Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a heroic character. An epic's ambitious nature helps to set it apart from other genres such as the period piece or adventure film .
138-610: Megalopolis is a 2024 American epic science fiction drama film written, directed, and produced by Francis Ford Coppola . The film stars Adam Driver , Giancarlo Esposito , Nathalie Emmanuel , Aubrey Plaza , Shia LaBeouf , Jon Voight , Laurence Fishburne , Talia Shire , Jason Schwartzman , Kathryn Hunter , Grace VanderWaal , Chloe Fineman , James Remar , D. B. Sweeney , and Dustin Hoffman . Set in an alternate, 21st-century New York City (restyled "New Rome"), it follows visionary architect Cesar Catilina (Driver) as he clashes with
276-493: A populist politician , encouraging ordinary Romans to oppose Megalopolis as an expensive folly . The allure of power draws Pulcher from populism to fascist demagoguery. A pregnant Julia tries to broker peace between Cesar and Cicero by taking her father to see the Megalopolis construction site, but Cicero is unimpressed with Cesar's utopianism. He begs Cesar to leave Julia. In exchange, he offers Cesar valuable blackmail material:
414-598: A "gigantic outdoor purpose-built theatre" in "some place as close as possible to the geographical center of the United States", like the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in the state of Colorado. Coppola devoted the beginning of 1983 to developing the film, assembling four hundred pages of notes and script fragments in two months. Over the next four decades, he collected notes and newspaper clippings for scrapbooks detailing intriguing subjects he envisioned incorporating into
552-437: A better city. Megalopolis argues that for a democracy to avoid falling into fascism, it needs a bold and inspirational vision for the future, which artists can help provide. In 1999, Coppola said that "Rome didn't fall for a long time. But how does an Empire die? It dies when its people no longer believe in it." In 2022, Coppola said his film would offer an optimistic look at humanity and the intuitive goodness in people even in
690-474: A casino will provide immediate tax revenue. During the event, Cesar meets Cicero's well-read but purposeless daughter Julia. Earlier, she watched Cesar stop time while a building was being demolished, but was still able to move. They both initially dislike each other, but Cesar impresses Julia with his vision for Megalopolis, explaining that New Rome needs a grand artistic vision to free itself from its political inertia and unlock its full potential. Later, when Cesar
828-586: A claim Coppola and Driver contested, other crew members exited the film, including production designer Beth Mickle and art director David Scott, along with the art department . Coppola replaced Russell with his nephew, Jesse James Chisholm, over a dispute over "live special effects", which he completed with his son and second unit director Roman Coppola as they had with Bram Stoker's Dracula . Coppola further explained that he hired Mickle for her work in recreating 1950s New York for Edward Norton 's Motherless Brooklyn (2019) but that creative differences formed "to
966-502: A confession that Cicero knew Cesar's wife committed suicide and maliciously prosecuted Cesar anyway. Cesar declines. Pulcher hires an assassin to kill Cesar, but Cesar's doctors use Megalon to rebuild his skull. Wow tries to force Cesar to leave Julia and marry her by freezing Cesar's account at the Crassus bank. She enlists Pulcher to manipulate Crassus into handing over control of the bank. When Crassus learns of Pulcher's duplicity, he has
1104-420: A degree that it was decided that the best thing would be if I hired a concept artist and came up with frames that showed what I wanted, which I did." Working with concept artist Dean Sherriff to translate his vision through keyframe concept art, which he described as similar in style to that of a woven mural or tapestry, he permitted minimal input from the art department, whose practices, having recently completed
1242-405: A divided climate. He criticized his high school classmate Donald Trump for calling Mexican criminals rapists, saying that "dictators and populists stay in power by having you hate someone else. ... [P]eople are in the habit of saying all people are bad ... We're doing...better. We could be proud of being human beings." The film culminates with an impassioned speech by Cesar Catilina that convinces
1380-508: A fascist Empire. Is that what we're going to become?" However, in his production notes written a quarter-century later, Coppola explained that at the time, he had not yet written a script and his views reflected the traditional narrative of the conspiracy. Coppola rethought the analogy as Megalopolis languished in development hell . He concluded that Roman histories of the Catilinarian conspiracy were largely based on Cicero's own retelling of
1518-508: A future screenplay, like political cartoons and different historical subjects, before deciding to make a Roman epic film set in an imagined modern America. In mid-1983, he described the plot as taking place in one day in New York City with Catiline Rome as a backdrop, similar to how James Joyce 's Ulysses (1922) used Homer in the context of modern Dublin and how he updated the setting of Joseph Conrad 's Heart of Darkness (1899) from
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#17328332267381656-435: A game of guessing which performer was which character and played a "pass the sound" with Hoffman and Voight, with Coppola allowing them to do a lot of improvisation. Plaza described the workshop-style approach as allowing actors to improvise and provide feedback to the script, adding: "We wrote scenes and we conducted ourselves like a theater troupe , me and Jon Voight and Shia [LaBeouf]. We were writing scenes and giving them to
1794-462: A historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from the poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and
1932-546: A human resources department and that he often inadvertently inserted himself into frame, describing any such instances of the crew being in frame as "anticipated and unavoidable." In mid-October, Coppola was accused of kissing a 13-year-old girl extra on-set. In March 2003, Coppola hand-wrote a letter to Osvaldo Golijov , asking him to compose a symphony that would have dictated the film's rhythm. They would go on to collaborate on Youth Without Youth , Tetro , and Twixt before returning to complete Megalopolis . Golijov wanted
2070-531: A lot of money to make and there's not a patron out there. You see what the studios are making right now." In 2017, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain invited Coppola on his travel show in Sicily. Coppola took note of his weight gain when he saw his episode and signed up for a five-month program at Duke University 's fitness center, where he lost close to 80 pounds. Of it, he said: "On the days where it would be these strict exercise regimens, I started listening to some of
2208-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia
2346-523: A notable exception – reject the revisionist argument that "Cicero really manufactured the conspiracy.") In 2008, Coppola stated that the character of Cesar Catilina would be inspired by the life of urban planner Robert Moses , who built much of the infrastructure of modern-day New York City, but was criticized for favoring wealthy political interests and ignoring the needs of New York's ethnic minorities. Coppola said that he wanted to imagine an "enlightened" version of Moses that preserved Moses' desire to build
2484-468: A novella about a 70-year-old man struggling to complete an ambitious project. Coppola shelved Megalopolis to self-finance a small-scale adaptation of the book , intended to be "the opposite of Megalopolis ." In 2007, Coppola acknowledged that the September 11 attacks were a factor in his hesitancy to return to the film: "A movie about the aspiration of utopia with New York as a main character and then all of
2622-468: A plot in 63 BC were in autumn, handed over by Marcus Licinius Crassus on 18 or 19 October. Crassus' letters were corroborated by reports of armed men gathering in support of the conspiracy. In response, the senate passed a decree declaring a tumultus (a state of emergency) and, after receipt of the reports of armed men gathering in Etruria , carried the senatus consultum ultimum instructing
2760-448: A plot that year to overthrow the republic. All of the speeches in the form available today were published, probably around 60, as part of Cicero's attempt to justify his actions during the consulship; whether they are accurate reflections of the original speeches in 63 is debated. The first speech was in the senate, where Cicero accused a senator, Catiline , of leading a plot to overthrow the republic; in response, Catiline withdrew from
2898-516: A stroke and collapses. Pulcher and Wow taunt the bedridden Crassus, but Crassus kills Wow and injures Pulcher with a hidden bow and arrow. "I pledge allegiance to our human family, and to all the species that we protect. One Earth, indivisible, with long life, education and justice for all." —The film ends with title card and voice narration read by "the children of the future". Cesar and Cicero become allies after rioting Pulcher supporters attempt to storm Megalopolis and City Hall. Cesar confronts
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#17328332267383036-513: A structured meeting but rather on the Catiline's arrival to the senate. The oration's arguments, somewhat cloudy and meandering, are intended more to influence senatorial opinion than argue in favour of any specific course of action or actually advise Catiline. Cicero, in a letter, later described it as a farewell; Berry, in Cicero's Catilinarians , argues that Cicero had to dress up inaction since, within
3174-489: A studio that would both reimburse his production costs and pay for a large marketing campaign. He opted to self-fund his own marketing campaign, with Lionsgate theatrically releasing the film in the United States. It endured a troubled run-up to release: a trailer was removed for using fabricated pull quotes , and Coppola sued trade publication Variety for libel after it published allegations of sexual misconduct by him on set. The film premiered at Cannes on May 16, 2024, and
3312-413: A sudden you couldn't write about New York without just dealing with what happened and the implications of what happened. The world was attacked and I didn't know how to try to do with that [ sic ]. I tried." In 2009, in regards to the likelihood of revisiting the film, he said: "Someday, I'll read what I had on Megalopolis and maybe I'll think different of it, but it's also a movie that costs
3450-432: A swimming pool, wardrobe fitting room, and gym. Memorabilia from Coppola's previous films is displayed throughout the hotel. The cinematographer was Mihai Mălaimare Jr. , who shot Coppola's Youth Without Youth (2007), Tetro (2009), and Twixt (2011). The crew utilized two Arri Alexa 65s and one Alexa LF for high-speed frame rate for the first unit and an Alexa Mini LF for the second unit. Panavision provided
3588-509: A tension between himself and the director to an extreme degree" and whose "method was so infuriating and illogical, it had me pulling my hair out", which he compared to the preparations of actor Dennis Hopper for Apocalypse Now . Principal photography began on November 7, 2022, in Fayetteville, Georgia , at Trilith Studios and concluded on March 11, 2023. Filming also took place in Atlanta. It
3726-507: A threat to the state. Cicero then connects Catiline to the rebels in Etruria, against which the Senate had already mobilised men; Cicero also disclaims any intention to have Catiline killed since it would be controversial, something possibly inserted in 60 BC to paint Cicero as merciful and rebut allegations of cruelty. Cicero then describes at length the conspiracy before urging Catiline to leave
3864-496: A troubled production. Coppola adopted an experimental style, encouraging his actors to improvise and write certain scenes during the shoot, and adding his own last-minute changes to the script. The art department and visual effects team, among others, left midway through production. Megalopolis was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival , but polarized critics and Hollywood studios. Coppola could not find
4002-419: Is actually in her twenties. Soviet satellite Carthage crashes to Earth, destroying much of New Rome. Cesar begins building Megalopolis in the ruins, financing the project with his family fortune. In a press conference, he makes the case for bold artistic projects that show the people a better world is possible. However, the high cost of building Megalopolis contrasts with poverty on the streets. Pulcher becomes
4140-472: Is not detained by any business in Rome due to his poor reputation, Cicero then engages in invective, indirectly accusing Catiline of a variety of sexual crimes, imminent bankruptcy, and past plots against the state. Drawing attention to how other senators moved away from Catiline when he entered the senate, Cicero argues then that no formal senatorial vote on Catiline's exile—which Catiline demanded—was necessary due to
4278-552: Is one of New Rome's leading lights. Cesar wins the Nobel Prize for inventing the revolutionary building material Megalon. In addition, he secretly has the ability to stop time. He treats his superpower as a metaphor for the artistic process: when Cesar stops time, everyone else remains frozen. Despite Cesar's worldly success, he has fallen into alcoholism. Years earlier, his wife mysteriously disappeared, and District Attorney Franklyn Cicero prosecuted him for murdering her. Although Cesar
Megalopolis (film) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-458: Is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now? Also remembered is the famous exasperated exclamation, O tempora, o mores! , used as an exclamation of outrage or indignation as to the state of the republic in Cicero's days. The First Catilinarian is a denunciation of Catiline, delivered before the Senate in
4554-479: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about
4692-495: Is the most famous speech in Latin literature. Its first sentence in particular is carefully crafted so as to have its form support its content. In consequence, it is still widely remembered and used after more than 2000 years: Quō ūsque tandem abūtere, Catilīna, patientiā nostrā? Quam diū etiam furor iste tuus nōs ēlūdet? Quem ad fīnem sēsē effrēnāta iactābit audācia? When, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long
4830-422: Is unable to stop time as he once could, Julia encourages him to do so for her. They both discover that they are able to stop time when together, and the two become lovers. Wow marries Cesar's uncle Hamilton Crassus III, the world's richest man. Although Crassus likes his nephew, his mind and health are in decline, and he is easily manipulated by individuals like his other nephew, Clodio Pulcher, who wants to inherit
4968-585: The Claus von Bülow murder case, the Mary Cunningham - William Agee Bendix Corporation scandal, the emergence of New York Stock Exchange reporter Maria Bartiromo , the history of Studio 54 , and Felix Rohatyn 's solution for the New York City fiscal crisis of 1975 . The fictional building material of Megalon was based in part on the work of architect and designer Neri Oxman , who appears as "Dr. Lyra Shir" and
5106-510: The Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), he deemed conventional, expensive, and hierarchical. "The art department was frustrated because they felt I was evolving the look of the picture independently of them", he said, "They wanted giant sets and images. I wanted other elements like costumes and live effects to do some of the work and have it not all be art-department-centric. So, there
5244-554: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of
5382-598: The September 11 attacks , during which Coppola and his team were location scouting in New York, the roughly thirty hours of footage was stashed, including more material they shot two weeks after, due to its resemblance to the script, which involved a Soviet satellite crashing into Earth and destroying a section of Lower Manhattan . "I feel as though history has come to my doorstep", Coppola said in October, declaring his plans to rewrite
5520-542: The Temple of Jupiter Stator on 7 or 8 November 63 BC. The Senate met to discuss an attempt on Cicero's life. Whether the speech is entirely historical is not entirely clear: the Second Catilinarian depicts Cicero's first speech as a simple interrogatory rather than the extended denunciation that survives. Unlike the other speeches, most of the speech is directed to Catiline personally with concluding remarks addressed to
5658-569: The Vietnam War for Apocalypse Now . According to the traditional narrative, Catiline was a populist seditionist who plotted to overthrow the Roman Republic after losing the election for consul three times. Catiline gained a following by promising to cancel all debts for rich and poor alike, but Cicero , the conservative head of the Roman government, discovered the plot and drove Catiline out of
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5796-519: The script supervisor . And then she would give them to Francis and sometimes he would like it and put it in. But every day he wanted to play. He ran it like it was a theater camp. There were games all day, and we were in character the whole time." One such scene that the actors composed was the part where Plaza's "Wow Platinum" orders LaBeouf's "Clodio Pulcher" to " orally pleasure her as he calls her Auntie Wow", building off an idea of Coppola's. Coppola described LaBeouf as an actor who "deliberately sets up
5934-624: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state
6072-465: The 1990–91 film awards season for that film, Coppola's production company, American Zoetrope , announced several projects in development, including plans to film Megalopolis in 1991, despite lacking a finished script. However, the film was postponed to "no earlier than 1996" after Coppola found himself prioritizing other projects, including Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Jack (1996), and The Rainmaker (1997), to get out of debt accumulated from
6210-602: The American Founding Fathers borrowed from Roman law to develop their democratic government without a king. He specifically noted that America was vulnerable to the same political forces and tensions that destroyed the Roman Republic and created the Empire. This was not the first time Coppola had sought to modernize a historical narrative: he had previously updated the colonial-Africa setting of Heart of Darkness to
6348-590: The Blade (1987) by Riane Eisler ; Directors on Directing (1963), edited by Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy , particularly an entry by Elia Kazan on his approach to A Streetcar Named Desire (1951); Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin ; Elective Affinities (1809) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ; The Glass Bead Game (1943) by Hermann Hesse ; The Origins of Political Order (2011) by Francis Fukuyama ; The Swerve (2011) by Stephen Greenblatt ; To
6486-521: The Crassus bank. Crassus and Wow throw a decadent wedding reception. Ironically, the headliner is pop star Vesta Sweetwater, who appeals to New Rome's puritanical sensibilities by promising to remain chaste until marriage. To neutralize Cesar, Pulcher leaks a paparazzi video of Cesar having sex with Vesta, prompting Cicero to condemn Cesar in a speech drawn from the real-life Catilinarian orations . Although Cicero arrests Cesar for statutory rape, Julia exonerates Cesar by discovering that Vesta faked her age and
6624-486: The Gallic envoys divulging all they knew and confessions from the five men, there was no doubt of their guilt. After an attempt to rescue the five men from house arrest, the senate debated their fate on 5 December. After a prolonged debate, the Senate, after momentarily being convinced to sentence the men to life imprisonment without trial by Julius Caesar , advised Cicero to have the urban conspirators summarily executed. After
6762-715: The Lighthouse (1927) by Virginia Woolf ; Twelve Against the Gods (1929) by William Bolitho Ryall ; and The War Lovers (2010) by Evan Thomas . Based on Catiline, the character of Cesar was renamed at classicist Mary Beard 's suggestion that Julius Caesar had ties with Catiline and was more known among audiences. The character was inspired by Robert Moses , as portrayed in Robert Caro 's biography The Power Broker (1974), and architects Norman Bel Geddes , Walter Gropius , Raymond Loewy , and Frank Lloyd Wright . Coppola researched
6900-528: The Senate's did not voice any immediate objections to the idea of exiling Catiline. Changing tack, Cicero then tells Catiline that if he leaves the city but, contrary to Catiline's existing plans, does not join the rebels in Etruria, Cicero would be seen as having forced an innocent man to go into exile. This argument was meant to paint Cicero in an unselfish light. An outburst of invective against Catiline and his followers, who Cicero brands as corrupt and bankrupt political failures, then follows. The conclusion of
7038-530: The Senate. Categorisation of the speech into one of the genres of ancient rhetoric is difficult. The denunciatory aspects of the speech are couched in the framework of a senatorial address while also largely being delivered to Catiline's person. Scholars disagree as to whether it should be seen as a speech in the genre of the law courts (forensic or prosecutorial) or otherwise in the genre of senatorial rhetoric (deliberative). This difficulty may be due to its original extemporaneous nature, delivered not in as part of
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#17328332267387176-465: The September 11 attacks out of respect for the families of the victims. Plaza spoke about Coppola's willingness to experiment and how sometimes "all of a sudden, he would have another idea. And then all of a sudden, we're shooting in a different location we didn't even plan to shoot. And then the whole day goes by and you're like, 'I had no idea any of that was going to happen ' ". Others described that approach as "exasperating" and "old-school", as Coppola
7314-577: The Shakespeare scene. In addition to starring, VanderWaal, a musician who won America's Got Talent at age 12 in 2016, wrote two original songs for the film. Megalopolis is both a modern retelling of the Catilinarian conspiracy and a revisionist look at the source material. Coppola described the film as a commentary on the American political system, reasoning that the Roman analogy was appropriate because
7452-580: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder
7590-526: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both
7728-517: The body politic is improved by their absence. The speech finally concludes with a prayer to Jupiter Stator that Catiline and his followers be defeated. Cicero informed the citizens of Rome that Catiline had left the city not into exile, as Catiline had said, but to join with his illegal army. He described the conspirators as rich men who were in debt, men eager for power and wealth, Sulla's veterans, ruined men who hoped for any change, criminals, profligates and other men of Catiline's ilk. He assured
7866-515: The bounds of the law, he had limited authority to act against Catiline proactively. A more retrospective interpretation of how it would have played c. 60 BC would instead emphasise how Cicero chose to act slowly and deliberatively rather than, as alleged by his political enemies, cruelly and autocratically. Cicero starts the speech by informing Catiline that the conspiracy is revealed and that Cicero would be within his rights as consul and justified by precedent to have Catiline killed as
8004-591: The box-office failures of One from the Heart (1982) and Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988). "Do films the same way Ingmar Bergman did them, with a little group of collaborators that you know, making a script that you wrote. Otherwise, you will finally get beaten down by the fact that you are making things that you are not really interested in, from a script that you don't fully understand, by means that you don't approve of. The question is: Can you make bigger films, like Megalopolis or Cure , in that way? Certainly,
8142-657: The camera rolling after he said " cut ." Some male actors wore Caesar haircuts to evoke ancient Rome. For Plaza, the last two weeks of the shoot overlapped with her role on the television series Agatha All Along . As they were shot on the same lot, she was allowed to do both. In August 2023, during the SAG-AFTRA strike , the film received an interim agreement from the union, possibly for reshoots or publicity purposes to qualify for festival screenings and distribution deals. The final film includes footage shot in 2001, consisting of establishing shots of New York City and minimal video of
8280-558: The cast, with LaBeouf and Shire confirmed as part of it. Plaza had to forgo attending a chemistry read due to the COVID-19 pandemic , as she was in Italy working on the second season of The White Lotus . She was then invited to audition similarly to Emmanuel over Zoom on March 27, 2022 (Coppola was readying to go to the 94th Academy Awards to receive an honor), while staying at the San Domenico,
8418-460: The cinema itself. ... [T]he mere fact that it exists, in its breathtaking and sometimes exasperating singularity, feels like an expression of hope." For his own part, Coppola acknowledged the importance of visionary thinking but dismissed the idea that Catilina's Megalopolis project should offer a specific version of the future, reasoning that "[Utopia] is not a place. Utopia is a discussion." Epic film Epic historical films would usually take
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#17328332267388556-611: The cities of Montreal and New York, with an anticipated budget of $ 50–80 million (equivalent to $ 82.2 million to $ 131 million in 2023). That year, Coppola and cinematographer Ron Fricke recorded second unit footage of New York, thinking it would be simpler to do so before principal photography , with the 24-frames per second Sony F900 digital camera that George Lucas used for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Fricke had previously shot Godfrey Reggio 's Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and Powaqqatsi (1988), films which Coppola executive produced . After
8694-629: The city and joined Manlius' men in Etruria shortly thereafter. At this time, Cicero then discovered a plot led by one of the sitting praetors, to bring in the Allobroges , a Gallic tribe, to support the Catilinarians. Using the Allobroges' envoys as double agents, Cicero used them to identify conspirators in the city. After intercepting incriminating letters between the conspirators and the Allobroges, five conspirators were arrested on 2 or 3 December. With
8832-486: The city and joined an uprising in Etruria. The next two speeches were before the people, with Cicero justifying his actions as well as relating further news of the conspiracy in Rome itself and the arrest of four conspirators. The fourth speech, supposedly delivered before the Senate, was an intervention in an on-going debate as to the fate of the urban conspirators; Cicero argued in favour of their illegal execution without trial. Some modern historians suggest that Catiline
8970-517: The city with an incendiary speech in the Senate ( First Catilinarian Oration ). Catiline's supporters raised an army to overthrow Cicero. To defend the Republic, Cicero convinced the Senate to give him temporary emergency powers (the senatus consultum ultimum ), which allowed him to execute some of Catiline's co-conspirators without due process . Cicero's aggressive actions scared off most of Catiline's remaining supporters. His forces outnumbered, Catiline
9108-454: The city with his followers to take command of the Etrurian rebels, something which Cicero asserts Catiline was to do shortly regardless. Catiline likely asked whether Cicero's advice was a command for him to go into exile—the power to exile citizens, relegatio , was within consular authority—but Cicero in the speech insists that he is merely advising Catiline to leave. Insisting that Catiline
9246-454: The conspirators, and one of the accused, Lentulus, was a praetor . However, after the combined efforts of Cicero and Cato, the vote shifted in favor of execution, and the sentence was carried out shortly afterwards. While some historians agree that Cicero's actions, in particular the final speeches before the Senate, may have saved the Republic , they also reflect his self-aggrandisement and, to
9384-409: The consuls to do whatever it took to respond to the crisis. By 27 October, the senate had received reports that Gaius Manlius, a former centurion and leader of an army there, had taken up arms near Faesulae . Catiline remained in the city. While named in the anonymous letters sent to Crassus, this was insufficient evidence for incrimination. But after messages from Etruria connected him directly to
9522-471: The corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Esposito), who opposes Catilina's plans to revitalize New Rome by building the futuristic utopia "Megalopolis". The film heavily references Roman history, particularly the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC and the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire . In 1977, Coppola had the idea to make a film drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and
9660-415: The course of the project." When asked about the accusations, Coppola said, "My mother told me that if you make an advance toward a woman, it means you disrespect her, and the girls I had crushes on, I certainly didn't disrespect them." He also referred to a photo of a girl he kissed on the cheek that her father had taken, adding, "I knew her when she was nine. I'm not touchy-feely . I'm too shy." Videos of
9798-657: The day before his 80th birthday, Coppola announced his return to the project, having completed the script and approached Jude Law and Shia LaBeouf for lead roles. In 2021, Coppola sold his Sonoma County wineries to merge his winery business with that of another Napa-based family company, Delicato Family Wines, in an equity deal worth around $ 650 million. He then borrowed $ 200 million against his ownership stake in Delicato to fund Megalopolis for $ 120 million and pay for other projects at Inglenook and Sentinel Building . By August, discussions with actors to star in
9936-691: The determining factor is the cast, because with a star cast comes the financing ..." Coppola returned to the film after directing The Rainmaker . In 2001, he held table reads in a production office in Park Slope , Brooklyn. As the film took shape over decades, numerous actors would work with Coppola in the process, including Nicolas Cage (his nephew), Russell Crowe , Robert De Niro , Leonardo DiCaprio , Giancarlo Esposito , Edie Falco , James Gandolfini , Jon Hamm , Paul Newman , Al Pacino , Parker Posey , Kevin Spacey , and Uma Thurman . Matt Dillon , who
10074-423: The developments, they declared the two of them public enemies. Antonius Hybrida (Cicero's fellow consul), with troops loyal to Rome, followed Catiline while Cicero remained at home to guard the city. Cicero claimed that the city should rejoice because it had been saved from a bloody rebellion. He presented evidence that all of Catiline's accomplices confessed to their crimes. He asked for nothing for himself but
10212-540: The dialogue and playing it over a loudspeaker for wide shots. He then asked Driver to recite the " To be, or not to be " speech from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet (1623) in its entirety, seemingly as a warm-up exercise. After filming wrapped, Coppola handed McLauchlin the first half of the film and Scantlebury the latter half, allowing them to trade sections to complete the edit. After Scantlebury moved on to another project, McLauchlin and Coppola continued editing for eight more months, during which Coppola suggested including
10350-421: The encounters and described his behavior as unprofessional. After Variety published further articles regarding his alleged misconduct, he filed a libel lawsuit against them and journalists Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel on September 10, seeking $ 15 million and further punitive and exemplary damages. In the lawsuit, Coppola challenged the videos' credibility and denied claims that the production did not have
10488-522: The encounters at the Tabernacle surfaced in July 2024; sources told Variety that Coppola often inadvertently inserted himself into frame while interacting with extras and announced on a microphone after multiple takes, "Sorry, if I come up to you and kiss you. Just know it's solely for my pleasure." Another source mentioned the absence of a human resources department . Intimacy coordinators were not on set when
10626-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on
10764-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with
10902-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of
11040-518: The execution of the urban conspirators, most of Catiline's forces melted away; Catiline was eventually defeated and killed in early January 62 BC at the Battle of Pistoria . At the close of the consular year, Cicero's valedictory speech was vetoed by two tribunes of the plebs . One of the tribunes, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos , also sought to bring Cicero up on charges for executing citizens without trial. Although popular among large portions of
11178-474: The film eventually halted. The success of Coppola's winery and resorts meant he could produce it with his own money, which his friend Wendy Doniger said "paralyzed him." "He had no excuse this time if the film was no good", she remarked, "What froze him was having the power to do exactly what he wanted so that his soul was on the line." In 2005, she bestowed him books that she deemed thematically relevant, including Mircea Eliade 's Youth Without Youth (1976),
11316-464: The film had begun; James Caan was set to star after petitioning Coppola to write him a cameo role as a potential swan song , while Cate Blanchett , Oscar Isaac , Jessica Lange , Michelle Pfeiffer , Jon Voight , Forest Whitaker , and Zendaya were in various stages of negotiations. In late 2021, Nathalie Emmanuel auditioned over Zoom while filming The Invitation (2022) in Budapest. During
11454-474: The film. In 2002, he shot sixty to seventy hours of second unit footage in Manhattan on high-definition video that Lucas described as "wide shots of cities with incredible detail at magic hour and all kinds of available-light material." He also disclosed his intent to self-finance the film, still in place as his next project, having become disheartened making films to pay off his debt to Hollywood. Production on
11592-405: The filming of the club scene on February 14, Coppola kissed her cheek, touched multiple parts of her body without her consent, including her back and waist, made sexual comments about her appearance, and encouraged her to "sit on his lap and call him 'uncle'." Coppola initially placed a cease-and-desist letter against Variety requesting a retraction of their July 26 article that featured videos of
11730-431: The future of the United States by retelling the Catilinarian conspiracy in modern-day New York. Although he began plotting the film in 1983, the project spent decades in development hell . Coppola attempted to produce the film in 1989 and 2001, but each time, the studios refused to finance the film, due to Coppola's string of late-career box-office disappointments and the September 11 attacks , respectively. Disillusioned by
11868-451: The grateful remembrance of the city and acknowledged that the victory was more difficult than one in foreign lands because the enemies were citizens of Rome. In his fourth and final published argument, which took place in the Temple of Concordia , Cicero establishes a basis for other orators (primarily Cato the Younger ) to argue for the execution of the conspirators. As consul , Cicero
12006-580: The incident, and questioned whether Cicero, a political conservative, had simply concoted an excuse to crush the populist policies backed by Catiline and Julius Caesar. During the Megalopolis press tour, Coppola explained that "since the survivor tells the story, I wondered, what if what Catiline had in mind for his new society was a realignment of those in power, and could it have even been 'visionary' and 'good,' while Cicero perhaps could have been 'reactionary' and 'bad[?]'" In Megalopolis , Coppola retells two of
12144-452: The kiss on them without any kind of consent." In response, Coppola said, "The young women I kissed on the cheek, in regards to the New Year's scene, they were young women I knew." On September 9, Pagone filed a lawsuit against Coppola, his production company, and two casting agencies for civil assault, civil battery , and negligent failure to prevent sexual harassment . She alleged that during
12282-467: The late 1800s amid European colonial rule in Africa to the 1970s Vietnam War for Apocalypse Now . In January 1989, Coppola announced his plans to move to Italy to work on two productions in the next five years, including Le Ribellion di Catilina , a film "so big and complicated it would seem impossible", which biographer Michael Schumacher said "sounded much like what he had in store for Megalopolis ." It
12420-408: The lenses, including wide Sphero 65s, Panaspeeds, and specialty lenses such as the 200 mm and 250 mm detuned Primo Artiste, rehoused Helios , and Lensbaby for specific scenes. The primary aspect ratio was 2:1, a tribute to Vittorio Storaro 's Univisium , with select scenes changing to a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. To capture authenticity from the actors, Coppola instructed Mălaimare to keep
12558-505: The masses to embrace the idea of Megalopolis. Writing in The New Yorker , Justin Chang noted that in light of Coppola's struggle to make the film without studio interference, "what is inescapably moving about Megalopolis ... is the degree to which it has evolved into an allegory of its own making. Coppola has made a defense of the beautiful and the impractical ... as art-sustaining forces in
12696-401: The people for having taken decisive action to avoid civil war and suppress the coup attempt, Cicero's legal position came under attack in the coming years. In response, Cicero attempted to shore up his reputation and justify his actions by publishing his consular speeches: the Catilinarian orations were published after some editing in 60 BC as part of this effort. The First Catilinarian
12834-399: The people of Rome that they had nothing to fear because he, as consul, and the gods would protect the state. This speech was delivered with the intention of convincing the lower class, or common man, that Catiline would not represent their interests and they should not support him. Meanwhile, Catiline joined up with Gaius Manlius , commander of the rebel force. When the Senate was informed of
12972-601: The planned $ 120 million, according to Coppola. In contrast, one person involved with the film told The Wall Street Journal that production costs ultimately reached $ 136 million. Anonymous crew members described Coppola's on-set conduct as unprofessional. On February 14, 2023, a "celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene" was filmed at the Tabernacle , a concert hall in Atlanta, for which 150–200 extras were assembled, with some being cleared for "topless nudity" or to be "scantily clad." Crew members alleged that, during
13110-549: The poor and wealthy, but lost to Marcus Tullius Cicero , who famously denounced Catilina before the Senate for conspiring to overthrow the Roman Republic in 63 BC. Coppola conceived the overall idea for Megalopolis towards the end of filming Apocalypse Now (1979) in 1977. Sound designer Richard Beggs described Coppola's vision as an opera screened over four nights, similar to Richard Wagner 's Ring cycle (1876) in Bayreuth , in
13248-514: The populist senator Julius Caesar – succeeded where Catiline had failed, taking advantage of political chaos to become dictator of Rome, and paving the way for the Roman Empire. In 1999, Coppola pitched the film by drawing parallels between the Catilinarian conspiracy and the present-day United States. He warned that Catiline-esque plotters could try to overthrow the American government just as Catiline tried to overthrow Rome, saying, "Rome became
13386-400: The readings of Megalopolis just for the hell of it, and thought, 'This feels more relevant than ever.' I realized that even though the script was 20 years old, I could still do it." He described the 2001 draft as the "pregnant version of it, but it wasn't all that similar", and said Gandolfini gave him "a lot of great suggestions" back when he read for the part of the mayor. On April 3, 2019,
13524-450: The real-life Cicero's accusations towards Catiline – that Catiline slept with a Vestal Virgin (a Roman priestess sworn to chastity) and that Catiline murdered his first wife – and acquits Cesar Catalina of both accusations. (According to Stanford University classicist Richard Saller , while the traditional narrative of the conspiracy is "Cicero centric", most historians – Robin Seager being
13662-469: The rioters, pleading with them to believe in his vision of a better future. His speech wins over the crowd, whose members hang Pulcher upside down. With renewed financial support from Crassus, Cesar finally completes Megalopolis. Cicero, holding Julia and Cesar's baby daughter, Sunny Hope, promises to help Cesar build a better future. On New Year's Eve , Julia stops time, but only Sunny Hope seems unaffected. Growing up in New York City, Francis Ford Coppola
13800-504: The same hotel in Sicily that Coppola resided in during the filming of The Godfather (1972). Before the meeting, Coppola emailed her the entire script and asked her to consider the role of "Wow Platinum", wanting an actress with a similar screen presence to Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy in screwball comedies from the 1930s. Coppola came up with the character's name after meeting a Southern woman whose great-grandmother's name "evolved" to " Wow " due to her beauty. For her performance, Plaza
13938-439: The scene was shot and bystanders were reportedly told by senior crew members that they were not authorized to share recordings of the encounters due to non-disclosure agreements . Days later, extras in the videos spoke out. Rayna Menz denounced the accusations against Coppola of inappropriate behavior, stating, "He did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable." Meanwhile, Lauren Pagone told Variety , "I
14076-425: The score to blur the line between music and sound design. Given the ambiguity surrounding how the city and music of Rome sounded, he relied on Hollywood portrayals and composed a Roman suite inspired by Miklós Rózsa 's score for Ben-Hur (1959). Coppola also asked Golijov to write a love theme in the vein of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 's composition Romeo and Juliet (1870). In February 2024, Coppola recorded
14214-613: The score with the Budapest Art Orchestra in Budapest, Hungary. Post-production, from editing to visual effects, was completed at the All-Movie Hotel, where some reshoots were held. Cam McLauchlin and Glen Scantlebury edited the film, Coppola having contacted McLauchlin after seeing his work on Nightmare Alley (2021). McLauchlin defined Coppola's style as theatrical, incorporating theater warm-up techniques. The scene where Cesar and Julia play tug of war on an imaginary rope
14352-428: The senate's obvious displeasure; if it had passed it would have cast Catiline as a victim of senatorial overreach; if it had failed it would have undermined Cicero's position in the senate. This political isolation is then emphasised when Cicero relates that Catiline sought to place himself into voluntary custody to service his reputation but found nobody willing to take him. Such isolation is further illustrated noting how
14490-455: The session, Coppola had her participate in an acting exercise, tasking her with reciting a line from Alice Walker 's novel The Color Purple (1982) in as many different contexts. By March 2022, Talia Shire (Coppola's sister) expressed her interest in joining the cast and Isaac was reported to have passed on the project. By May, Emmanuel, Voight, and Whitaker were confirmed for the cast, with Adam Driver and Laurence Fishburne added. Coppola
14628-452: The shoot, Coppola pulled women to sit on his lap and kissed female extras to "get them in the mood." In response, executive producer Darren Demetre said, "Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players. It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere ... I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behaviour during
14766-464: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of
14904-446: The speech notes that Cicero intends to do nothing compulsory at the moment, justified by rejection of arguments to have Catiline summarily executed (placed in the mouth of an abstract personification of Rome). Cicero instead seeks a longer term goals of ensuring that—by allowing Catiline to join the Etrurian rebels—the whole Senate is convinced of Catiline's guilt and that, when the rebels are defeated with Catiline and followers among them,
15042-900: The standard Latin rhetorical curriculum. The Catilinarian conspiracy was a plot by the patrician senator Lucius Sergius Catilina (known in English as Catiline) to overthrow the Roman republic. He started this plot in 63 BC after being repulsed at elections for consul for the third time; after failing to be elected to the consulships of 65, 63, and 62 BC. The conspirators included various disaffected groups. The aristocrats who joined were largely men who were similarly unsuccessful in elections for high office or were otherwise bankrupt. They were joined by many disaffected Italian farmers – concentrated in Etruria – in two broad groups: farmers dispossessed by Sulla's proscriptions or colonisation programmes and Sulla's landed veterans who had fallen into debt after poor harvests. The first indications of
15180-524: The start of production. Before filming began, a week of rehearsals took place with theater-style exercises, much like the one Emmanuel described having in her audition. Coppola said he could only rehearse with around a third of the cast, including Plaza and Emmanuel, but notably not Driver, and thus cast understudies in place of absent members. Fineman, however, recalls having rehearsed with everyone, recalling how in Halloween of 2023 she, Plaza and Driver played
15318-580: The studio system, Coppola did not produce Megalopolis until he built a large fortune in the winemaking business. He spent $ 120 million of his own money to make the film. Principal photography took place in Georgia from November 2022 to March 2023. The film reunited Coppola with past collaborators, including actors Esposito, Fishburne, Remar, Shire, and Sweeney, cinematographer Mihai Mălaimare Jr. , second-unit director Roman Coppola , and composer Osvaldo Golijov . Like several other Coppola films, Megalopolis had
15456-480: The substance ever since his weight loss in 2017. On December 9, 2022, Coppola fired most of the visual effects team, with the rest of the department, including supervisor Mark Russell, soon following. In January 2023, reports indicated the budget ballooned higher than its initial $ 120 million, which The Hollywood Reporter compared to Coppola's history of challenging productions, most notoriously Apocalypse Now . Due to an alleged "unstable filming environment",
15594-469: The uprising, he was indicted under the lex Plautia de vi (public violence) in early November. The conspirators met, probably on 6 November, and found two volunteers to make an attempt on Cicero's life. After the attempts on Cicero's life failed on 7 November 63 BC, he assembled the senate and delivered the First Catilinarian, revealing Catiline's involvement in the plot; Catiline promptly left
15732-543: The works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on
15870-562: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which
16008-533: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Catilinarian orations The Catilinarian orations ( Latin : Marci Tullii Ciceronis orationes in Catilinam ; also simply the Catilinarians ) are four speeches given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero , one of the year's consuls . The speeches all related to the discovery, investigation, and suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy,
16146-452: Was a more complex character than Cicero's writings declare, and that Cicero was heavily influenced by a desire to establish a lasting reputation as a great Roman patriot and statesman. The Catilinarian orations, along with Sallust's monograph Bellum Catilinae , make the conspiracy one of the best-documented events from the ancient world; for centuries after their delivery, the Catilinarians were praised as model speeches and taught as part of
16284-480: Was a rehearsal take that inspired them to embrace the script's eccentricity. McLauchlin and Scantlebury were tasked to work on scenes independently but transitioned toward collaboration after realizing they had enough time to keep pace with shooting and experiment with alternate versions. As they edited the film, Coppola was inspired to direct more "unusual takes" of the cast to include. For a scene involving catwalks, Coppola handled disruptive noise levels by pre-recording
16422-484: Was a reminder to every actor's dreams to do theatre, Fineman looked for William Shakespeare 's " trustafarians characters as an inspiration and improvised like she had done in past projects such as Damien Chazelle 's Babylon and Noah Baumbach 's White Noise (both 2022). In January 2023, Esposito was confirmed to star; he previously acted in Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984). His character of Mayor Franklyn Cicero
16560-436: Was acquitted, he remains crushed by guilt, believing that his wife committed suicide because he was too focused on his work. Cesar still pines for his wife, prompting his jealous mistress, TV presenter Wow Platinum, to leave him. At a televised event, Cesar and now-Mayor Cicero offer different visions for the city's future. Cesar proposes using Megalon to build "Megalopolis", a utopian urbanist community, while Cicero argues that
16698-439: Was credited as the architectural and scientific advisor. Having worked with Coppola on studies for Megalopolis , her four-part model installation Man-Nahāta displays a potential future design of Manhattan. In line with The Godfather and Dracula , where he credited Mario Puzo and Bram Stoker as the original writers, Coppola branded the film with his name as Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis . The COVID-19 pandemic delayed
16836-410: Was disagreement along those lines." Coppola had originally set $ 100 million for the budget and $ 20 million as contingency . As the budget was at risk of rising to $ 148 million (which he said would have "bankrupted me and my family"), he laid off one of five art directors, leading the entire team to resign. Production allegedly wrapped a week ahead of schedule, with the budget close to
16974-450: Was fascinated by science fiction films , such as Fritz Lang 's Metropolis (1927) and William Cameron Menzies 's Things to Come (1936), and the scientific community's history with dangerous experiments. His reading of the Roman historian Sallust and William Bolitho Ryall 's book Twelve Against the Gods (1929) inspired him to make a film about Lucius Sergius Catiline , who sought consulship by campaigning to eliminate debt for
17112-839: Was first approached during the filming of Rumble Fish (1983) for the role of a West Point cadet who goes AWOL , thought himself "too old for the part" by the time production actually began. In July, Coppola dispelled rumors he had written a part for Warren Beatty , who does not appear in the completed film. Jim Steranko , who previously created production illustrations for Bram Stoker's Dracula , produced concept art for Megalopolis at Coppola's behest, described in James Romberger 's master's thesis as "expansive, elaborate and carefully rendered pencil or charcoal halftone architectural drawings of huge buildings and urban plazas that appeared to mix ancient Roman , art deco and speculative sci-fi stylizations." Proposed filming locations included
17250-481: Was formally not allowed to voice any opinion in the matter, but he circumvented the rule with subtle oratory. Although very little is known about the actual debate (except for Cicero's argument, which has probably been altered from its original), the Senate majority probably opposed the death sentence for various reasons, one of which was the nobility of the accused. For example, Julius Caesar argued that exile and disenfranchisement would be sufficient punishment for
17388-436: Was hesitant to decide how the film would look and would spend work days completing shots practically instead of relying on digital techniques. One crew member recalled, "He would often show up in the mornings before these big sequences and because no plan had been put in place, and because he wouldn't allow his collaborators to put a plan in place, he would often just sit in his trailer for hours on end, wouldn't talk to anybody,
17526-474: Was in shock. I didn't expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off guard", and expressed frustration with Menz' statement: "You can't speak for anyone but yourself. My experience was different." Another crew member alleged that Coppola kissed multiple women after calling "cut" for a different scene involving a New Year's Eve party that ended with kisses: "The women that I saw being kissed did not see him coming. He just basically grabbed them and planted
17664-596: Was inspired by Faye Dunaway in Network (1976) and Nicole Kidman in To Die For (1995). Chloe Fineman , Madeleine Gardella, Hoffman, Bailey Ives, Isabelle Kusman, and D. B. Sweeney would be added in October 2022. Coppola had reached out to Fineman, a cast member on Saturday Night Live , in 2020 after seeing her perform at a theater comedy event where she impersonated Ivana and Melania Trump . Recognizing Driver from her New York University days and feeling Megalopolis
17802-460: Was killed at the Battle of Pistoria . After the end of the conspiracy, populist politician Publius Clodius Pulcher charged Cicero with overreach, and successfully exiled Cicero from Rome for a period. In response, Cicero defended his actions by publishing his four Catilinarian Orations in edited form. Although Catiline himself died, the conspiracy and its aftermath showed deep fissures in the Roman Republic. Ultimately, an occasional ally of Catiline –
17940-532: Was later opened to the public by Coppola on July 5, 2024, as the All-Movie Hotel . It offers hospitality and facilities needed to make films, including 27 rooms, two edit suites with laser projection and Meyer Sound 2.1 monitoring, two edit bays, offices, an ADR recording room , a conference room, an insert stage, a convivial space, and a screening room for private viewings, editing, or 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos sound mixing with calibrated Meyer sound monitoring, plus
18078-514: Was loosely inspired by Marcus Tullius Cicero and New York's first Black mayor David Dinkins . Esposito, Fishburne, Remar, Shire, and Sweeney previously worked with Coppola. Coppola opted to cast actors with differing political ideologies to avoid accusations of the film being a didactic, " woke Hollywood production." The film's literary influences included the books Bullshit Jobs (2018), The Dawn of Everything (2021), and Debt: The First 5000 Years (2011) by David Graeber ; The Chalice and
18216-483: Was often smoking marijuana ... And then he'd come out and whip up something that didn't make sense, and that didn't follow anything anybody had spoken about or anything that was on the page, and we'd all just go along with it, trying to make the best out of it." On Driver's first day on set, Coppola allegedly took six hours to achieve an effect by projecting an image on the side of Driver's head. Coppola denied smoking marijuana on set, adding that he had been avoiding
18354-541: Was reassured Driver was "his kind of actor" after hearing an anecdote from Martin Scorsese about Driver's method acting for Silence (2016). Driver originally demurred from accepting the lead role, but reconsidered after Coppola incorporated ideas they developed together. After Caan died on July 6, 2022, his role was given to Dustin Hoffman . In August 2022, Kathryn Hunter , Aubrey Plaza , James Remar , Jason Schwartzman (Coppola's nephew), and Grace VanderWaal joined
18492-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of
18630-410: Was released theatrically on September 27, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $ 13.7 million. In an alternate United States, New Rome is dominated by an elite group of patrician families. Although the Roman elite profess to live by a strict moral code, patricians decadently enjoy forbidden pleasures while ordinary Romans live in poverty. Patrician architect Cesar Catilina
18768-671: Was shot on the Italy–Switzerland border . For the production, Coppola purchased a drive-in Days Inn motel for $ 4.35 million to reside in and accommodate the crew and his extended family. He renovated the motel to include facilities for rehearsal and post-production ; by converting it into a production facility, he also increased the tax incentives he received from the state, reportedly bringing production expenditure down to $ 107 million. The building in Peachtree City, Georgia ,
18906-596: Was to be shot in Cinecittà , a film studio in Rome, where production designer Dean Tavoularis and his design team built offices and an art studio for drafters to storyboard the film. The Hollywood Reporter described it as "swing[ing] from the past to the present", merging "the images of Rome ... with the New York of today." Of it, Coppola said, "I want to be free. I don't want producers around me telling me what to do." Coppola ultimately did not move to Italy, and instead made The Godfather Part III (1990). Following
19044-510: Was to be the first film shot on Trilith Studios' Prysm Stage , an LED virtual production volume, but due to budget constraints, the production pivoted to a "less costly, more traditional greenscreen approach." The decision to film in Georgia over the film's setting of New York was due to available tax benefits, studio facilities, local crews, and classical buildings to act as sets. Around July 2023, close to when editing began, additional content
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