Francis Ford Coppola‘s career apex may be behind him, but that doesn’t mean the legendary director is done making movies. In fact, on the eve of his 80th birthday, he’s announced that he’s finally moving ahead with a dream project. Coppola plans to direct Megalopolis, an ambitious film he’s been circling for years that is reportedly as sprawling as his masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.
Coppola reportedly finally has his script in place, and has begun speaking informally to potential stars. The story is set in New York, and revolves around an architect’s dream to create a utopia in the city. However, the mayor combats his idea. Coppola said of the project:
“I plan this year to begin my longstanding ambition to make a major work utilising all I have learned during my long career, beginning at age 16 doing theatre, and that will be an epic on a grand scale, which I’ve entitled Megalopolis.
It is unusual – it will be a production on a grand scale with a large cast. It makes use of all of my years of trying films in different styles and types culminating in what I think is my own voice and aspiration”.
Reports are swirling that Jude Law is among those who may potentially have a role in the movie. Coppola has continued making films even after the star power of his early career has diminished. His recent projects, including Youth Without Youth and Tetro, have arguably been the strangest, most enigmatic work of his oeuvre.
However, they haven’t had the impact his earlier classics enjoyed. Megalopolis sounds like a far larger project than those, however, harkening back to Coppola’s heyday. This is a project that he has struggled to develop for years though, so we’ll wait and see if this is finally the time he cracks it.
#Peace.Love.Megalopolis
