18/10
The city of New Rome faces a duel between Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist who advocates for a utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Among them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are divided between her father and her lover. Among them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are divided between her father and her lover. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s, but the film was shelved in part because of its financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001, after shooting 30 hours of second-unit footage and holding a reading with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Edie Falco and Kevin Spacey. However, the project was abandoned after the 9/11 attacks because a scene in the script (page 166) “predicted” the attacks. Coppola abandoned the project entirely in 2007 and only started development again in 2019. The surveillance footage of Cicero entering Caesar’s office is said to be from two different cameras, as the small text in the upper left corner shows. It’s just the same footage, just mirrored and slightly tilted. Hamilton Crassus III: What do you think of my fool? “The ultimate IMAX experience” In this version of the film, an actor asks questions during the mentioned filmed press conference on The John Campea Show: Adam Driver stars in Francis Ford Coppola’s new film Megalopolis (2022). My PromiseWritten by Grace VanderWaalPerformed by Grace VanderWaalCourtesy of Columbia RecordsIn consultation with Sony Music Entertainment. Produced and orchestrated by Kris Kukul. You can see every penny on the screen. That’s the good thing about Francis Ford Coppola’s latest and possibly last film. Between the cast, the costumes, and the set reimagining New York City as the New Rome, you can see it all. The only question that arises is why 42nd Street from Third Avenue to Times Square was left untouched, and what about the movie theaters from 7th to 8th Avenue. Still, it’s natural to be skeptical of what is essentially an admiring biopic of Robert Moses. Especially since the movie was apparently written by Ayn Rand as a response to METROPOLIS and then given to Abel Gance after she convinced him to make a movie about Julius Caesar instead of Napoleon. And don’t forget the Marcus Aurelius quotes. All in all, it is a very learned film. To appreciate the details, one must study Roman history extensively, have seen many silent films, and know New York in the second half of the 20th century, including the exodus of the middle and upper classes from the 1950s to the 1980s. Because vagaries of my upbringing and chaotic self-study, I can claim these things. So what do I think? Performance is good. However, as with many films these days, I wonder who Coppola made this film for. He is said to have spent around $140 million of his own money on this film. The general rule of thumb is that a film needs to earn roughly twice its production cost to break even. I can’t imagine this movie having a large enough audience to generate $300,000,000 in box office and secondary rights. It’s too long, a captivating story about how love and artistic vision are more important than anything else. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time Coppola has given free rein to her artistic ambitions; Although APOCALYPSE NOW is claimed to have eventually recouped its costs, I have my doubts about this when interest costs are factored in.