Megalopolis, the latest movie from The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, is reportedly in crisis, with the situation on set looking to rival the chaotic production of Coppola's 1979 war epic Apocalypse Now.
Filming on Megalopolis is currently underway in Atlanta and the shoot, which is expected to last between 80 and 90 days, is around halfway done. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, sources are unsure whether production will be completed.
Coppola reportedly fired most of the movie's visual effects team in December, with the rest of the department soon following. The film's production designer and supervising art director have also exited the project and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie now has no art department. THR reports that one talent representative whose client was among those fired says the dismissal was a blessing in disguise: "It was absolute madness, being on set."
Megalopolis follows an architect who seeks to rebuild New York City as a utopia after a disaster and the ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Talia Shire, and Dustin Hoffman. James Caan was also in negotiations to star in the movie before his death in July 2022.
In 2021, it was reported that Coppola would be self-funding the $120 million movie, partly with the money he made selling his California wineries, but the budget has now reportedly increased beyond that.
Megalopolis has been a passion project for Coppola for decades, with the filmmaker first starting to write the project in the '80s. As well as directing, he is also writing and co-producing the film.
While we wait to see if Megalopolis ever makes it to the big screen, check out our guide to all the most exciting movie release dates in 2023.
