Say what you will about Francis Ford Coppola, but the dude puts his money where his mouth is. He did it for Apocalypse Now, he did it for American Zoetrope as a whole, he did it for his wineries, and he’s doing it for Megalopolis, which will hit theaters a lot sooner than you might expect. It got a lukewarm reception at Cannes — presumably because half of the audience lost their cumerbunds in the toilets on the Rivera and were in a bad mood — but we can’t deny that this looks as absurdly batshit nuts as anything Coppola’s done since the turn of the century (just with a lot more money behind it).
Anyhow, Lionsgate, who bought the film at Cannes, dropped a brand new trailer for the film that shows off the impressive cityscape that Coppola crafted for Adam Driver and company to wander around and try to rebuild.
Peep it:
Here’s the official synopsis:
“‘Megalopolis’ is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”
Megalopolis will hit theaters and IMAX screens on September 27, but we’ll hopefully catch it when we’re at TIFF next month. One question lingers in our minds, though: Did Coppola just one-up Zack Snyder and actually adapt The Fountainhead? That’s all we’re getting from that synopsis, with a bit more Roman flair than Rand could ever write.