Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ to Debut at Cannes in Competition

Samantha Bergeson
·3 min read
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Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited “Megalopolis” will have its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, IndieWire has confirmed.

While the full festival lineup will be announced April 10, Deadline first reported that the epic has received the gala premiere slot at Cannes for a May 17 debut and that it will play in competition.

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However, “Megalopolis” still has not secured distribution, IndieWire understands. Coppola’s attorney Barry Hirsch is working on selling the film, and he previously told IndieWire the film was unlikely to debut at a festival until it landed distribution.

The feature will be Coppola’s return to Cannes following his respective Palme d’Or wins for “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now.” His other Cannes film was “Tetro,” which screened in Directors Fortnight.

“Megalopolis” centers on the destruction of a utopian society that struggles with adapting to the future. Cesar, an architectural idealist played by Adam Driver, clashes with city mayor Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), while the mayor’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), becomes caught between both warring powers. The ensemble cast includes Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, D.B. Sweeney, Jason Schwartzman, Baily Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar.

Coppola had been developing the original story for “Megalopolis” for close to 30 years. The auteur recently told Deadline that despite “Megalopolis” being a “big, difficult” movie, he has begun another project and is in no way eyeing retirement yet.

Actor Driver revealed that his character Cesar is in part inspired by writer/director Coppola himself. He added that “Megalopolis” is an unprecedented moviegoing experience that transcends genre.

“It’s kind of undefinable, which feels very general until you watch the movie,” Driver said. “There’s not a lot of precedent for it and it’s wild on a big scale, which is what’s really unique about it.”

That unprecedented quality is also what is behind the push for the right distribution partner. “Megalopolis” was shown to potential buyers in Los Angeles on March 28, and Coppola’s attorney Hirsch told IndieWire that “we need to be as creative in the dealmaking as Francis was making this movie” given its critical response.

“People have told me that the movie is unlike anything they’ve ever seen before, and maybe that’s where the dealmaking will need to be,” Hirsch said. “I think over the last decade or so, studios have begun to underestimate its audience and indeed have underestimated Francis. He has always made movies that have appealed to all ages of people over 14 years of age such as ‘The Godfather’ films, ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘The Conversation,’ and ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula.’ ‘Megalopolis’ is no different than these movies in term of appeal.”

The Cannes lineup also includes George Miller’s “Furiosa,” which is already confirmed to premiere out of competition, along with Kevin Costner’s “Horizon.” The festival will open with Quentin Dupieux’s comedy “Le Deuxième Acte” (“The Second Act”) on May 14. Greta Gerwig oversees the jury board.

Additional reporting by Brian Welk

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