Auteur Francis Ford Coppola has landed his second making-of documentary and, despite its pun-ny title, “Megadoc” is billed as a serious look into the controversial and convoluted production of Coppola’s recent feature “Megalopolis.”
The $120 million self-funded (and Coppola-described Roman epic) premiered at Cannes 2024. The long-gestating film went on to “win” two Razzie awards, inspire a slew of GIFs with Adam Driver demanding to “go back to the club,” launch a questionable ad campaign that was rumored to be created by artificial intelligence, and arguably help usher in the era of Jon Voight being a Trump-appointed ambassador to Hollywood.
Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, D.B. Sweeney, Jason Schwartzman, Baily Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar also star.
While there were claims of inappropriate behavior on set by Coppola (who has refuted all of the allegations) and a loose style of filming, with Plaza comparing it to being part of a theater troupe, it’s clear that “Megalopolis” might have had some shades of Eleanor Coppola’s seminal “Hearts of Darkness” to it. Thankfully, “Leaving Las Vegas” director Mike Figgis was there to capture the making-of process on film, turning it into “Megadoc,” which may sound like a “Sharknado” crocodile spinoff but is, in fact, a Coppola-sanctioned feature. Coppola is keeping the distribution of the film all in the family, as his nephew Robert Schwartzman’s company Utopia has acquired the North American rights for the film.
Utopia also helped release “Megalopolis” in the U.S. with Coppola’s American Zoetrope and Lionsgate; “Megadoc” will be in theaters this fall. Variety first announced the acquisition, with a source claiming that “Megadoc” will not “put a glossy shine on ‘Megalopolis’ and Coppola, [and will] dig into the good/bad of it all as well.”
“Eleanor Coppola’s iconic feature documentary, ‘Hearts of Darkness,’ gave audiences an incredible look and access to the making of ‘Apocalypse Now’; a film that, in time, became highly regarded as one of the finest cinematic experiences of the era and beyond,” Schwartzman said in an official statement. “Mike Figgis’ ‘Megadoc’ will be that to ‘Megalopolis,’ opening up to audiences a behind-the-scenes journey spanning 40 years, where we will watch one of the greatest filmmakers at work.”
According to Coppola, “Megadoc” will showcase the many versions of the truth about what it really was like to film “Megalopolis” in Georgia. “The great filmmaker Mike Figgis shot the making of ‘Megalopolis’ as he saw it,” Coppola said. “Interestingly, there are many interpretations of what really happened and it’s all in the documentary although the documentary doesn’t always say which is what. It is for the viewer to behold and interpret.”
“Megadoc” is produced by Tara Li-An and James Mockoski. The documentary first started after Coppola invited Figgis to the “Megalopolis” set prior to the first day of principal photography. Figgis went on to have unrestricted access to the production; the feature is described as having a “unique look into the creative process of one of the most revered directors of all time, and behind the curtain of the most ambitious film of his career,” with Coppola “granting [Figgis] permission to document whatever he wished.”
Figgis said in a press statement, “Francis gave me access to everything, including the amazing archive material he’s accumulated of the many readings of the script as it went from one version to another. I was more or less free to go where I wanted. The cast were open about the working situation and how they were dealing with the idiosyncrasies of Francis and his very individual working methods. What a privilege to be a witness to such a moment in film history.”
