Francis Ford Coppola says his twist on the dystopian sci-fi movie genre in Megalopolis reflects his utopian ambitions for the world.
“It’s a roman epic, what can I say? It’s a dive into a world that exists more than it should. Of course, it’s about loyalty, but ultimately in the end it’s a vision of hope,” Coppola told a Toronto Film Festival on Tuesday night as he presented a North American premiere of his pricey passion project.
Coppola cited Adam Driver’s Cesar wanting to construct a new utopian dream city in New York City as his inspiration for Megalopolis. “There’s always the vision of human beings that are great and are capable of dealing with any challenge they have to make a beautiful world for ourselves and for our children. It’s a hopeful film,” Coppola argued.
Monday night’s screening at Roy Thomson Hall included the innovation first seen in Cannes where a live actor broke the fourth wall and appeared on stage to speak to Adam Driver on the screen at one point.
After the world premiere in Cannes, Megalopolis has divided critics, with some talking up an audacious masterpiece from Coppola, others questioning its existence and not many reviewers landing in the middle.
The Toronto screening for Megalopolis was preceded by a rapturous ovation for Coppola when he first came on stage to introduce the film, but that was followed by short and polite applause at the end of the late night premiere from the Toronto audience.
The marketing of Megalopolis has offered up its own drama as the sci-fi epic’s initial trailer was pulled by Lionsgate on Aug. 21, after just one day, when it was revealed that the critics’ quotes being cited in the teaser were bogus. The studio soon after released a new trailer without any critics’ quotes.
Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza and Shia LaBeouf also star in an epic reimagining of the Roman Empire in modern-day New York City on the brink of ruin. The film – part political drama, part sci-fi thriller, part love story and in parts a comedy – was a result of what Coppola plundered from historical accounts of ancient Rome and modern-day New York City, the director said.
And Coppola took creative liberties with characters and events. “If you said what about that nutty thing, or that weird thing? I can tell you where I got that from. I didn’t make it up,” he argued.
The Toronto Film Festival continues through to Sept. 15.
