At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola premiered his latest movie opus, Megalopolis, which he self-financed with a budget of $120 million. The film, screening in competition at Cannes, is still seeking a U.S. distributor despite securing overseas distribution. Tuesday brought some controversy as The Guardian published a report on Coppola’s behavior on set, which led to Aubrey Plaza defending the director.
The world premiere of Megalopolis at Cannes featured stars from the film such as Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Grace VanderWaal, and Laurence Fishburne. The movie is described as a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America, centered around conflict between Cesar Catilina, an artist looking to change the City of New Rome, and Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who wants to maintain the status quo. Many of Coppola’s family members, including Talia Shire and Jason Schwartzman, were in attendance at the premiere.
Giancarlo Esposito plays Mayor Franklyn Cicero, while Nathalie Emmanuel portrays his daughter, Julia Cicero. Adam Driver stars as Cesar Catilina, an architect with the power to control time, and Aubrey Plaza plays a journalist named Wow Platinum. Details about certain characters in the film are still under wraps, such as Laurence Fishburne’s role as Fundi Romaine, Jon Voight as Hamilton Crassus III, Talia Shire as Constance Crassus Catilina, and Shia LaBeouf as Clodio Pulcher.
The premiere of Megalopolis was attended not only by its stars but also by Cannes jury president Greta Gerwig and jury member Omar Sy. The film is still awaiting a domestic distributor and a U.S. release date. Meanwhile, other Hollywood productions like the first chapter of Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga are also premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite the initial controversy surrounding the film, support for Coppola and his latest project was evident at the prestigious event.
