Whether you were a fan of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” or found the behind-the-scenes drama more entertaining than the film itself, you may be intrigued by “Megadoc,” a feature-length documentary about the making of the director’s passion project that premiered Thursday at the Venice Film Festival.
Directed by Mike Figgis, who’s best known for the Nicolas Cage drama “Leaving Las Vegas,” this fly-on-the-wall documentary opens with Coppola in high spirits: He’s about to begin preproduction on a movie that has taken him decades to mount, a self-financed $120 million epic about a visionary architect (Adam Driver) who hopes to transform his city with a revolutionary new material he has invented called Megalon.
But the shoot would hardly be smooth. In the time it took “Megalopolis” to find its way into theaters last fall, rumors emerged of a set in upheaval. A report in The Guardian alleged that as actors fought and key crew members resigned, Coppola frequently sat in his trailer for hours on end with no plan for the day. (In an interview with Deadline.com, he had denied the accusations.)
Some of that makes its way into “Megadoc.” Figgis portrays Coppola as uncomfortable with the scale of the production he’s spent his way into. Deep into shooting, Coppola still seems unsure about the look of his futuristic city or even the material of Megalon itself, though the production designer Beth Mickle initially tries to smile through the chaos. “It’s equal parts exciting and distressing that we’re still figuring it out at this point,” she tells Figgis.
Tensions escalate during an emergency meeting with his department heads when Coppola snaps at someone who tries to steer him toward a final design choice: “Don’t try to anticipate what I may do,” he warns the room. Soon after, he fires the visual effects supervisor Mark Russell, leading Mickle to resign and take the rest of her department with her.
Figgis, who appears onscreen throughout the documentary, admits to feeling uneasy about showcasing too much of the movie’s turmoil. “Every time something negative happens, I think, ‘Oh, that’s good for the documentary.’ That’s a weird feeling,” he says. His access is compromised by cast members like Driver, who tends to avoid his camera, and female lead Nathalie Emmanuel, whose rep imposes strict conditions on how she can be filmed.
Ironically, the most difficult actor on the set of “Megalopolis” is also the one who gives Figgis the greatest freedom. At first, Shia LaBeouf can barely believe he’s been cast in Coppola’s movie, describing himself as “beyond persona non grata” in Hollywood. When production began in late 2022, the actor’s reputation had been tarred by arrests and controversies, including a lawsuit from an ex-girlfriend, FKA Twigs, accusing him of sexual battery. (The lawsuit was later dismissed and the two reached a confidential settlement, though LaBeouf told The Times when it was filed, “Many of these allegations are not true.”) Only a lifeline extended by another star of the film, Jon Voight, his former mentor, gained LaBeouf a spot in Coppola’s ensemble as Driver’s jealous cousin.
But despite fearing he could be fired from “Megalopolis” at any moment — of all the cast members, “I have the least job security,” he tells Figgis — LaBeouf still provokes constant clashes with Coppola. Even the simple act of blocking a scene sparks repeated conflicts between the two men.
“It’s not necessarily the easiest environment for a performer like me,” LaBeouf said, explaining, “When there’s marks on the ground, it’s inhibiting.”
Though Coppola professes to be happy with the performance, the stress doesn’t seem worth it. “I’m too old and grouchy for this kind of work,” says the director, who deems LaBeouf the most difficult actor he’s ever dealt with. By the end of the production, when LaBeouf escalates one scene into a scuffle and continually refuses to do what he is asked, Coppola is pushed to his breaking point.
“I know what I’m talking about!” he screams at LaBeouf. “Give me what I want!” Eventually, he storms off to his trailer to direct remotely.
Coppola is no stranger to a turbulent set: The famously fraught making of “Apocalypse Now” inspired its own documentary, too. But though Figgis ends his film on a triumphant note at the Cannes premiere of “Megalopolis,” it’s hard to forget all the turmoil that came before. (Or after: Since “Megadoc” concludes in May 2024, it excludes what came next, like the movie’s troubled box-office run and Coppola’s libel lawsuit against Variety over reports that he tried to kiss two extras during production. In an interview with The New York Times, he essentially denied the allegations, saying, “I’m not touchy-feely. I’m too shy.”)
Is pandemonium an essential part of Coppola’s process? You can’t help but wonder while watching “Megadoc,” though the filmmaker doesn’t appear to have pondered the question.
“You seem to thrive on chaos,” Figgis tells him at one point.
“I don’t,” Coppola replies tersely.
“No?”
“No.”
Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and also serves as The Projectionist, the awards season columnist for The Times.
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