Adam Driver has played a city-dwelling seducer before — think: “Girls” at the very least — but this time, the actor has transformed into a slick harbinger of chaos for Francis Ford Coppola’s epic “Megalopolis.”
Driver stars as artist and city planner Cesar Catilina, once again adjacent to faux Italian-ness for the screen. Cesar’s biggest opponent is Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare per the official synopsis. Yet when Cesar begins an affair with Franklyn’s socialite daughter Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), Cesar’s determined path to forge a new city begins to falter.
Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman also star.
Coppola writes, directs, and produces the epic feature which had an estimated budget of $120 million-plus.
Driver stars as artist and city planner Cesar Catilina, once again adjacent to faux Italian-ness for the screen. Cesar’s biggest opponent is Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare per the official synopsis. Yet when Cesar begins an affair with Franklyn’s socialite daughter Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), Cesar’s determined path to forge a new city begins to falter.
Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman also star.
Coppola writes, directs, and produces the epic feature which had an estimated budget of $120 million-plus.
- 5/14/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Surely the most anticipated movie at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year is Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” It comes to the south of France already couched in rich drama: it’s a movie he’s been dreaming about for decades. The maverick film director paid for it himself—$120 million out of his successful winery’s coiffeurs to see his vision through. Sadly, his wife of 61 years, writer and documentarian Eleanor Coppola, just passed away, as did his mentor and first boss, legendary producer Roger Corman. A return to Cannes, where he’s won the Palme D’Or twice before with “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now,” is the perfect stage for a triumph. As the festival kicked off its opening day, Coppola released a snappy teaser trailer.
The early L.A. screening of “Megalopolis,” a “Fountainhead”-esque tale about an ambitious city planner locking horns with politicians following a New York City calamity,...
The early L.A. screening of “Megalopolis,” a “Fountainhead”-esque tale about an ambitious city planner locking horns with politicians following a New York City calamity,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Even though we’ve had set photos, teasers and a confirmed premiere date, it’s still awfully hard to believe that Francis Ford Coppola is finally unleashing Megalopolis to the world. Ahead of its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, we have another trailer that gives us a better look at the world Coppola has had in his head since the days of Apocalypse Now.
In the teaser, we hear a voiceover ponder, “When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no. But there comes a time when people no longer believe in it…” From there, we have statues brought to life, a Roman chariot race, a lavish party, a protest, and oh so much more, all of which give us a better idea of just what Coppola has been up to with Megalopolis. He, too, noted in the description of the video, “Our new...
In the teaser, we hear a voiceover ponder, “When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no. But there comes a time when people no longer believe in it…” From there, we have statues brought to life, a Roman chariot race, a lavish party, a protest, and oh so much more, all of which give us a better idea of just what Coppola has been up to with Megalopolis. He, too, noted in the description of the video, “Our new...
- 5/14/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
When most cinephiles think of Francis Ford Coppola, they think of his miracle run in the 1970s. During that decade, he directed four films, all of them five-star masterpieces: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather, Part II, and Apocalypse Now. Or they think of embarrassments from his for-hire period, including the Robin Williams weepy Jack. Yet those five films hardly encapsulate the entire career of Francis Ford Coppola, which will likely end with the upcoming Megalopolis. Instead the best indication of Coppola as an artist and filmmaker might be found in the most recent movies he’s made, with Coppola having released three self-produced and self-financed pictures every two years between 2007 and 2011: Youth Without Youth, Twixt, and Tetro.
Although they vary in quality, and none top his work from the ’70s, this independent trio captures the experimental and romantic heart that lies at the center of Coppola’s overall oeuvre.
Although they vary in quality, and none top his work from the ’70s, this independent trio captures the experimental and romantic heart that lies at the center of Coppola’s overall oeuvre.
- 5/14/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Are you ready for the return of the king? It's been 13 years since Francis Ford Coppola helmed a feature film — that would be 2011's weird horror flick "Twixt" — and now he's back in the director's chair to realize his dream project. In the 1980s, Coppola started writing "Megalopolis," an epic, sprawling drama that could very well be his biggest movie ever. He would tinker with the work over the years and finally start shooting second unit footage in 2001.
And then disaster struck, literally. The film's script dealt with the aftermath of a disaster that befalls New York City, and just as Coppola was gearing up to get "Megalopolis" off the ground, the 9/11 attacks changed everything. Realizing that no one at the time would be in the mood to watch a post-disaster movie set in New York, Coppola shelved the project — but he never forgot about it.
Now, the seemingly impossible...
And then disaster struck, literally. The film's script dealt with the aftermath of a disaster that befalls New York City, and just as Coppola was gearing up to get "Megalopolis" off the ground, the 9/11 attacks changed everything. Realizing that no one at the time would be in the mood to watch a post-disaster movie set in New York, Coppola shelved the project — but he never forgot about it.
Now, the seemingly impossible...
- 5/14/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
The director has spent half his life and $120m of his own money to make his sci-fi epic. Just days ahead of its debut in Cannes, some of his crew members are questioning his methods
‘My greatest fear is to make a really shitty, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it,” Francis Ford Coppola said in 1978. “I will tell you right straight from the most sincere depths of my heart, the film will not be good.” The film was Apocalypse Now, and it was good, and the rest is history.
Part of that history has been Coppola’s reputation as an intrepid adventurer who was prepared to risk everything, to defy the studio suits, to go to the brink of ruin and madness, all for the sake of art. The making of Apocalypse Now cemented that legend – the epic scale, the jungle insanity, the heart attacks,...
‘My greatest fear is to make a really shitty, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it,” Francis Ford Coppola said in 1978. “I will tell you right straight from the most sincere depths of my heart, the film will not be good.” The film was Apocalypse Now, and it was good, and the rest is history.
Part of that history has been Coppola’s reputation as an intrepid adventurer who was prepared to risk everything, to defy the studio suits, to go to the brink of ruin and madness, all for the sake of art. The making of Apocalypse Now cemented that legend – the epic scale, the jungle insanity, the heart attacks,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s been just a few hours since Nathalie Emmanuel has seen Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis for the first time, and she’s settling on the right words to describe the experience.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” says the actress, talking over Zoom from London in late April, as she pauses for a second to collect her thoughts.
Coppola’s epic, which will have its red carpet world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, casts Emmanuel in a starring role opposite a stacked ensemble that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne and Jason Schwartzman. “The movie feels like a real call to arms,” she says. “It asks big questions. In spite of all the horrible, hard and devastating realities of the world that we live in, how can we make it better? It feels like there’s hope or a possibility for something better.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” says the actress, talking over Zoom from London in late April, as she pauses for a second to collect her thoughts.
Coppola’s epic, which will have its red carpet world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, casts Emmanuel in a starring role opposite a stacked ensemble that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne and Jason Schwartzman. “The movie feels like a real call to arms,” she says. “It asks big questions. In spite of all the horrible, hard and devastating realities of the world that we live in, how can we make it better? It feels like there’s hope or a possibility for something better.
- 5/14/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When you think of Sean Connery, you probably think of either James Bond or Indiana Jones' dad. If you grew up in the '90s you might even think of that movie where he was on a submarine, or vaguely recall the marketing for a film where he played opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones. But there's no doubt that long before Connery was advising the "Hunt for Red October" director to rewrite the film's script, or complaining about "Entrapment" having too many special effects, he was best known as either England's greatest spy or as Dr. Henry Jones, Sr.
Still, when it comes to an actor as talented as Connery, not everyone thinks of these roles as his best. If you ask Christopher Nolan, for instance, he'll tell you that the Scottish star's finest performance came in Sidney Lumet's 1973 crime drama "The Offence," with Nolan recently celebrating the film for containing...
Still, when it comes to an actor as talented as Connery, not everyone thinks of these roles as his best. If you ask Christopher Nolan, for instance, he'll tell you that the Scottish star's finest performance came in Sidney Lumet's 1973 crime drama "The Offence," with Nolan recently celebrating the film for containing...
- 5/13/2024
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Before "Star Wars," there was "Thx 1138." A strange, dystopic science fiction movie packed with big ideas up to its eyeballs, "Thx 1138" is now mostly known as the feature directorial debut of one George Walton Lucas Jr. (though it also came back in conversation when the best episode of "Andor" paid homage to it). The future Lucasfilm founder originally created this story of repressed emotions and stymied sexuality as a student film, but by the time it was reimagined as a feature, it had gained backing from Warner Bros.
Lucas' American Zoetrope co-founder Francis Ford Coppola also had faith in the movie, and served as one of its producers. "Thx 1138" starred Robert Duvall, then already known for his work on stage and television, not to mention in films like "To Kill A Mockingbird," "M*A*S*H," and "True Grit." Future "Halloween" actor Donald Pleasence co-starred, along with a then-unknown actress named Maggie McOmie.
Lucas' American Zoetrope co-founder Francis Ford Coppola also had faith in the movie, and served as one of its producers. "Thx 1138" starred Robert Duvall, then already known for his work on stage and television, not to mention in films like "To Kill A Mockingbird," "M*A*S*H," and "True Grit." Future "Halloween" actor Donald Pleasence co-starred, along with a then-unknown actress named Maggie McOmie.
- 5/12/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis has sold to key independent buyers in Europe’s top five territories, we can reveal.
Ahead of its anticipated world premiere at this week’s Cannes Film Festival the movie has sold to Constantin Film for Germany and all German-speaking territories, including Switzerland and Austria; Eagle Pictures for Italy; Tripictures for Spain; and Entertainment Film Distributors Limited for the U.K. A deal with Le Pacte for France was announced last week.
The movie debuts on Thursday 16th in Cannes with cast Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman set to tread the red carpet.
Coppola’s longtime lawyer, Barry Hirsch, and Goodfellas President Vincent Maraval brokered the new Megalopolis deals with Constantin Film’s Oliver Berben and Gero Worstbrock (Germany), Eagle Pictures’ Tarak Ben Ammar...
Ahead of its anticipated world premiere at this week’s Cannes Film Festival the movie has sold to Constantin Film for Germany and all German-speaking territories, including Switzerland and Austria; Eagle Pictures for Italy; Tripictures for Spain; and Entertainment Film Distributors Limited for the U.K. A deal with Le Pacte for France was announced last week.
The movie debuts on Thursday 16th in Cannes with cast Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman set to tread the red carpet.
Coppola’s longtime lawyer, Barry Hirsch, and Goodfellas President Vincent Maraval brokered the new Megalopolis deals with Constantin Film’s Oliver Berben and Gero Worstbrock (Germany), Eagle Pictures’ Tarak Ben Ammar...
- 5/12/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman and Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
With six decades of acting under his belt, Harrison Ford has made works that have run the gamut of critical responses. On Rotten Tomatoes, his most critically acclaimed role is listed as the "Apocalypse Now" making-of documentary "Hearts of Darkness," a film in which he ironically doesn't actually speak or appear but which nonetheless earned universal acclaim from the review-tabulating site. His lowest-rated film? An already-forgotten 2013 thriller called "Paranoia," which just 7% of critics included on the aggregation site wrote positively about.
Many of Ford's most entertaining films lie somewhere in the middle of that wide range; they're crowd-pleasing blockbusters and cult favorites with some endearing -- and in the best cases, now legendary -- imperfections. Ask fans what their favorite Ford-starring films are and you'll get a smorgasbord of answers that fit in this category, from "Star Wars" to "Indiana Jones" to "Blade Runner" to "The Fugitive." When it...
Many of Ford's most entertaining films lie somewhere in the middle of that wide range; they're crowd-pleasing blockbusters and cult favorites with some endearing -- and in the best cases, now legendary -- imperfections. Ask fans what their favorite Ford-starring films are and you'll get a smorgasbord of answers that fit in this category, from "Star Wars" to "Indiana Jones" to "Blade Runner" to "The Fugitive." When it...
- 5/5/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 classic The Conversation is 50 years old – and is coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray…
It’s a terrific movie trivia question: at the 1975 Academy Awards, Francis Ford Coppola had two films nominated for Best Picture. The one that people tend to know is The Godfather Part II, which took home the Oscar. The one that might even be better than that is the paranoid thriller The Conversation, that’s very much a candidate for being Coppola’s best film.
It stars Gene Hackman, and the Cannes Palme D’Or winner is now celebrating its 50th birthday. As part of that celebration, it’s coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the very first time.
Set for release on 15th July, you can find more information on the release, and order a copy, right here.
Initially, the movie will be available in an impressive-looking collectors’ set, with two discs in the box,...
It’s a terrific movie trivia question: at the 1975 Academy Awards, Francis Ford Coppola had two films nominated for Best Picture. The one that people tend to know is The Godfather Part II, which took home the Oscar. The one that might even be better than that is the paranoid thriller The Conversation, that’s very much a candidate for being Coppola’s best film.
It stars Gene Hackman, and the Cannes Palme D’Or winner is now celebrating its 50th birthday. As part of that celebration, it’s coming to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the very first time.
Set for release on 15th July, you can find more information on the release, and order a copy, right here.
Initially, the movie will be available in an impressive-looking collectors’ set, with two discs in the box,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
"Don't get involved in this, Mr. Caul." Don't get involved in what?! Who is after him?! Studiocanal UK has revealed a new re-release trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, for its 50th anniversary this year. The film initially opened in 1974 and premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, meaning he is back again premiering his newest film (Megalopolis) at Cannes 2024 a full 50 years later. "To mark the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal neo-noir thriller, The Conversation, we are is thrilled to announce a brand-new 4K restoration of the film to UK cinemas on July 5th." This paranoia masterpiece stars Gene Hackman as sound surveillance expert Harry Caul, who hears something while taping a couple. A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered. The ensemble cast also includes John Cazale, Allen Garfield,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Francis Ford Coppola has made some of the most defining American films of all time, including The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Although not every film in his oeuvre holds such a vaunted place in cinema history, Coppola’s over 60-year career deserves a titanic close. Megalopolis promises to be just such a proper ending with its ambitious self-funding and a massive cast led by Adam Driver. Coppola has been gathering ideas about the project for as long as he’s been making movies, but the kernel of the concept goes back even farther.
“The seeds for Megalopolis were planted when as a kid I saw H.G. Wells’ Things to Come,” Coppola wrote in a statement to Vanity Fair. “This 1930s [Alexander] Korda classic is about building the world of tomorrow, and has always been with me, first as the ‘boy scientist’ I was and later as a filmmaker.” Directed by William Cameron Menzies,...
“The seeds for Megalopolis were planted when as a kid I saw H.G. Wells’ Things to Come,” Coppola wrote in a statement to Vanity Fair. “This 1930s [Alexander] Korda classic is about building the world of tomorrow, and has always been with me, first as the ‘boy scientist’ I was and later as a filmmaker.” Directed by William Cameron Menzies,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Goodfellas has come on board to handle international sales on Francis Ford Coppola’s Cannes Competition selection Megalopolis, Screen can reveal.
It is further understood the epic drama has sold to Le Pacte for France, which satisfies Cannes’ rule stating that films invited to play in Competition must be released theatrically in France prior to debuting on a platform.
Adam Driver stars in Megalopolis as an ambitious architect who harbours grand plans to rebuild New York and falls for the daughter of his rival, the mayor, who wants to perpetuate greed and support special interest groups. The first-look image from...
It is further understood the epic drama has sold to Le Pacte for France, which satisfies Cannes’ rule stating that films invited to play in Competition must be released theatrically in France prior to debuting on a platform.
Adam Driver stars in Megalopolis as an ambitious architect who harbours grand plans to rebuild New York and falls for the daughter of his rival, the mayor, who wants to perpetuate greed and support special interest groups. The first-look image from...
- 4/30/2024
- ScreenDaily
“Megalopolis” is finally here.
Francis Ford Coppola’s $120 million self-funded “Roman epic” debuted its first look featuring “Megalopolis” stars Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel who play a couple caught up in the revolutionary destruction of a utopian society.
Driver plays an idealistic architect and artist who is planning to rebuild a city that has fallen in part due to a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito). “Game of Thrones” alum Emmanuel stars as the mayor’s socialite daughter. 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.
“Megalopolis” is debuting in competition at Cannes. Coppola told Vanity Fair that the long-gestating project was rewritten more than “300 times” across decades.
“I wasn’t really working on this screenplay for 40 years as I often see written, but rather I was collecting notes and clippings...
Francis Ford Coppola’s $120 million self-funded “Roman epic” debuted its first look featuring “Megalopolis” stars Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel who play a couple caught up in the revolutionary destruction of a utopian society.
Driver plays an idealistic architect and artist who is planning to rebuild a city that has fallen in part due to a corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito). “Game of Thrones” alum Emmanuel stars as the mayor’s socialite daughter. 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.
“Megalopolis” is debuting in competition at Cannes. Coppola told Vanity Fair that the long-gestating project was rewritten more than “300 times” across decades.
“I wasn’t really working on this screenplay for 40 years as I often see written, but rather I was collecting notes and clippings...
- 4/30/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Francis Ford Coppola's miraculous 1970s run of "The Godfather," "The Conversation," "The Godfather Part II" and "Apocalypse Now" came crashing to a hubristic halt in 1982 when his backlot musical "One from the Heart," produced at his recently purchased Zoetrope Studios in the heart of Hollywood, bombed upon release. Poor reviews and audience indifference resulted in a paltry $637,000 gross against a $26 million budget, thus killing his dream of an artist-driven mini-community.
The magnitude of the film's failure meant Coppola would have to lower his sights for the time being, and make films with more straightforward commercial appeal as a means of paying off his debts. It was a shockingly precipitous fall, one that left his many admirers worried that he'd become more of a paycheck-to-paycheck director. This happened eventually, but for a time he was able to stoke his creative fire even if he was making movies that weren't as...
The magnitude of the film's failure meant Coppola would have to lower his sights for the time being, and make films with more straightforward commercial appeal as a means of paying off his debts. It was a shockingly precipitous fall, one that left his many admirers worried that he'd become more of a paycheck-to-paycheck director. This happened eventually, but for a time he was able to stoke his creative fire even if he was making movies that weren't as...
- 4/28/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The red carpet will soon roll out for the 77th Festival de Cannes. The international film festival, playing out May 14-25, has a distinct American voice this year. “Barbie” filmmaker Greta Gerwig is the first U.S. female director name jury president. Many veteran American helmers are heading to the French Rivera resort town. George Lucas, who turns 80 on May 14, will receive an honorary Palme d’Or. Francis Ford Coppola’s much-anticipated “Megalopolis” is screening in competition, as is Paul Schrader’s “Oh Canada.” Kevin Costner’s new Western “Horizon, An American Saga” will premiere out of competition and Oliver Stone’s “Lula” is part of the special screening showcase.
Fifty years ago, Coppola was the toast of the 27th Cannes Film Festival. His brilliant psychological thriller “The Conversation” starring Gene Hackman won the Palme D’Or and well as a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury. The film would earn three Oscar nominations: picture,...
Fifty years ago, Coppola was the toast of the 27th Cannes Film Festival. His brilliant psychological thriller “The Conversation” starring Gene Hackman won the Palme D’Or and well as a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury. The film would earn three Oscar nominations: picture,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
That Time Meryl Streep Was Motivated By Money To Take A TV Role For The Sake Of The Love Of Her Life
Hollywood is not the place you think of first when it comes to stories of true love or long-lasting romantic relationships. But just like in her professional life, famed thespian Meryl Streep bucked the trend with her real-life relationship with the late actor John Cazale. The relationship even made the fastidious Streep break her own rule of doing a role purely for the sake of money.
When Meryl Streep Met John Cazale
Meryl Streep with John Cazale in The Deer Hunter
Cazale was a rising star in Hollywood when he first made Streep’s acquaintance thanks to their joint work in a 1976 stage production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Streep was in her 20s, while Cazale was 14 years older and making a name for himself with prominent roles in The Godfather and its sequel, The Conversation, and Dog Day Afternoon.
The couple were head-over-heels in love, but tragedy struck...
When Meryl Streep Met John Cazale
Meryl Streep with John Cazale in The Deer Hunter
Cazale was a rising star in Hollywood when he first made Streep’s acquaintance thanks to their joint work in a 1976 stage production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Streep was in her 20s, while Cazale was 14 years older and making a name for himself with prominent roles in The Godfather and its sequel, The Conversation, and Dog Day Afternoon.
The couple were head-over-heels in love, but tragedy struck...
- 4/23/2024
- by Neeraj Chand
- FandomWire
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival lineup was finally revealed at the sliver of dawn on Thursday, April 11. Festival director Thierry Frémaux and president Iris Knobloch unveiled this year’s crop of films across the many sections, from the Competition to Un Certain Regard, during a press conference beginning at 5 a.m. Et. See the full lineup below.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
The 77th edition of Cannes comes to the Côte d’Azur May 14 through 25, and a few titles were already confirmed to be in the mix. There’s Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded epic “Megalopolis,” which has already screened for a rarified few in the United States to much awe and speculation over what distributor might take on Coppola’s experimental vision. For his first feature since 2011’s “Twixt,” Coppola gathered a cast including Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia Labeouf, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman for a sci-fi vision of a ruined NYC-like metropolis.
- 4/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
For his forthcoming one from the heart, Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola has once again violated the cardinal rule of the entertainment business: Never invest your own money in the show. Reports are that to bankroll the $120 million epic he has literally mortgaged the farm, or vineyard. The investment is slated to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14.
We — and he — have all been here before. Coppola last went into hock for another long-aborning and cost-overrunning project, which 45 years ago, almost to the day, also premiered at Cannes: the now legendary Apocalypse Now (1979).
At the time, Coppola was bathing in the afterglow of one of the most astonishing back-to-back double, or triple, plays in the industry’s history: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), the operatic two-part saga of mob family business in which organized crime serves less as a metaphor for American capitalism than its purest expression (“Michael,...
We — and he — have all been here before. Coppola last went into hock for another long-aborning and cost-overrunning project, which 45 years ago, almost to the day, also premiered at Cannes: the now legendary Apocalypse Now (1979).
At the time, Coppola was bathing in the afterglow of one of the most astonishing back-to-back double, or triple, plays in the industry’s history: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), the operatic two-part saga of mob family business in which organized crime serves less as a metaphor for American capitalism than its purest expression (“Michael,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Thomas Doherty
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film industry often comes across people who will never be forgotten for centuries to come. With their expert skills and undeniable charm, these people manage to make a mark on the industry that does not dull with time. The Godfather’s John Cazale was one such extraordinary actor who managed to deliver one great performance after the other.
John Cazale in The Godfather (1972)
Unfortunately, his time in Hollywood was limited as the actor passed away in 1978, just after being a part of six total films. Even though John Cazale doesn’t have an extensive filmography to his name, he holds a record that no actor has been or will be able to break. From his feature film debut in 1972 to his last film in 1978, all five of them have been cinematic masterpieces.
The Godfather’s John Cazale Holds a Unique Record
A still from Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Hollywood has...
John Cazale in The Godfather (1972)
Unfortunately, his time in Hollywood was limited as the actor passed away in 1978, just after being a part of six total films. Even though John Cazale doesn’t have an extensive filmography to his name, he holds a record that no actor has been or will be able to break. From his feature film debut in 1972 to his last film in 1978, all five of them have been cinematic masterpieces.
The Godfather’s John Cazale Holds a Unique Record
A still from Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Hollywood has...
- 4/22/2024
- by Mishkaat Khan
- FandomWire
Francis Ford Coppola is one of the most revered directors in Hollywood. He enjoyed tremendous success with the Godfather franchise, even if the third and final installment polarized the fans. Regardless, the filmmaker won critical acclaim, and it engraved his name in the annals of cinema history.
Coppola can be credited for adapting the book for the big screen so flawlessly, with each role carefully chosen. However, the production for the third film was mired in problems, accentuated by the fact that Robert Duvall refused to return to complete the trilogy.
Duvall refused to return for the final film (Source: The Godfather)
Why did Robert Duvall turn down Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather 3?
Francis Ford Coppola established himself as an esteemed director quite early on in his career. He put together an incredible lineup that brought Mario Puzo’s novel to life, with Al Pacino and Marlon Brando leading the cast.
Coppola can be credited for adapting the book for the big screen so flawlessly, with each role carefully chosen. However, the production for the third film was mired in problems, accentuated by the fact that Robert Duvall refused to return to complete the trilogy.
Duvall refused to return for the final film (Source: The Godfather)
Why did Robert Duvall turn down Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather 3?
Francis Ford Coppola established himself as an esteemed director quite early on in his career. He put together an incredible lineup that brought Mario Puzo’s novel to life, with Al Pacino and Marlon Brando leading the cast.
- 4/20/2024
- by Sreshtha Roychowdhury
- FandomWire
Two years after he leapt to the forefront of the New Hollywood with The Godfather, and just months before he picked up the threads of that operatic crime saga with the magnificent sequel/prequel The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola released a quiet movie, one in which sound itself — and, more specifically, its surreptitious recording — is the narrative engine. Arriving during a particularly fertile era for American film, The Conversation was not a hit, but it is one of the period’s most subtle and shattering features. Half a century later, it resounds as hauntingly as ever, not merely as a cautionary tale but as a searing portrait of where we are now.
The movie took its New York bow on Coppola’s 35th birthday, April 7, 1974, a few weeks before its Palme d’Or triumph in Cannes. Today the octogenarian writer-director is again preparing to compete on the Croisette,...
The movie took its New York bow on Coppola’s 35th birthday, April 7, 1974, a few weeks before its Palme d’Or triumph in Cannes. Today the octogenarian writer-director is again preparing to compete on the Croisette,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
David Anspaugh's 1986 sports drama "Hoosiers" has gone down in history as one of the most influential sports dramas ever made. Partly inspired by the real-life story of the 1954 Indiana state champions Milan High School, "Hoosiers" focuses on formerly-disgraced basketball coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), who gets a rare second chance to prove his mettle at Indiana's Hickory High School. The rather tight-knit town of Hickory seems a little too unforgiving towards Norman due to his sketchy past, but redemption finds its way to him via a David vs. Goliath situation that soon transforms into a classic underdog tale about dreaming big and achieving the impossible.
Some of the more saccharine themes in "Hoosiers" might feel a tad corny at times, but it is a film that brandishes sincere authenticity when it comes to the magic of unexpected second chances and the highs and lows of small-town sports. Moreover, a...
Some of the more saccharine themes in "Hoosiers" might feel a tad corny at times, but it is a film that brandishes sincere authenticity when it comes to the magic of unexpected second chances and the highs and lows of small-town sports. Moreover, a...
- 4/13/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
Eleanor Coppola, who won an Emmy for the Apocalypse Now documentary Hearts of Darkness, directed Paris Can Wait and Love Is Love Is Love and was married to Francis Ford Coppola for 61 years, died Friday at her home in Rutherford, CA. She was 87.
She also is the mother of Oscar-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola and American Zoetrope president Roman Coppola.
Eleanor Coppola won an Emmy and a DGA Award for helming Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, the 1991 documentary about the making of her husband’s seminal Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now. The production of that 1979 classic – which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar – was plagued by problems related to budget, casting, script, the weather – a typhoon destroyed much of the set – and even an active insurgency in the Philippines, the battle with which pulled away helicopters on loan from the government.
She also is the mother of Oscar-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola and American Zoetrope president Roman Coppola.
Eleanor Coppola won an Emmy and a DGA Award for helming Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, the 1991 documentary about the making of her husband’s seminal Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now. The production of that 1979 classic – which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar – was plagued by problems related to budget, casting, script, the weather – a typhoon destroyed much of the set – and even an active insurgency in the Philippines, the battle with which pulled away helicopters on loan from the government.
- 4/12/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Acclaimed auteurs Francis Ford Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino and Andrea Arnold are among the filmmakers set to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
- 4/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
It’ll soon be time to pack your tuxes and/or high heels and wonder “why the heck does it get so hot at 6:30 pm, just when I’m lining up for the 7:15 pm screening?” The eyes of the entertainment world will once again turn toward the French Riviera for the 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival.
The main slate announcement was made early Thursday morning, confirming many suspicions, and offering much excitement for hardcore cinephiles. For those with more mainstream tastes—and an eye toward what will still be in play come next year’s Oscars—here are some highlights.
Certainly, the biggest event screening will be the public’s first look at Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” a self-financed behemoth that he’s been dreaming about for decades. The director/vintner is a two-time winner of Cannes’s Palme D’Or—for “The Conversation” in 1974 and “Apocalypse Now...
The main slate announcement was made early Thursday morning, confirming many suspicions, and offering much excitement for hardcore cinephiles. For those with more mainstream tastes—and an eye toward what will still be in play come next year’s Oscars—here are some highlights.
Certainly, the biggest event screening will be the public’s first look at Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” a self-financed behemoth that he’s been dreaming about for decades. The director/vintner is a two-time winner of Cannes’s Palme D’Or—for “The Conversation” in 1974 and “Apocalypse Now...
- 4/11/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
The Cannes Film Festival officially announced the selection of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis in Competition at its press conference in Paris on Thursday, confirming Deadline’s scoop from Mike Fleming earlier this week.
Talking with journalists after the press conference, a visibly happy Frémaux expressed his content at having Megalopolis in the festival’s 77th edition.
“Francis Ford Coppola is part of the Cannes family, not only because he got two Palme d’Or, but also he was always quite close to us,” he said in a response to a question from Deadline.
Thierry Frémaux on 'Megalopolis' selection for the Cannes Film Festival: "Francis Ford Coppola is part of the Cannes family" pic.twitter.com/qOtaawHKDi
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) April 11, 2024 Cannes head Thierry Frémaux talks Megalopolis selection
The Cannes delegate general said he had been gently checking in with Coppola over the past year on his progress with Megalopolis.
Talking with journalists after the press conference, a visibly happy Frémaux expressed his content at having Megalopolis in the festival’s 77th edition.
“Francis Ford Coppola is part of the Cannes family, not only because he got two Palme d’Or, but also he was always quite close to us,” he said in a response to a question from Deadline.
Thierry Frémaux on 'Megalopolis' selection for the Cannes Film Festival: "Francis Ford Coppola is part of the Cannes family" pic.twitter.com/qOtaawHKDi
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) April 11, 2024 Cannes head Thierry Frémaux talks Megalopolis selection
The Cannes delegate general said he had been gently checking in with Coppola over the past year on his progress with Megalopolis.
- 4/11/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s 77th Cannes Film Festival will mark a meeting of the New Hollywood minds in France. Not only is George Lucas receiving the festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or, but filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader are in the official Competition for the first time in decades.
While Schrader has gone the route of Venice for his “lonely man in a room” trilogy — “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” all premiered in Italy — he’s at Cannes this year with “Oh, Canada.” The lineup was confirmed this morning by Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux. The contemplative drama about a tortured writer looking back on his years as a leftist who fled to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War stars Jacob Elordi, Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman. Cue the flashbulbs for a buzzy Elordi red carpet moment. The “Euphoria” breakout was last seen...
While Schrader has gone the route of Venice for his “lonely man in a room” trilogy — “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” all premiered in Italy — he’s at Cannes this year with “Oh, Canada.” The lineup was confirmed this morning by Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux. The contemplative drama about a tortured writer looking back on his years as a leftist who fled to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War stars Jacob Elordi, Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman. Cue the flashbulbs for a buzzy Elordi red carpet moment. The “Euphoria” breakout was last seen...
- 4/11/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
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.
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...
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.
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...
- 4/9/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: After a feverish courtship of Francis Coppola between the organizers of the Cannes, Venice and Toronto film festivals, Megalopolis has been locked into a gala premiere slot on the Palais on Friday evening May 17, I’m told. The film will premiere in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux wins the day on this one, on the eve of a full festival slate announcement Thursday. It comes shortly after a movie concept that had been eating at Coppola for 20 years was shown to buyers for the first time at the Universal CityWalk Imax Theater on March 28. Coppola’s longtime attorney Barry Hirsch is still in talks to secure a distribution partner for a film that will reach audiences in the fall, with an emphasis on Imax theaters.
While the safest bet would have been to premiere the film in Venice, Telluride or Toronto, Coppola has...
Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux wins the day on this one, on the eve of a full festival slate announcement Thursday. It comes shortly after a movie concept that had been eating at Coppola for 20 years was shown to buyers for the first time at the Universal CityWalk Imax Theater on March 28. Coppola’s longtime attorney Barry Hirsch is still in talks to secure a distribution partner for a film that will reach audiences in the fall, with an emphasis on Imax theaters.
While the safest bet would have been to premiere the film in Venice, Telluride or Toronto, Coppola has...
- 4/9/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
There was perhaps no movie director more in demand in the 1970s than Francis Ford Coppola, who was leading the New Hollywood film movement with epics like “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather Part II” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979). But fewer viewers remember his quiet neo-noir drama “The Conversation,” a complete turnaround in production scale and arguably his only intimate, simple dramatic film. While it was not as financially successful as the previously aforementioned grander classics, the mystery thriller was just as acclaimed and lauded, earning three Oscar nominations and winning the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Now on its 50th anniversary, let’s look back at one of Coppola’s overlooked films, “The Conversation,” which was released on April 7, 1974.
The picture stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a top surveillance expert who stumbles upon an ambiguous comment – that may lead to a potential murder – while recording for one of...
The picture stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a top surveillance expert who stumbles upon an ambiguous comment – that may lead to a potential murder – while recording for one of...
- 4/9/2024
- by Christopher Tsang
- Gold Derby
Until recently, if one were asked to name some of the best films of preeminent 1970s filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, it would be easy to pick the big hits. “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather II” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979) are definitely his most iconic and respected films. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a person aged 25-50 who isn’t keenly aware of his adaption of S.E. Hinton’s mandatory high school assigned “The Outsiders” (1983) or his classics “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) and maybe even “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988). Yet lately, Coppola’s “The Conversation” (1974) has entered the chat as a somewhat under the radar, low-key masterpiece from the filmmaker, and this year the film celebrates its 50th birthday.
After honing his directorial chops on films like the Roger Corman-produced horror film “Dementia 13” (1963) and fledgling films like “You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966), “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) and “The Rain People...
After honing his directorial chops on films like the Roger Corman-produced horror film “Dementia 13” (1963) and fledgling films like “You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966), “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) and “The Rain People...
- 4/8/2024
- by Don Lewis
- Indiewire
by Cláudio Alves
This past weekend, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation celebrated its 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1974, the film represents the peak of the paranoia thriller craze of that decade, encapsulating a cultural zeitgeist along with the creative zeal of New Hollywood. And yet, it's usually overshadowed by the director's other release that year – Best Picture winner The Godfather Part II. Thankfully, at The Film Experience, we've regularly showered praise on The Conversation, whether in Cannes at Home musings or Hit Me With Your Best Shot analysis. That said, one element remains under-discussed, a facet of this masterpiece so essential that, without it, the entire project would fall apart. It's Gene Hackman, of course…...
This past weekend, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation celebrated its 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1974, the film represents the peak of the paranoia thriller craze of that decade, encapsulating a cultural zeitgeist along with the creative zeal of New Hollywood. And yet, it's usually overshadowed by the director's other release that year – Best Picture winner The Godfather Part II. Thankfully, at The Film Experience, we've regularly showered praise on The Conversation, whether in Cannes at Home musings or Hit Me With Your Best Shot analysis. That said, one element remains under-discussed, a facet of this masterpiece so essential that, without it, the entire project would fall apart. It's Gene Hackman, of course…...
- 4/8/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
The 1974 suspense thriller smartly predicted the increasing importance of technology and lack of privacy in our lives
In the 50 years since Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation was released in theaters, the evolution of technology and the devolution of political culture have combined to make it seem both prescient and quaint. The film’s hero, Harry Caul, fears the future his job as a professional wiretapper helps to create, one in which surveillance threatens to encroach on everyday life and anti-government paranoia runs so rampant that truth seem as graspable as sand through your fingers. What would Harry make of a world where small cameras are ubiquitous in public spaces and people voluntarily give away information about themselves on social media or ice cream apps?
Consider Harry’s 44th birthday, which he celebrates by changing his mailing address to a Po Box and breaking up with a sometime girlfriend he...
In the 50 years since Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation was released in theaters, the evolution of technology and the devolution of political culture have combined to make it seem both prescient and quaint. The film’s hero, Harry Caul, fears the future his job as a professional wiretapper helps to create, one in which surveillance threatens to encroach on everyday life and anti-government paranoia runs so rampant that truth seem as graspable as sand through your fingers. What would Harry make of a world where small cameras are ubiquitous in public spaces and people voluntarily give away information about themselves on social media or ice cream apps?
Consider Harry’s 44th birthday, which he celebrates by changing his mailing address to a Po Box and breaking up with a sometime girlfriend he...
- 4/7/2024
- by Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
Superhero movies were nearing their maximalist peak in 2017 — "Avengers: Infinity War" was a year away, while the DC Extended Universe was self-destructively racing toward "Justice League" without a roadmap or significant audience buy-in — when James Mangold quietly, confidently subverted the genre with "Logan." There had been attempts at revisionist superhero films before, but they were mostly based on/influenced by explicitly revisionist graphic novels (e.g. Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy). Josh Trank's "Chronicle" was probably the boldest of the bunch, but that was a top-to-bottom original.
Mangold's "Logan" was different. It used Hugh Jackman, the man who'd been playing Wolverine for 17 years, to tell an X-Men tale that branched out from the film franchise's narrative to depict a Logan in physical decline. Nothing lasts forever — not even, apparently, Wolverine's mutant healing process. He is in unremitting pain, and each altercation plunges him deeper into agony.
Mangold's "Logan" was different. It used Hugh Jackman, the man who'd been playing Wolverine for 17 years, to tell an X-Men tale that branched out from the film franchise's narrative to depict a Logan in physical decline. Nothing lasts forever — not even, apparently, Wolverine's mutant healing process. He is in unremitting pain, and each altercation plunges him deeper into agony.
- 4/7/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Return to Oz, Disney’s 1985 dark take on Dorothy Gale (played by a then-9-year-old Fairuza Balk), shares its creative DNA with Star Wars. Not only that, George Lucas saved writer-director Walter Murch’s job after Disney fired Murch from the Oz shoot.
Lucas and Murch were old friends and collaborators, having met in the film department of the University of Southern California in the mid-1960s.
“My first memory of him was a shadowy figure behind me in the photograph developing room,” says Murch about Lucas on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast It Happened in Hollywood. “I was trying unsuccessfully to develop one of the photographs that I had taken for an exercise, and there was this voice behind me that said, ‘You’re doing it wrong.’ And I turned around and I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ Of course, it turns out he was right. I was doing it wrong.
Lucas and Murch were old friends and collaborators, having met in the film department of the University of Southern California in the mid-1960s.
“My first memory of him was a shadowy figure behind me in the photograph developing room,” says Murch about Lucas on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast It Happened in Hollywood. “I was trying unsuccessfully to develop one of the photographs that I had taken for an exercise, and there was this voice behind me that said, ‘You’re doing it wrong.’ And I turned around and I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ Of course, it turns out he was right. I was doing it wrong.
- 4/4/2024
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ella Al-Shamahi and Datshiane Navanayagam are the new hosts of The Conversation, the BBC World Service English programme dedicated to highlighting and discussing incredible women and their experiences.
The Conversation hears from women in different countries across the globe as they share first-hand their personal experiences and some of their most intimate insights, from what it’s like to be a woman in the music industry, to promoting women’s rights through sport, or working with local communities to fight climate change.
In the upcoming series of The Conversation, Ella meets two women taking part in the legendary Dakar race, a gruelling off-road endurance rally, which since its inception in 1978 only one woman has won. Meanwhile, Datshiane speaks to two women from East Timor and Finland who are fighting to eradicate homelessness.
Ella Al-Shamahi is an explorer, palaeoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic who has fronted science and archaeology programmes on the BBC and beyond,...
The Conversation hears from women in different countries across the globe as they share first-hand their personal experiences and some of their most intimate insights, from what it’s like to be a woman in the music industry, to promoting women’s rights through sport, or working with local communities to fight climate change.
In the upcoming series of The Conversation, Ella meets two women taking part in the legendary Dakar race, a gruelling off-road endurance rally, which since its inception in 1978 only one woman has won. Meanwhile, Datshiane speaks to two women from East Timor and Finland who are fighting to eradicate homelessness.
Ella Al-Shamahi is an explorer, palaeoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist and stand-up comic who has fronted science and archaeology programmes on the BBC and beyond,...
- 4/3/2024
- Podnews.net
After the March 28 friends, family, and industry screening for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” at Universal’s CityWalk AMC in IMAX, reactions were wild. Some said it was his most ambitious film since “Apocalypse Now;” another described it to Puck as “batshit crazy.” Made for $120 million and bankrolled entirely by Coppola through the sale of one of his vineyards, it incorporates new VFX techniques — ones, the filmmakers hope, will be seen on the biggest screens possible.
For that to happen, it will need a major theatrical deal and the filmmakers are now in talks with distributors and major studios. However, those entities have been particularly risk averse these days — and while Coppola is a legend, he hasn’t made a commercial success in three decades.
The film’s stars include Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, and Giancarlo Esposito; maybe, say, Paramount or Universal want to be back in the Coppola business.
For that to happen, it will need a major theatrical deal and the filmmakers are now in talks with distributors and major studios. However, those entities have been particularly risk averse these days — and while Coppola is a legend, he hasn’t made a commercial success in three decades.
The film’s stars include Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, and Giancarlo Esposito; maybe, say, Paramount or Universal want to be back in the Coppola business.
- 4/2/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Break out the acid-washed jeans and don’t forget the shoulder pads, because Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection is heading to the ’80s.
After launching in January to celebrate films marking major anniversaries this year — award winners, guilty pleasures, and cult classics among them — Netflix is keeping the anniversary festivities going with a packed slate of 1984 movies that are turning the big 4-0 in 2024. The films now streaming in the US include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sixteen Candles, and Beverly Hills Cop(which is perfectly timed for a rewatch before Beverly Hills Cop: Alex Farrives this summer).
The first round of Milestone Movies highlighted films released in 1974, which all turn 50 this year, including Blazing Saddles, Chinatown,and The Conversation. The festivities are set to continue in July with movies from 1994, which turn 30 this year — and in October with films that debuted in 2004,...
After launching in January to celebrate films marking major anniversaries this year — award winners, guilty pleasures, and cult classics among them — Netflix is keeping the anniversary festivities going with a packed slate of 1984 movies that are turning the big 4-0 in 2024. The films now streaming in the US include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sixteen Candles, and Beverly Hills Cop(which is perfectly timed for a rewatch before Beverly Hills Cop: Alex Farrives this summer).
The first round of Milestone Movies highlighted films released in 1974, which all turn 50 this year, including Blazing Saddles, Chinatown,and The Conversation. The festivities are set to continue in July with movies from 1994, which turn 30 this year — and in October with films that debuted in 2004,...
- 4/1/2024
- by Jessica Derschowitz
- Tudum - Netflix
Writer/director/producer/composer and vintner Francis Ford Coppola has spent over five decades making movies, becoming a cultural force that few else have proven to be in our lifetimes. His film career has been filled with peaks and valleys, and from making several of the greatest films ever made to flops that have bankrupted him (“One From the Heart”), Coppola has never been hesitant about swinging for the fences in his film projects.
Along the way, Coppola has received 14 Academy Award nominations, winning five Oscars. He is only one of six individuals who have won Oscars for producing, directing and screenplay. Coppola has also been nominated for 16 Golden Globe Awards, winning three. Quite a haul.
His next film, “Megalopolis,” focuses on an architect who has been asked to rebuild New York City after a colossal disaster nearly destroys it, and Coppola plans it to be a film set on an epic scale.
Along the way, Coppola has received 14 Academy Award nominations, winning five Oscars. He is only one of six individuals who have won Oscars for producing, directing and screenplay. Coppola has also been nominated for 16 Golden Globe Awards, winning three. Quite a haul.
His next film, “Megalopolis,” focuses on an architect who has been asked to rebuild New York City after a colossal disaster nearly destroys it, and Coppola plans it to be a film set on an epic scale.
- 3/30/2024
- by Tom O'Brien, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Francis Ford Coppola is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood film movement in the 1960s and ’70s. After graduating from the UCLA Film School, he worked on several projects in the early 1960s and made his first feature-length film, Dementia 13 in 1963.
Francis Ford Coppola and Marlon Brando on the sets of The Godfather
There have been numerous instances in the industry when filmmakers have struggled to bring their ideas to the big screen because the studios did not like them. Copolla was no exception. Long before he gained acclaim with The Godfather in 1972, the legendary director was determined to debase the studio system which often tended to suppress his visions for cinema.
Luckily, he has finally achieved that with his self-funded film Megalopolis, and viewers are moved to the core after watching it.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis’ First Screening Has Awed Viewers
Francis Ford...
Francis Ford Coppola and Marlon Brando on the sets of The Godfather
There have been numerous instances in the industry when filmmakers have struggled to bring their ideas to the big screen because the studios did not like them. Copolla was no exception. Long before he gained acclaim with The Godfather in 1972, the legendary director was determined to debase the studio system which often tended to suppress his visions for cinema.
Luckily, he has finally achieved that with his self-funded film Megalopolis, and viewers are moved to the core after watching it.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis’ First Screening Has Awed Viewers
Francis Ford...
- 3/29/2024
- by Ankita
- FandomWire
Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" is his masterpiece in between masterpieces. The legendary filmmaker wrapped principal photography in late February 1973, just one month before he would win the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars for "The Godfather" (Albert Ruddy took home the Best Picture Oscar as the mafia classic's producer). Had Paramount released the film that year, it almost certainly would've received nominations for Best Picture and Director (over the wholly forgotten "A Touch of Class"), giving Coppola three consecutive nods in the latter category, a feat only accomplished once in Academy Awards history (by William Wyler). Instead, he wound up competing against himself a year later, when he added three more Oscars to his trophy case with "The Godfather Part II."
While "The Godfather" movies placed him atop Hollywood's director A-list for the rest of the decade, some cinephiles believe "The Conversation" is the superior film. The...
While "The Godfather" movies placed him atop Hollywood's director A-list for the rest of the decade, some cinephiles believe "The Conversation" is the superior film. The...
- 3/24/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Tiffany Haddish has revealed that she’s been sober for more than two months.
The actress-comedian said on Friday’s episode of Amanda de Cadnet’s The Conversation podcast, “I haven’t drank any alcohol, smoked any weed or anything in, like, 72 days.”
After de Cadnet congratulated her, Haddish added, “It’s not hard. It’s not that hard for me, ’cause it wasn’t really, like, my main thing anyways.” The Girls Trip actress proceeded to note that she struggles more with eating healthy amounts of meat and candy.
In November 2023, Haddish was arrested for the second time for suspicion of driving under the influence after she fell asleep at the wheel of her car in Beverly Hills. She was previously arrested on suspicion of a DUI in Georgia in January 2022.
The DUI charges were later dismissed in the November case, but she pleaded no contest to a vehicle code violation.
The actress-comedian said on Friday’s episode of Amanda de Cadnet’s The Conversation podcast, “I haven’t drank any alcohol, smoked any weed or anything in, like, 72 days.”
After de Cadnet congratulated her, Haddish added, “It’s not hard. It’s not that hard for me, ’cause it wasn’t really, like, my main thing anyways.” The Girls Trip actress proceeded to note that she struggles more with eating healthy amounts of meat and candy.
In November 2023, Haddish was arrested for the second time for suspicion of driving under the influence after she fell asleep at the wheel of her car in Beverly Hills. She was previously arrested on suspicion of a DUI in Georgia in January 2022.
The DUI charges were later dismissed in the November case, but she pleaded no contest to a vehicle code violation.
- 3/24/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Six 8mm shorts by Bill Douglas were shown at the opening Gala of 2024's Glasgow Short Film Festival. Many had not been seen since the late 1960s when they were made, though clips from some do appear in Bill Douglas: My Best Friend.
By now Bill Douglas indulges in play with this from Bijou Productions, cutout characters making opening credits. Gerard Black's score is full of synthesiser bubbles and stabs, a later dreamlike aerial shot revealed in subsequent Q&a to be a treasure from trespass. A box of items is marked Black Magic because it's recycled from the chocolates, but its role seems perilously close to wizardry if not voodoo.
There are hints, entirely coincidental, of The Conversation, but that mixture of paranoia and surveillance is a heady one. So too the circling and revelation, as uncertainty is drawn to different poles like a malfunctioning compass. The live score at times.
By now Bill Douglas indulges in play with this from Bijou Productions, cutout characters making opening credits. Gerard Black's score is full of synthesiser bubbles and stabs, a later dreamlike aerial shot revealed in subsequent Q&a to be a treasure from trespass. A box of items is marked Black Magic because it's recycled from the chocolates, but its role seems perilously close to wizardry if not voodoo.
There are hints, entirely coincidental, of The Conversation, but that mixture of paranoia and surveillance is a heady one. So too the circling and revelation, as uncertainty is drawn to different poles like a malfunctioning compass. The live score at times.
- 3/23/2024
- by Andrew Robertson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Once more, and with feeling…
Roxy Cinema
Our 35mm print of Bertrand Bonello’s House of Tolerance has a final screening on Sunday; Spike Lee’s He Got Game and Hoosiers play on prints, while Blonde Ambition screens this Sunday.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Med Hondo play in a massive retrospective.
Film Forum
Hondo’s West Indies begins screening in a 4K restoration; the Belmondo-led Classe tous risques begins playing in a new 4K restoration; Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman plays with live music on Sunday.
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Wojciech Has are highlighted in a new series.
Paris Theater
A new retrospective shows just how incredible a year 1974 was: Chinatown, Badlands, Amarcord, California Split, The Conversation, Kiarostami’s The Traveler and more screen, many on 35mm.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Red Shoes screens on Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
The...
Roxy Cinema
Our 35mm print of Bertrand Bonello’s House of Tolerance has a final screening on Sunday; Spike Lee’s He Got Game and Hoosiers play on prints, while Blonde Ambition screens this Sunday.
Anthology Film Archives
The films of Med Hondo play in a massive retrospective.
Film Forum
Hondo’s West Indies begins screening in a 4K restoration; the Belmondo-led Classe tous risques begins playing in a new 4K restoration; Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman plays with live music on Sunday.
Film at Lincoln Center
The films of Wojciech Has are highlighted in a new series.
Paris Theater
A new retrospective shows just how incredible a year 1974 was: Chinatown, Badlands, Amarcord, California Split, The Conversation, Kiarostami’s The Traveler and more screen, many on 35mm.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Red Shoes screens on Saturday and Sunday.
Museum of Modern Art
The...
- 3/22/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
[Editor’s note: this list was originally published in July 2023 and has since been updated].
America. The land of the free, and the home of buck wild political thrillers. That’s not to take anything away from the ample international political thrillers in existence. But there is something about the United States that seems to make it an ideal setting for suspense built around corruption and conspiracy. Maybe it’s the country’s (misguided) sense of triumph and greatness: when a country is founded on ideals of democracy and liberty, a great yarn about the darkness behind its government is harder to resist. Whatever the case, the country has a great history of political thrillers, some of which stand as all time greats.
As a genre, political thrillers unquestionably hit their peak in the mid-‘70s, thanks to a combination of the JFK assassination, renewed cynicism against the federal government against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and an honest-to-god conspiracy theory in the form of Watergate.
America. The land of the free, and the home of buck wild political thrillers. That’s not to take anything away from the ample international political thrillers in existence. But there is something about the United States that seems to make it an ideal setting for suspense built around corruption and conspiracy. Maybe it’s the country’s (misguided) sense of triumph and greatness: when a country is founded on ideals of democracy and liberty, a great yarn about the darkness behind its government is harder to resist. Whatever the case, the country has a great history of political thrillers, some of which stand as all time greats.
As a genre, political thrillers unquestionably hit their peak in the mid-‘70s, thanks to a combination of the JFK assassination, renewed cynicism against the federal government against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and an honest-to-god conspiracy theory in the form of Watergate.
- 3/15/2024
- by Wilson Chapman, Alison Foreman and Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
From its first frames, “Dead Mail” feels dangerous.
Grainy footage shows a chained man desperately crawling out of a house to a mailbox, trying to mail a blood-soaked letter alerting someone to his address. Hazy synth notes dot the soundtrack. As he flees in terror, the film looks grainy and warm, something you’d stumble on in an insomniac haze on the high-numbered cable channels.
That nostalgic vibe was what inspired filmmakers Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer, who wrote and directed “Dead Mail.” Despite the nightmarish opening, the action then moves to the titular department inside a Midwest post office, with a set that looks pulled straight from the ’80s. But this isn’t the neon-drenched ’80s that filmmakers often fetishize, but an era filled with neutral tones, drab interiors and carpets that look saturated with cigarette smoke.
“The big thing was finding locations that felt right, props that we...
Grainy footage shows a chained man desperately crawling out of a house to a mailbox, trying to mail a blood-soaked letter alerting someone to his address. Hazy synth notes dot the soundtrack. As he flees in terror, the film looks grainy and warm, something you’d stumble on in an insomniac haze on the high-numbered cable channels.
That nostalgic vibe was what inspired filmmakers Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer, who wrote and directed “Dead Mail.” Despite the nightmarish opening, the action then moves to the titular department inside a Midwest post office, with a set that looks pulled straight from the ’80s. But this isn’t the neon-drenched ’80s that filmmakers often fetishize, but an era filled with neutral tones, drab interiors and carpets that look saturated with cigarette smoke.
“The big thing was finding locations that felt right, props that we...
- 3/9/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix is bringing 1974 back to theaters thanks to rare archival prints, restorations, and select 35mm screenings of the curated “Milestone Movies” streaming collection.
The streaming platform debuts a slew of classic films across its trio of theaters in Los Angeles and New York City. The rarely screened archival prints for Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” are among the selected titles, as well as the premiere of the Dcp restoration of iconic Blaxploitation film “Foxy Brown” starring Pam Grier.
The screening series marks the 50th anniversaries of the 1974 films, which were unveiled as part of Netflix’s inaugural (and Criterion Channel-esque) curation channel “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” which was unveiled in January 2024. Fifteen films will screen at the Paris Theater in New York from March 22 through 28, as 12 films screen at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles from March 11 through...
The streaming platform debuts a slew of classic films across its trio of theaters in Los Angeles and New York City. The rarely screened archival prints for Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” are among the selected titles, as well as the premiere of the Dcp restoration of iconic Blaxploitation film “Foxy Brown” starring Pam Grier.
The screening series marks the 50th anniversaries of the 1974 films, which were unveiled as part of Netflix’s inaugural (and Criterion Channel-esque) curation channel “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” which was unveiled in January 2024. Fifteen films will screen at the Paris Theater in New York from March 22 through 28, as 12 films screen at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles from March 11 through...
- 2/20/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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