Self-funded and highly anticipated: Francis Ford Coppola presents a new film at Cannes

He is now 85 years old, but Francis Ford Coppola is not done making movies yet. Megalopolis it’s a passion project that the American has been talking about for decades. He put the first words on paper in the early 1980s. The film will now be shown for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17. The American media wrote this and it is confirmed on Instagram by the filmmaker himself.

The title already suggests: Megalopolis is large in scope. The story is about rebuilding a destroyed city. Two visions clash against each other: that of a good architect (Adam Driver) and that of a practical mayor (Break badlyactor Giancarlo Esposito). Diving into small roles White lotusstarring Aubrey Plaza and Shia LaBeouf, as well as Dustin Hoffman, Forest Whitaker and Jon Voight.

From my pocket

Coppola has already cut her teeth on the project. Because he may have a name, fame and five Oscars, Megalopolis he could only do so by coughing up the necessary funds himself. That wouldn’t be a small amount: the production budget was reportedly $120 million. Most of the recordings took place in 2023. During that period, there were reports of a lack of funds and production staff resigning as a result.

Several studio executives are said to have seen the film, including the heads of Sony, Universal and Netflix. Currently no distributor has committed to bringing Coppola’s ambitious flick to theaters worldwide. Coppola himself is pushing for an Imax release.

The film will be part of the competition at Cannes, which means it could win the Palme d’Or. The last time the director got a chance was in 1979 and Apocalypse now. Coppola actually took home that award, about five years earlier. Then he was awarded the Palme d’Or conversation.

‘Mad Max’ – spinoff

Of Megalopolis it’s like the best work remains to be seen. His previous film Twix In 2011 it was shown mostly at film festivals and only to a lesser extent in cinemas. That had everything to do with the negative reviews. Also and The sad ones (2009) in Youth without youth (2007) could account for less merit.

The organization of the Cannes festival has not yet confirmed the news of the selection. It was originally announced as a four-hour Kevin Costner movie Horizon: an American saga on the Croisette. He also had to finance his own project. More than that, Mad Max– spinoff Furiosa: the Mad Max saga by George Miller will premiere at Cannes.

The full selection will be announced tomorrow at the festival. It was Cannes a year ago Flower moon killers and Martin Scorsese premiere. This was done out of competition at the request of the filmmaker.