Coppola Has Grit
by Paul Bernardo paulieb2003@gmail.com
So everyone knows Francis Ford Coppola. Friends with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Produced Lucas’s first film, THX, directed The Godfather, and Apocalypse Now, and The Outsiders, blah blah blah.
Here’s what you may not know – the guy has guts. I mean guts. I am talking true grit and not the John Wayne kind either.
Francis never relied on studios to make his movies, in fact, he made his movies despite the studios. Warner Bros say the absolutely do not want Al Pacino playing Michael Corleone. Francis didn’t care. Studio says no way are we bonding Brando for this movie – Francis didn’t care. Francis did it his way or he would get the film made without the studios.
Well this time, Francis got his film made without the studios. Megalopolis is a long time coming – because it was stopped and started many times. Megalopolis was an impossible film to get made, but Francis made it.
One vision, one voice, one artist. Not a board of directors deciding what is good or not. Not focus groups voting that the ending should be changed because it doesn’t make them feel good.
Like all exceptional art – you need one voice, one vision. Francis gave it to us, in his new film Megalopolis. Now is it good? I don’t know – that’s up to you, but is it art? Yea, it’s the best kind of art. These days, a very rare kind of art and I’m so glad he made it.
Did he get stars to be in it? You bet. Adam Driver, Talia Shire, Jon Voight, Lawrence Fishburne and Shia LeBouf. Not all an A List cast, but most are, and that is brave. Actors always believed in his vision. Brando got fat, and lazy and still showed up on location for Francis. Francis had to shoot him with the lights off,
but he got him in the movie.
Francis bets on himself, and he has always won. Francis started many companies with his earnings from his art. A few top notch wineries, exclusive resorts in Belize, Argentina, and Italy. A cafe in San Francisco and now a line of weed called The Grower’s Series.
All these businesses in all these industries have thrived, and allowed him to spend $125 million dollars on this film. All his own money. Francis answered to no one.
Like the album “Smile” was with Brian Wilson, this film was for Francis. Art he has been trying to make for decades. Since 1977 actually. He conceived this film in 1977, developed it in 1983. Stop and restarted until 2019, then shot it Nov 2022 to March 2023.
Now as I said, is it good, that’s he burning question. Some films flop at openings and become cult classics, some are great right out of the gate. Only time will tell, but here’s something I can tell you right now – this man has grit.
