‘Megalopolis’: Francis Ford Coppola Screens Self-Financed Epic For Buyers, Already At Work On A New Film

Where will Francis Ford Coppola‘s “Megalopolis” have its world premiere, and who will distribute it in theaters later this year? Those are just two of several questions swirling around the director’s self-financed epic, a project over two decades in the making. After last night, those questions are one step closer to having answers.

READ MORE: ‘Megalopolis’: Adam Driver Calls Francis Ford Coppola’s Magnum Opus “Undefinable” & “Wild On A Big Scale”

Deadline reports that FFC screened “Megalopolis” for buyers last night in LA, with every possible distributor in attendance. So are there any frontrunners in the race to snag one of 2024’s biggest films? Not yet. Coppola’s longtime attorney Barry Hirsch will hear offers from buyers, and only after Coppola reaches a deal with a theatrical rollout in place will he consider where “Megalopolis” has its world premiere. But all the major festivals want in, including Cannes, Venice, Telluride, and TIFF, to name a few.

Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. promised Coppola he wouldn’t review “Megalopolis” after last night’s screening, but he provided some important info about the film. For one, “Megalopolis” runs 133 minutes, not including credits. Fleming Jr. also called the film “a highly visual fable that plays perfectly on an IMAX screen,” and praised its ability to tackle “complex themes.” Read on for more commentary about the upcoming film.

“Coppola delivers a big kiss to the possibilities of mankind’s ingenuity to adapt to and overcome most problems,” continued Fleming Jr. “He also injects a cautionary tale of what can happens when that rise to the occasion human spirit runs afoul of the greed, corruption and narcissism that helped topple the Roman Empire. The clash could not be more timely in an election year and a moment of heightened polarization and misinformation meant to spread agendas, sway the public and influence policy.”

Set in an NYC-like metropolis after a devastating disaster, “Megalopolis” stars Adam Driver as Cesar, an idealistic architect who envisions the rebuilding city as a utopia. But his plans cause him to butt heads with Giancarlo Esposito‘s Mayor Frank Cicero, whose blueprints for building the city anew are replete with corruption. In the middle of all this is Nathalie Emmanuel‘s Julia, Cicero’s daughter, who’s tired of living in the shadow of power and wants more meaning in her life. “Megalopolis” also stars an ensemble cast that includes Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Dustin Hoffman, Shia LaBeouf, Chloe Fineman, and more.

“Megalopolis” may be Coppola’s magnum opus, but it won’t be his last film. He revealed at the screening last night that he’s already hard at work on another new feature. “One way I knew “Megalopolis” was finished is that I’ve begun work on a new film,” he said. “It won’t be cheap by any means, but I don’t know if it can be called ‘an epic film.’”

Stay tuned for news on where “Megalopolis” will have its world premiere, with Cannes now a major possibility considering FFC’s work on the film is done.