Francis Ford Coppola has denied allegations in the Hollywood Reporter that the set of his ambitious new film Megalopolis has descended into chaos.
On Monday, a report claimed that the director of Apocalypse Now was struggling to maintain control over his new film, a self-financed passion project with a budget north of $100m. The article used multiple unnamed sources who alleged that the set was “absolute madness” with high staff turnover, an escalating budget and visual effects issues. A production source was quoted as saying: “It’s unclear whether the production can go forward as planned.”
In an interview with Deadline, Coppola admits that there have been staffing issues (the original article claimed he fired almost the entire visual effects team in December while the art department resigned) but that the shoot has been mostly smooth so far.
“I’ve never worked on a film where I was so happy with the cast,” Coppola said. “I am so happy with the look and that we are so on schedule. These reports never say who these sources are. To them, I say, ha, ha, just wait and see. Because this is a beautiful film and primarily so because the cast is so great. I’ve never enjoyed working with a cast who are so hardworking and so willing to go search for the unconventional, to come upon hidden solutions. It is a thrill to work with these actors and the photography is everything I could hope for. The dailies are great. So if we’re on schedule, and I love the actors and the look is great, I don’t know what anyone’s talking about here.”
The long-gestating sci-fi project stars Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Forest Whitaker and Dustin Hoffman. The plot revolves around an architect rebuilding New York after a financial crisis cripples the city. Coppola has compared it to “a Roman epic” that is “very current and realistic”.
Driver also chose to release a statement: “I’d like to briefly respond to the Hollywood Reporter article published Monday, January 9th. All good here! Not sure what set you’re talking about! I don’t recognize that one! I’ve been on sets that were chaotic and this one is far from it.”
He went on to say that “the only madness I’ve observed is that more productions aren’t allowed to be as creatively wild and experimentally focused”.
Coppola told Deadline that the film will be finished this spring and is “totally on schedule”. His goal is to open the film across the world on the same day and utilise Imax-size screens. “Every night I go see the dailies, and I understand why I am going through all of this,” he added. “I love what I see, every night. The look of the film is exactly what I dreamed.”
The director’s last film was 2011 horror Twixt starring Val Kilmer and Elle Fanning. The Guardian’s Catherine Shoard called it “predictable and mumbled”.