Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious film, widely criticized during its presentation at the Cannes Film Festival last May, has found a distributor and will be released theatrically in the United States.
Megalopolisthe Hollywood sea serpent that Francis Ford Coppola has dreamed of for more than 40 years and for which the American director has devoured part of his personal fortune, will benefit from a theatrical release in the United States, it has been announced learned Monday.
The Lionsgate studio finally agreed to distribute this film, unveiled with great fanfare at Cannes but whose commercial potential seemed uncertain.
Its release in North American cinemas is set for September 27, the Hollywood company said in a press release sent to AFP.
Megalopolis severely divided critics at Cannes, between a testament film for some and a failure for others. A complicated reception, during a premiere whose stakes went beyond the artistic dimension.
Baroque fresco
Francis Ford Coppola sold his assets to the tune of $120 million to finance this ambitious project and even mortgaged part of his lucrative vineyards. He therefore needed a distributor in the United States, the world’s largest market, to hope to be reimbursed.
But this baroque fresco, which compares today’s America to the decadent Roman Empire, mixing elements of science fiction, new age thinking and neo-antique style, did not immediately find a buyer.
Lionsgate strives “to be a home for bold and reckless artists, and Megalopolis proves that there is no one more daring and reckless than maestro Francis Ford Coppola,” said one of the studio’s heads, Adam Fogelson, in announcing the distribution agreement.
The company, which distributed successes like franchises Hunger Games And John Wickhad already acquired the rights toApocalypse Now, Coppola’s masterpiece on the Vietnam War, to distribute the extended version in Blu-Ray format.
Aged 85, the filmmaker assured in Cannes that “money does not matter”.
Legend of New Hollywood, awarded two Palme d’Or – Secret Conversation in 1967 and Apocalypse Now in 1979 -, the filmmaker spoke of Megalopolis since the 1980s, without ever having been able to complete his project.
With this film, the director of Godfather delivers an abundant work, sometimes at the risk of overwhelming.
Megalopolis takes place in the city of New Rome, a fictional megacity at the crossroads of New York, ancient Rome and Gotham City, the city of Batman.
A setting where Francis Ford Coppola stages a dispute concerning land use planning between visionary architect César Catilina (Adam Driver) and mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito).
The two men confront each other, against the backdrop of a scent of the end of a reign within a decadent society.
The film is also due to be released in French cinemas this fall.
