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Francis Ford Coppola’s highly anticipated Megalopolis has been making waves in the media for a multitude of different reasons, such as Coppola’s alleged behavior on set, the numerous production challenges it faced, and the fact that the filmmaker had nurtured the ambitious project for more than a decade now, and its financing the whole deal out of pocket. However, one of the most talked-about aspects of the movie is Coppola’s controversial decision to cast actors who have been “canceled” at one point in time or are simply known for their contentious views.
Now, before we dive into Coppola’s controversial casting decision and the reasons behind it, let’s talk about the movie. Megalopolis is perhaps one of the biggest cinematic experiments of this year, at least to date, with Coppola spending over $120 million out of pocket to get the project off the ground, as it was stuck in development hell for nearly four decades. The movie is set in the fictional New Rome in the modern US, a city that damns change, which causes conflict between Ceasar Catilina and his rival, Mayor Franklyn Cicero — portrayed by Adam Driver and Giancarlo Esposito, respectively.
Megalopolis was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it charmed the audiences but polarized the critics. Since then, various controversies have engulfed the movie, including the one regarding Coppola’s decision to cast Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, and Dustin Hoffman. All three actors have been previously “canceled” for different reasons but now appear alongside Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, and Nathalie Emmanuel in the upcoming movie.
For those who aren’t aware, being “canceled” refers to a form of public backlash or rejection that typically happens online when a person, organization, or brand is widely criticized, boycotted, or shunned for something they’ve said or done or for something they represent. It’s often associated with the “cancel culture” phenomenon, which is the online community’s way of holding people accountable for their behavior, but it’s also worth mentioning that it sometimes leads to hasty or disproportionate reactions, like in the Depp v. Heard case.
Jon Voight has sparked considerable controversy with his public endorsement of Donald Trump, and he’s perhaps the most outspoken Trump supporter in Hollywood. In May this year, Voight posted a video in which he called President Biden “sick” while calling Vice President Kamala Harris a Barack Obama puppet in an entirely different video. On top of all that, he also publicly criticized his daughter Angelina Jolie for “Isreal-bashing” over her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
What makes this more interesting is the fact that both Voight and his co-star LaBeouf have butted heads in the past over different political views. LeBeouf is also at the center of numerous controversies after being accused of sexual battery and physical and verbal abuse by his former girlfriend, FKA Twigs; stylist Karolyn Pho also came forward with her own disturbing allegations of abuse against the actor. Before these allegations arose, LaBeouf was arrested several times on dismissed charges.
In 2017, acting legend Dustin Hoffman was accused of sexual misconduct or assault by seven women — to some of which he responded publicly — including Anna Graham Hunter and Meryl Streep. Taking into consideration the many controversies surrounding these three actors, the question remains: why did Coppola choose to cast them in his upcoming movie, especially since he struggled for more than four decades to get the project off the ground?
Well, according to the director himself, he didn’t want Megalopolis to be deemed as a “woke Hollywood production that’s simply lecturing viewers,” so he cast actors with various political affiliations. Admittedly, this does include people who are both conservative and politically progressive, but also those who have been canceled by the public for one reason or another at some point in time. The point Coppola’s trying to make, it seems, is that all can work together on one film without their political views interfering.
This is particularly true because both Coppola and Jon Voight have vastly different political views. The director added that Megalopolis won’t cure their ills, but it got them thinking about the future and asking questions about what’s making the country divided right now. While this answers the question regarding Coppola’s casting decision, we’d like to mention other controversies associated with the movie, including allegations of Coppola’s misconduct on the set, as well as the recently removed trailer for the movie.
Namely, several reports popped up regarding Coppola’s unprofessional behavior on set, referencing several videos that appeared to depict Coppola kissing extras. However, following said reports, a few people came out with their own versions of the event, with some stating that Coppola hasn’t done anything to make anyone feel uncomfortable, while others stated that his behavior was unorthodox, to say the least. It’s important to note that none of the intimacy coordinators were on set during the filming of what was described as a “bacchanalian nightclub scene.”
Lastly, the most recent controversy relates to the removed movie trailer that contained fabricated reviews from Coppola’s previous films, such as The Godfather, The Godfather 2, and Apocalypse Now. It would seem that the main idea behind the trailer was to rub the success of Coppola’s previous movies — which have become classics despite a handful of poor reviews — into the critics’ faces. However, the idea backfired horribly because most of the quotes were wrongly attributed or completely fabricated.
Ultimately, Megalopolis managed to charm the audiences at Cannes, but the ultimate judgment is reserved for the masses, whose verdict we can expect following September 27, when the movie is scheduled for a theatrical release.