Francis Ford Coppola challenges Hollywood and the media with Megalopolis
Hollywood and entertainment media are paying the price for this MetropolitanFrancis Ford Coppola has an upcoming self-financed sci-fi film, and the legendary filmmaker is digging in his heels and challenging him to come and grab him. I have already talked about About the long, hard way Metropolitan The film has had several roadblocks since Coppola began making it in 1983. Now, the film is finally done and ready for release, with Lionsgate stepping in to distribute it. Metropolitan Starring Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Voight, Shia LeBeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, James Remar and many others, it follows an idealistic architect trying to rebuild a destroyed city while the mayor opposes his visionary vision. You can watch the first trailer below:
The press is doing everything they can to damage this movie, probably because Hollywood and the media don't like people following around the studio like Francis Ford Coppola is doing. MetropolitanThey want artists to be beholden to them, not risk their money on something different or challenge the accepted establishment wisdom. This is what happened John CarterA brilliant big-screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' historical novel series about romance and adventure on Mars. Director Andrew Stanton used his Pixar reputation to make the film exactly what he wanted, and Disney and its media minions did everything they could to destroy it, preferring short-term losses to allowing creative freedom, even if it meant faithfully adapting the book. (How did that go for you, Mouseketeers?)
To do so, they criticized the film as boring, ran stories about how troublesome the production was, and even tried to make a Me Too case against Coppola, accusing him of harassing young actresses on set by making them sit “on his lap” and trying to kiss them. This last part is particularly disgusting because it’s not only an attempt to make sure that the film is not just a good one, but also a good one. Metropolitan In addition to the bombings, attempts were made to destroy the rest of Coppola's career. The media also released a video in which they claimed Coppola was involved in this extremely abusive behavior:
Is it scandalous? Well, not really, since it shows him kissing someone who is not bothered by it at all. Furthermore, the actress involved in the case, Rena Menz, has spoken out in defense of Coppola. Statement given to Deadline,
“He didn't do anything that would make me or anyone on set feel uncomfortable… I was disgusted, I was unaware of it because it was a closed set. For someone to have a video of it is ridiculous and extremely unprofessional. It's disgusting because all he ever talked about was how wonderful his wife was. His wife was on set with us most days. To see that video and the message they were trying to convey is disgusting. Just disgusting.”
I give Menz a lot of credit for doing this; it would have been easy for a young actress to accuse Coppola and be treated like a hero by the media and Hollywood, and use it to further her own career. But she defended a man whom these forces are trying to destroy because it was the right thing to do. And I'm glad she mentioned Coppola's wife; Eleanor Coppola, who was married to Francis Ford Coppola for over sixty years, died in April of this year. That he is being falsely maligned as a sex offender just months after his wife's death is reprehensible, and those who do so are inhumane. Fortunately, this particular narrative appears to be coming to an end.
Last week, another problem arose from Lionsgate and another party. Metropolitan trailer. It contains some quotes from film critics who criticize some of Francis Ford Coppola's classic films, such as The Righteous One, Apocalypse NowAnd Bram Stoker's DraculaTo keep bad reviews from coming in Metropolitan In perspective:
Did you notice that the trailer is not from Lionsgate's official YouTube account? That's because they removed it. You see, all those quotes are fake. These idiots thought it would be a good idea to anger the already hostile press by lying about movie reviews. Predictably, Film critics respond With anger (and self-righteousness of course), and as much as I hate to say it, they had every right to do so.
As for Coppola, he is sticking to his guns and speaking his mind to Hollywood and the press. An interview with Rolling StoneCoppola says she purposely hired “canceled” actors so people would understand Metropolitan Not awake:
“I didn't want us to be seen as some sort of conscious Hollywood production that was just preaching to the audience. The cast was made up of people who had been fired at one point or another. Some people were staunch conservatives and some were very progressive politically. But we were all working on a movie together. I thought that was interesting.”
This response came due to questions about why they chose a conservative like Jon Voight and was he making a statement about President Trump? Metropolitan Because these people can only see everything through the lens of their politics. The whole interview is great; Coppola talks about the Me Too allegations and the media's attempts to destroy his film, the pain of losing his wife, his dislike of the classic Hollywood book Easy Riders, Raging Bullsand what he plans to do next. But I have this distinct impression that he knew what was going to happen Metropolitan And he fought the press beforehand. He probably also knew the backlash against vigilantism was coming and wanted to use it to his advantage; at one point in the interview, he says that one of his gifts as a filmmaker is a “Cassandra-like ability to see the future.” He also quotes Marcus Aurelius, and maybe that's wishful thinking, but I think he did it so he could stick his nose in the face of everything that pissed him off.
I don't know how Metropolitan This film may turn out to be a disaster. But I certainly want to know that for myself, and I wish it to succeed, mainly because I despise what is being done to one of our greatest filmmakers for the crime of wanting to be an artist.
Let us know what you think Metropolitan And Francis Ford Coppola's anguish in the comments!
