Of all the absolutely depressing things printed in the Hollywood on any given day, this has to be among the worst: “It’s really not good, and it was so sad to watch… This is not how Coppola should end his directing career .”
This was in response to an early screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s film. MegalopolisA $120 million sci-fi epic than the legendary Godfather the director has been trying to direct for around four decades. The quote, from an anonymous “studio head”, was published in a piece In The Hollywood Reporter positioning the film as the kind of film that no one in the industry wants to invest money in because it (allegedly) has no box office potential. Although this quote is, in journalistic parlance, the most notable, the real zinger came in the addendum at the end: “This story has been updated to include this. Megalopolis will premiere at Cannes.
Shot. Hunter.
THRThe article does not provide the gender of the studio director cited, but I’m going to take a chance: Sir, what are you talking about? Even if Megalopolis it’s two hours and 15 minutes of Adam Driver (yes, he acts) playing paper doll parts, Coppola has survived much worse. This will not end his career. If anything, quotes like this signal the end – or at least the massive need for a reboot – of Hollywood.
Earlier this week, Bilge Ebiri wrote a full plea in Vulture, stating “Hollywood is doomed if there’s no room for MegalopolisYes.” Matt Zoller Seitz took a slightly different approach by speaking directly to France. from his office on RogerEbert.com and pleading with Cannes Film Festival attendees to cheer the film and save the United States from itself. Both pointed out that many of Coppola’s films…Dracula by Bram Stoker, One from the heart– didn’t fully resonate with audiences or critics when they were first released. The last almost bankrupt him – just after he mortgaged everything he owned finance Apocalypse nowwhich is currently, alongside other Coppola films, on the American Film Institute’s list. the 100 best films all time.
I’d like to make a plea of a different kind: Nerds, come together. We have a long history of crowdfunding and writing letters to protest projects that Hollywood has faltered on. Bjo Trimble checked in Star Trek. Queer science fiction, Véronique Mars, The People’s Joker– we collected money for all this. The studios don’t think Megalopolis is bankable; this may not appease a streaming service’s algorithm. Who cares. An online petition with enough support can be a marketing campaign rivaling the multimillion-dollar one Coppola envisions. Is it worth it,
