Of all the extremely depressing things printed in Hollywood tapes on any given day, this may be among the worst: “It’s so no 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 that is legendary Godfather The director has been trying to make something for about four decades. The quote from an unnamed “studio head” was published in an article in The Hollywood Reporter Positioning the film as the type of film that no one in the industry wants to put money into because it (supposedly) has no box office potential. While this quote was the highlight in journalistic parlance, the real kicker came in the addendum at the end: “This story has been updated to include this Megalopolis will premiere at Cannes.”
Shot. Hunter.
THRHis article doesn’t specify the gender of the quoted studio head, but I’ll say, “Sir, what the hell are you talking about?” Even if he did Megalopolis In the two hours and 15 minutes that Adam Driver (yes, he plays the lead) performs paper doll acts, Coppola has survived much worse. This won’t end his career. If anything, quotes like this signal an end – or at least the massive need for a reboot – of Hollywood.
Earlier this week, Bilge Ebiri wrote a loud plea in Vulture, declaring, “Hollywood is doomed if there is no room for it.” Megalopolisit.” Matt Zoller Seitz took a slightly different tack, addressing France directly from his desk at RogerEbert.com, imploring Cannes Film Festival attendees to cheer for the film and save the United States from itself. Both pointed out that many of Coppola’s films –Bram Stoker’s Dracula, One from the heart– failed to fully connect with audiences or critics upon their initial release. The latter almost bankrupted him – right after he mortgaged everything he owned to finance it Apocalypse nowwhich, along with other Coppola films, is currently listed among the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Films of All Time.
I want to make a request of a different kind: Nerds, gather together. We have a long history of crowdfunding and letter writing to manifest the projects that have failed Hollywood. Bjo Trimble saved Star Trek. queer science fiction, Veronica Mars, the people’s joker– We collected money for everything. Studios don’t think Megalopolis is bankable; It may not appease a streaming service’s algorithm. Who cares? An online petition with enough support can be a marketing campaign to rival the multi-million dollar campaign Coppola envisioned. It is worth a try,