Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the beloved gangster family drama “The Godfather” and just finally earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month. About time; that’s long overdue. He’s also gearing up to make a new, long-in-the-works dream project, “Megalopolis,” that is said to be budgeted around $120 million. The kicker is that the filmmaker is expected to self-finance the production himself, which is all sorts of risky.
Actors such as James Caan, Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Cate Blanchett, Jon Voight, Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jessica Lange were in talks for various roles. However, a new report from Showbiz 411 claims that star Isaac (“The Card Counter”), who had been eyed for a lead role, has passed on the new project, and they’ll be seeking another actor to take his place. A reason for the exit wasn’t mentioned, but one wonders if Isaac attached himself early to give the project life, a script came in; he wasn’t feeling it and passed. And or, who knows, it could potentially be “scheduling,” but that’s always a convenient excuse.
“Megalopolis” is a huge drama that tells a story similar to a Roman epic but set in modern-day America and would explain why the budget would be over $100 million.
The outlet adds that Coppola is aiming for the shoot to take place from September to January with filming mostly happening in New York on sound stages. Shooting in New York likely has a lot to do with the film’s large budget when other states would obviously offer stronger tax incentives to reel in costs, but might not have the locations that Coppola wants to use to execute his vision.
READ MORE: Francis Ford Coppola Wants Audiences To Watch ‘Megalopolis’ As An Annual New Year’s Event
Financing the project seems risky as Coppola almost went bankrupt several times in the 1970s and 1980s when he went all-in to ensure the troubled “Apocalypse Now” was finished and then again on the big flop of the 1981 musical “One Through The Heart.” Coppola himself said he was “depressed and had lost everything” after “One Through The Heart,” so it seems odd, though not out of character, that the bold filmmaker would try and tempt fate yet again.