{"id":2343719,"date":"2024-09-20T05:40:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T09:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-unnecessary-doom-of-francis-ford-coppolas-megalopolis-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-20T05:44:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T09:44:22","slug":"the-unnecessary-doom-of-francis-ford-coppolas-megalopolis-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-unnecessary-doom-of-francis-ford-coppolas-megalopolis-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"The unnecessary doom of Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s Megalopolis &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-unnecessary-doom-of-francis-ford-coppolas-megalopolis-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2343719&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>**Summary of &#8220;The Unnecessary Doom of Francis Ford Coppola&#8217;s Megalopolis&#8221;**<\/p>\n<p>The article discusses Francis Ford Coppola&#8217;s highly ambitious film, *Megalopolis*, which is set to hit theaters shortly. Known for classics like *The Godfather* trilogy and *Apocalypse\u200b Now*, Coppola has \u2063self-financed *Megalopolis* at an estimated cost of $120 million. The project represents his vision for a new form of filmmaking dubbed &#8220;Zoetrope,&#8221; which\u200b seeks to innovate traditional cinema. However, despite its ambitious premise, *Megalopolis* is expected to be one of\u200b the year&#8217;s major box office failures.<\/p>\n<p>Coppola began developing *Megalopolis* in the 1980s, but the film has faced\u200b numerous\u200b delays and challenges over the decades, including the \u200dcomplexities of its\u200c production \u200dstyle and the changing landscape of the film \u200cindustry.\u200c Critics generally view the film as a &#8220;beautiful disaster,&#8221; with some labeling it dull, which doesn&#8217;t bode well for its commercial success. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-skips-fact-checking-to-run-with-nurses-unverified-story-about-covid-patients-last-dying-words\/\" title=\"CNN Skips Fact-Checking To Run With Nurse&#039;s Unverified Story About COVID Patients &#039;Last Dying Words&#039;\">article notes<\/a> that if\u200c *Megalopolis* had been released in the 1980s, it might have been a\u2063 hit, but its unconventional style and the current cultural environment make it a tough\u200c sell. Ultimately, the film&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-gifts-hamas-a-ready-made-excuse-for-its-next-terror-attack\/\" title=\"Obama provides Hamas with a convenient excuse for their future terror attacks.\">strange narrative<\/a> and production characteristics seem unlikely to \u200dattract audiences, especially in an\u200d era where streaming services dominate viewership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-sacff-txt\">Magazine &#8211; Life &amp; Arts <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The unnecessary doom of Francis Ford Coppola&rsquo;s Megalopolis<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Few directors have a more legendary filmography than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-features\/2760208\/the-godfather-and-its-godchildren\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Francis Ford Coppola<\/a>, the mind behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/2211745\/forty-years-on-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>The Godfather<\/em> trilogy<\/a>, <em>The Conversation<\/em>, and <em>Apocalypse Now<\/em>. But <em>Megalopolis<\/em>, hitting cinemas this weekend, is the most ambitious project of his career. For Coppola, <em>Megalopolis<\/em> isn&rsquo;t just another film. Self-financed at a cost of $120 million, it&rsquo;s a culmination of his vision of &ldquo;Zoetrope filmmaking.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s not just a movie; it&rsquo;s his vision for a revolution in filmmaking. If you see it in cinemas, at one point, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/huge-chinese-spy-rep-swalwell-was-sleeping-with-is-pictured-with-chinese-agent-who-spied-on-sen-feinstein-for-20-years\/\" title=\"HUGE: Chinese Spy Rep. Swalwell Was Sleeping With Is Pictured with Chinese Agent Who Spied on Sen. Feinstein for 20 Years\">staff member<\/a> of the cinema will walk up to the screen and ask questions of Adam Driver&rsquo;s character, who will respond in turn. But you&rsquo;ll likely be seeing it with only a few others. It&rsquo;s expected to be one of the biggest flops of the year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Zoetrope&rdquo; is both Coppola&rsquo;s production company and the title of the filmmaking style it was built around. And both were too early, ambitious, and disorganized to succeed. <em>One From The Heart<\/em>,<em> <\/em>the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/film\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>flagship film<\/a> of the Zoetrope style, blended classic studio filmmaking with live sound mixing and live editing. It flopped so hard it bankrupted the company. <em>Megalopolis<\/em>, the second attempt, may just bankrupt Coppola personally. Coppola believes that this new form, using video cameras to shoot and video-enhanced backdrops, could let artists make more bold, independent films than the studio system made possible. When Coppola started developing the concept, <em>Megalopolis <\/em>was supposed to be the ultimate demonstration of that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nathalie Emmanuel and Adam Driver in Megalopolis (2024) (Mihai Malaimare\/American Zoetrope)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Coppola began work on <em>Megalopolis <\/em>in 1982, writing 160 pages of notes over two months and completing its first screenplay in 1984. He intended to shoot the film but by 1989 admitted to biographer Michael Schumacher that the idea may be too &ldquo;big and complicated&rdquo; to put on screen. Nonetheless, he persisted, returning to the project in 2001. This time it reached table reads, involving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3021463\/the-view-robert-de-niro-biden-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Robert De Niro<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1959808\/emails-show-leonardo-dicaprio-awarded-grants-to-dark-money-group-filing-climate-change-lawsuits-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/750180\/james-gandolfini-1961-2013\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>James Gandolfini<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/1571254\/paul-newman-1925-2008\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Paul Newman<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alec-baldwin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Alec Baldwin<\/a>. Ron Fricke shot 36 hours of second-unit photography of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>New York City<\/a> for it, and Coppola hoped to shoot the film on a budget of between $50 million and $70 million. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/9-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>after 9\/11<\/a>, the film was shelved again.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Coppola kept noodling away. Ryan Gosling was involved at one point. Osvaldo Golijov composed the theme. Whole careers rose and fell, the movie industry completely changed, home video was invented and then replaced by streaming. And <em>Megalopolis<\/em> was still in chrysalis. And then, in 2019, Coppola sold off a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-73976-ballots-released-by-maricopa-county-56-1-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"BREAKING: 73,976 Ballots Released By Maricopa County \u2014 56.1% FOR DONALD TRUMP\">large part<\/a> of his wine holdings to produce it himself, finally shooting in 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Nobody can say Coppola&rsquo;s not persistent. Still, <em>Megalopolis<\/em> now faces an uphill, or even upcliff, battle for profitability. If it had received rave reviews, then it would be a different story. But it hasn&rsquo;t. Some critics loved it in a semi-ironic way, saying the film is a &ldquo;beautiful disaster.&rdquo; This, though, won&rsquo;t drive people to cinemas. Others said, worst of all, that it&rsquo;s dull. To many, it will be best enjoyed as highlight clips on Twitter rather than as a full experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Had it been released as intended in the 1980s, it would have been a guaranteed hit. The combination of out-there story, revolutionary production, and an all-star cast would have made this among the most ambitious films ever made. It would have been a must-see film, the movie of the moment, a picture that consumed every bar, cocktail party, and diner conversation. Films mattered then, and shooting on video cameras, using new techniques for sets, would have been revolutionary. Today though, the all-digital look just looks cheap, and there are no &ldquo;movies of the moment.&rdquo; Cinema is a lot less culturally significant, ticket prices are higher than ever, and new releases compete with streaming content, which is functionally free and available instantly from the comfort of your own home. Cinema usually loses.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s also just tough material to sell to a crowd. In Coppola&rsquo;s effort to be &ldquo;independent&rdquo; and &ldquo;revolutionary,&rdquo; he has produced a profoundly strange film, one that is melodramatic, simplistic, and more head-scratching than thought-provoking. This fable is a futuristic retelling of Roman history but as a commentary on capitalism and climate change and the fate of the world, or something and everything. It&rsquo;s part <em>Fountainhead<\/em>, part Kim Stanley Robinson, part Julias Caesar, and altogether quite mental. Characters blend modern speech with archaic phrases, straight Latin, and Shakespearean old English. Some speak in rhyme, others don&rsquo;t. The main character, Cesar, can pause time. At one point, in the middle of the film, he recites Hamlet&rsquo;s &ldquo;to be or not to be&rdquo; soliloquy. Why? Because why not. There&rsquo;s also a rogue Russian satellite? And then a cinema staff member chats with a projected Adam Driver.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>None of this is why it&rsquo;s doomed to flop though. Sure, it could have stood to have an aggressive editor and invested producer to temper Coppola&rsquo;s worse instincts, and it should really have been made in the &rsquo;80s. But as it stands, the film still could have been a hit. <em>Barbie<\/em>,<em> Oppenheimer<\/em>,<em> and Top Gun: Maverick <\/em>aren&rsquo;t just better than streaming films; they won out and became hits because they fundamentally don&rsquo;t work on your phone. They needed a crowded theater, and ticket buyers knew. <em>Megalopolis <\/em>could have been the same, but it needed a distributor as its writer-director-writer-producer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Lionsgate has indicated clearly that it will crash in cinemas, and they will gradually scrape back its costs through video-on-demand sales and streaming deals. This is what happened with <em>Furiosa<\/em> earlier this year when it disappointingly flopped and with <em>The Bikeriders<\/em>.<em> <\/em>The better way would have been to release <em>Megalopolis<\/em> like it had actually come out in the 1980s. At that point, if you missed a movie in cinemas, you didn&rsquo;t know when or if it would be available on home video. If you wanted to be up to date with the culture, you had to see it. So people did. If Lionsgate had guts, they would have committed that <em>Megalopolis <\/em>wouldn&rsquo;t release on streaming or home video for years, making that central to the marketing &mdash; that if you want to see the lifelong ambitious project of Francis Ford Coppola, you have to see it now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it still would have failed, but at least that would have given <em>Megalopolis<\/em> a chance. And if it had worked, other ambitious films would have followed. Instead, we get a Coppola revolution that wasn&rsquo;t to be, a beautiful disaster.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Ross Anderson is the Life Editor at<\/em> <em>the <\/em>Spectator World<em> and a tech and culture contributor for<\/em> <em>the <\/em>New York Sun.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Magazine &#8211; Life &amp; Arts: The Unfortunate Fate of Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s Megalopolis**<\/p>\n<p>Few filmmakers boast a more iconic filmography than Francis Ford Coppola, the genius behind classics like The Godfather trilogy, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now. However, his latest endeavor, Megalopolis\u2014debuting in theaters this weekend\u2014represents the pinnacle of his ambition. For Coppola, this project transcends mere filmmaking; it is a self-financed venture costing $120 million that embodies his vision for &#8220;Zoetrope filmmaking.&#8221; This isn&#8217;t just another movie; it&#8217;s an attempt to revolutionize the art of cinema.<\/p>\n<p>In an unusual twist during screenings, a cinema staff member will engage with Adam Driver&#8217;s character on screen. Unfortunately, audiences may find themselves in sparsely populated theaters as the film is projected to be one of the year&#8217;s biggest disappointments.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Zoetrope&#8221; refers both to Coppola&#8217;s production company and the unique filmmaking style he envisioned\u2014a concept that was perhaps too ambitious and chaotic to succeed at its inception. His first major Zoetrope film, One From The Heart, attempted to merge traditional studio techniques with live sound mixing and editing but ended up failing spectacularly and leading to financial ruin for the company.<\/p>\n<p>Megalopolis represents Coppola&#8217;s second attempt at realizing this vision but now threatens his personal finances as well. He believes that utilizing video cameras alongside enhanced backdrops could empower artists to create bolder independent films than those typically produced by studios. Initially conceived as a showcase for these ideas when development began in 1982\u2014with 160 pages of notes written over two months\u2014the screenplay was completed by 1984. Despite intentions to shoot it soon after, by 1989 he acknowledged its complexity might be insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>Coppola revisited Megalopolis in 2001 with table reads featuring stars like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio while Ron Fricke captured extensive footage of New York City for potential use in filming. However, following September 11th attacks, production was once again halted.<\/p>\n<p>Over time various talents became involved\u2014including Ryan Gosling\u2014and numerous changes occurred within Hollywood itself due to technological advancements such as home video transitioning into streaming services\u2014all while Megalopolis remained unrealized until Coppola sold part of his wine business in 2019 specifically for its production which finally commenced in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his tenacity throughout these decades-long challenges leading up towards release day now looming ahead though\u2014Megalopolis faces significant hurdles regarding profitability given lukewarm critical reception thus far; some reviewers have described it ironically as a \u201cbeautiful disaster,\u201d while others have deemed it simply dull\u2014a sentiment unlikely enough alone drive ticket sales upward anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>Had this film been released during its original intended timeframe back when movies held greater cultural significance\u2014it likely would\u2019ve thrived amidst audiences eager for innovative storytelling combined with star power\u2014but today\u2019s landscape presents stark contrasts where digital aesthetics often appear cheapened against rising ticket prices coupled alongside fierce competition from readily available streaming content which diminishes cinema\u2019s allure overall making success increasingly elusive even if executed flawlessly on-screen itself!<\/p>\n<p>Moreover selling such unconventional material proves challenging too; despite striving towards independence through revolutionary means resulting ultimately yields something profoundly peculiar yet melodramatic lacking depth or coherence leaving viewers scratching their heads rather than pondering profound themes presented therein\u2014melding elements reminiscent both ancient Roman history intertwined commentary surrounding capitalism climate change fate humanity all wrapped within bizarre narrative structure blending modern vernacular archaic language Shakespearean dialogue rhymes interspersed throughout creating disjointed experience overall culminating moments including main character pausing time reciting Hamlet soliloquy seemingly without reason whatsoever!<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately however none these factors solely account downfall awaiting them upon release either\u2014it could\u2019ve benefited greatly from sharper editing oversight along stronger producing team guiding creative direction better suited era past instead standing chance becoming hit had Lionsgate chosen approach differently altogether committing fully marketing strategy emphasizing exclusivity theatrical run preventing early home viewing options thereby generating buzz around event-like atmosphere surrounding premiere encouraging attendance amongst curious crowds eager witness culmination lifelong ambition realized before fading away forever into obscurity! <\/p>\n<p>As things stand now though we\u2019re left witnessing what amounts failed revolution birthed beautiful disaster instead!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3438,"featured_media":2343720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/LA.Film-0925.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[41294,38152,41292,4361,41293],"class_list":["post-2343719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-creative-challenges","tag-film-industry","tag-francis-ford-coppola","tag-hollywood","tag-megalopolis"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/LA.Film-0925.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3438"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}