Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming film is the life’s work of the distinguished director. As reported by Variety, the world premiere of “Megalopolis” will take place at this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, May 17. In addition, the production will be included in the main competition and will compete for the Palme d’Or.
The first screening of “Megalopolis” in Cannes will take place in just over a month. But distributors are not willing to cooperate
The director had been dreaming of making the film for several decades. He talked about his plans for the first time in the early 1980s, and over the following years he tried to implement his life project many times, but something always got in the way. Ultimately, shooting for “Metropolis”, whose budget is over $120 million, started in November 2022.
The post-apocalyptic production includes an all-star cast. The main roles will be played by such actors as: Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman, as well as Coppola’s sister Talia Shire and his nephew Jason Schwartzman.
However, the big budget, legendary name and daring cast do not convince distributors who do not want to spend as much money on promoting the film as Coppola is counting on. According to sources from overseas, the director wants to allocate USD 40 million for advertising in the United States alone and an additional USD 40-60 million in other markets.
“Megalopolis” was shown in March to potential buyers such as Universal, Netflix and Sony. However, even the biggest players are afraid of the risk that Coppola’s latest film is too “experimental” and may not appeal to mass audiences. We can also read the statement of one of the people who attended the show: “We all support Francis, but there is also a business aspect.”
Some people believe that the film should not be released in cinemas. But everything can still change
But the director’s lawyer, Barry Hirsch, does not give up and is still in talks regarding the distribution of the film. In the “Variety” text we read that people from the industry indicate that the film may go to a studio such as Neon, which is willing to take risks that pay off. Meanwhile, some believe that big players like Searchlight or Focus may be able to sell an unconventional film to a wider audience.
So far, there is no cinema premiere, and some people believe that the film should be released immediately on streaming platforms, and its cinema distribution could do more harm than good. However, everything may change after the film premieres in Cannes. In addition, a person close to the project believes that “Megalopolis” has offers to play at every major film festival in 2024, which will also bring the production publicity.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
