Frances Ford Coppola Says Studio Execs Aren’t Hired “To Make Good Movies” But To Help Studios “Pay Their Debt Obligations”

Francis Ford Coppola addressed the state of the film industry amidst the release of his self-financed feature Megalopolis, his first film since 2011. The auteur candidly called the major film studios out during Cannes Film Festival press conference, saying they are more interested in settling their “great, great debt” than making good films.

“I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations,” Coppola said, per Variety.

With tech companies joining the streaming wars and setting up their own studios, Coppola said there’s a chance the studio system could change as we know it.

“Obviously, new companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft, they have plenty of money, so it might be that the studios we knew for so long, some wonderful ones, are not to be here in the future anymore,” he stated.

Coppola financed the $120 million film himself after selling off a portion of his wine estate. Megalopolis has been a passion project of sorts, as Coppola has reportedly been writing and developing the film for over 40 years.

Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as architect Cesar Catilina, who hopes to rebuild a destroyed metropolis into a peaceful utopia, until a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) stands in his way. The film mirrors “a Roman epic set in modern America.”

The film, which Coppola says is meant to be “a Roman epic set in modern America,” has been met with mixed reviews since its Cannes premiere.

Coppola has also faced renewed skepticism after a recent report from The Guardian that claims he allegedly tried to kiss some of the female extras to try and “get them in the mood” for a scene. Megalopolis co-executive producer Darren Demetre acknowledged that Coppola gave “kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players,” but says he was “never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behavior during the course of the project.”

The report also features dozens of complaints from crew members who claim the director wasted time on set and exhibited “unpleasant” behavior toward the cast and crew while filming in Atlanta, Georgia.

It looks like there could be more to come from the 85-year-old director.

During the conference, Coppola hinted that he’s already begun working on the next film.

“I know that I’m done with [Megalopolis] because I’ve already started writing another film,” he said, per The New York Times.