Hollywood: Francis Ford Coppola: Godfathers and Bankruptcy

Seers with megalomaniac tendencies have a hard time, even if they have been established in their profession for decades. American director Francis Ford Coppola recently turned 85; It has now been announced that his blockbuster film “Megalopolis” will premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. His last work to date, the small but effective horror thriller “Twixt,” was 15 years ago. Few people remember this; Coppola, who is in the lexicon as a prominent representative of “New Hollywood,” became known worldwide for “Apocalypse Now” and his “The Godfather” trilogy. He started his film production American Zoetrope in 1969 … but as with the famous Corleone mafia family, business did not always go well: The film “One with a Heart” (1982) was originally supposed to cost two million dollars – it turned out to be 25 , and Coppola was temporarily bankrupt.

Filming the film “Megalopolis” is also difficult: Coppola paid for the film from his own pocket and even sold his California wineries for it. He managed to bring together young and old stars (Adam Driver, Shia LaBoeuf, Jon Voight); but he fired his entire special effects team last December. The film is about a visionary architect who wants to rebuild New York after a disaster and set it up as a utopia. To do this, Coppola uses very expensive technology to show the virtual world. An insider reported that it was “absolutely crazy” on set. Things were also very bad during the filming of “Apocalypse Now”: The result was a masterpiece against the war.

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