut of Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious new film Megalopolis next month, the Academy Award-winning director is revealing why he chose to cast Hollywood actors that have seemingly been “canceled.” Starring the likes of Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Adam Driver, and Giancarlo Esposito, Megalopolis takes place in a reimagined version of the United States, and follows an architect determined to rebuild New Rome (New York City) following a cataclysmic disaster, and the challenges he faces from those in power.
Coppola recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss all things Megalopolis, including why he decided to cast stars that have been “canceled” in some form or fashion. The Godfather director revealed he did so because he didn’t want his passion project to seem like some “woke Hollywood production.” Check out his comments below.
“What I didn’t want to happen
is that we’re deemed some woke Hollywood production
that’s simply lecturing viewers. The
cast features people who were canceled at one point or another
. There were people who are archconservatives and others who are extremely politically progressive. But we were all working on one film together. That was interesting, I thought.”
Those “people who were canceled” include Jon Voight and Shia LaBeouf, two controversial actors that have been largely snubbed by the Hollywood system. One for his outspoken support of Donald Trump (Voight), and the other (LaBeouf) for a variety of reasons, not the least of which are allegations of abuse from former girlfriend FKA Twigs. Interestingly enough, Voight portrays a Trump-like figure in Megalopolis, Hamilton Crassus III, the wealthy uncle of Driver’s character of Cesar Catilina, and head of Crassus National Bank.
Megalopolis Is Already Being “Canceled” Ahead of Its Debut
First conceived by Coppola in 1977, Megalopolis has been a passion project of his for decades, and has had various starts and stops through the years. After becoming frustrated by the studio system Hollywood has long had in place, the director decided to fund the entire $120 million dollar production budget for the film himself. “I have everything to lose here,” he told Rolling Stone. “And, in a way, I have nothing left to lose anymore.”
Having made its premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Megalopolis is already dividing critics as a film that moviegoers will either love or hate. Called an “astonishing” production by some, and “cinema’s single most expensive vanity project” by others, Coppola’s latest is also drawing the ire of many for reasons that some might consider worthy of cancellation.
It’s already been reported that the director fired the visual effects team back in 2022, and had a number of creative differences with cast and crew during filming. Recently, allegations of misconduct by Coppola surfaced, including reports of him “grabbing” and “kissing” female extras without their consent. As early as last week, a trailer for Megalopolis also came under fire for allegedly using AI-generated quotes to promote the movie, leading Lionsgate to pull it and apologize.
Will the appearance of “canceled” stars and all the controversy surrounding Megalopolis lead to its downfall at the box office, and – perhaps – the downfall of Coppola himself? We’ll have to wait until September 27 to find out, when the epic sci-fi drama hits theaters.
