Coppola's return: an iconic director comes out of retirement one more time
Also Farwell to Roger Corman
Earlier this week, the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s newest film, Megalopolis, was finally released. Francis Ford Coppola is a familiar name to film buffs. He began his career in the early 60s directing films such as Finian’s Rainbow and the Rain People. However, it was in the 70s when his name really took off in the film world. He directed films such as The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and the Conversation, winning him much acclaim and multiple Oscars.
Megalopolis is the first film from Coppola in over a decade, and his first big budget picture in even more time. It is a script he has had in the works in some form since the 70s. It originally looked as if Megalopolis would enter production in the early 2000s, but was delayed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Coppola later moved on to directing some smaller productions while building a up his own winery which became a successful business in its own right.
At age 85 though, it appears that Coppola is not content to simply sit on the money from his wine business and admire his awards. Megalopolis is a passion project he couldn’t let go of, so he continued for years trying to get it made. Unfortunately, despite having filmography that includes what are widely considered some of the greatest films of all time, no studio would fund the project. Eventually, he chose to take $120 million of his own money to fund the film himself.
In some ways, it is an indictment of the modern Hollywood system that a man such as Coppola has to self. There is no shortage of funding for comic book films, Star Wars sequels, and other franchise fare considered “safe” investments by the studios, but none left over for one of the most iconic filmmakers of all time to make one more film.
It is also an indication of how much the film industry has shifted since Coppola begna his career. Along with filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, George Lucas, and William Friedkin, Coppola was considered a member of a movement dubbed “New Hollywood” back in the 1970s.
The New Hollywood Movement was known for challenging conventual filmmaking technics and giving more creative control to directors. While successful for much of the 70s, the New Hollywood movement eventually ended in the 80s, which also saw the beginning of several career setbacks for Coppola. The decade began with the critical and commercial flop One from the Heart, and also saw the commercial failure of Tucker: The Man and His Dream. This was later followed by the release of Godfather Part III, which was widely considered a massive letdown compared to its predecessors.
The other directors of the New Hollywood Movement have also largely retired, faded away, or passed away. William Friedkin, known for the Exorcist, passed away in 2023, as did Superman: the Movie and Goonies director Richard Donner in 2021. Other directors in the movement such as George Lucas and John Milius have retired from filmmaking. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese still regularly direct and release films, but they appear to be the exceptions from this generation at this point.
All of this makes the final release of Megalopolis a bigger deal. This is not just a final chance for Coppola to make one more film, its possibly one of the last chances of an iconic filmmaking era and movement to get one more film out.
This week also saw the sad passing of iconic B Movie director Roger Corman. Corman was known for producing and directing many iconic B-movies such as Deathrace 2000 and the original 1960 version of Little Shop of Horrors. He was also a prominent producer who helped launch the careers of many iconic and popular actors and directors such as Jack Nicholson, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and James Cameron.
There have been many tributes and celebrations of Corman’s life and work, so there is not much more to say. He had an incredible career and influenced the film industry in ways many people are unaware of. His legacy will live on forever. Once incredible aspect of Corman is that even towards the later part of his life, he still seemed as sharp as ever in interviews, and still retained the same passion for film that drove his career. He will be missed. The streaming site Shudder posted one final interview that TV host Joe Bob Briggs did with the filmmaker and seem like a great send off the legendary filmmaker.