40 years of gestation, a return after thirteen years of absence and a film entirely financed by its director, Megalopolis of Francis Ford Coppola is one of those risky projects for the industry. The first screenings were not crowned with success, with some spectators considering this story of anticipation “too experimental” to have a chance of attracting spectators to theaters. The session organized a few weeks ago would have ended in “heavy silence” according to The Hollywood Reporter. With such a press, its exploitation in our green lands seemed uncertain. Despite the formalization of participation in the Cannes Film Festival, no French distributor had yet shown interest. According to our colleagues at Le Point, things are changing.
Having interviewed sources close to the matter, the media claims that it is the independent company Le Pacte who took over the footage. Maneuvering for the distribution ofAnatomy of a fall, the company founded by Jean Labadie supports renowned filmmakers such as Jim Jarmush and Ken Loach. She should offer Megalopolis an opportunity to shine in dark rooms at the end of September. There precise date has not yet been communicated, and Le Pacte has not officially announced this release. The film’s presence in Cannes should be an opportunity to take the temperature, to assess whether the public will be there. Note that the film does not yet have a distributor in the United States.
Ambitious science fiction
Long-term project for the director ofApocalypse Now And Dracula, Megalopolis will evolve in the near future. A large American city is recovering from a cataclysm and its reconstruction is entrusted to a genius architect: César. But the mayor is not convinced by his project which evolves around renewable materials. These two enemies will be camped by Adam Driver (Star Wars) And Giancarlo Esposito (breaking Bad). Nathalie Emmanuelrevealed thanks to the series Game Of Thrones, will be confronted with a Shakespearean score since she will play the mayor’s daughter and the visionary’s lover. Moreover, it will be necessary to count on Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza. Cate Blanchett and Michelle Pfeiffer will also be on the trip, just like Jessica Lange and Shia LaBeouf.
The cinema legend seems to have had no difficulty in bringing together big names around his ambitious project. We will have to hope that this audience of celebrities – as much as the promising pitch – will hatch a science fiction epic in the pure tradition of the genre. Anticipatory frescoes are making a comeback. Francis Ford Coppola knew how to generate impatience among future spectators; his 26th film was mentioned on numerous occasions during the forty years which were necessary for its realization.
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