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Director Francis Ford Coppola said Friday about the epic, which cost $120 million and took 40 years to make, saying, “Making a Roman epic set in modern America is a difficult task due to today’s politics. I never expected it to be this meaningful.” megalopolis.
The film follows the allegory of New York City, City of New Rome, in which architect Cesar Catilina, played by Adam Driver, takes on the role of regressive Mayor Franklin Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) and radical He confronts the rebel Claudio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf). The hope of building a utopian society.
“What’s happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly the same as Rome lost its republic thousands of years ago.” godfather The filmmaker spoke at the film’s press conference after its Cannes world premiere on Thursday night.
“Our politics have taken us to the point where we could have lost our republic. So it’s not the people who became politicians who have the answers, it’s the artists of America.”
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“The role of the artist is to illuminate, illuminate, and be a headlight for modern life. Therefore, making art that does not shed light on modern life is like making a hamburger that does not contain nutrients. And that continues today,” Coppola continued.
Coppola was asked how scared he is of the future, especially politicians like former President Donald Trump.
Coppola said: “People like Donald Trump are not in charge at the moment, but there is a trend happening in the world… towards more New Right, even fascist divisiveness, and that’s scary.” emphasized. Anyone who was alive during World War II saw the horrors that occurred there, and we don’t want a repeat of that. Again, I think it’s the role of film artists to shed light on what’s happening in the world. ”
Coppola then pulled his hand. megalopolis Jon Voight, an actor known for his conservative views, joined the conversation. “John, you have different political opinions than I…”
“One of the things about our amazing cast is that they represent all kinds of political ideas,” Coppola said.
Voight spoke for Trump and defended him in a recent video that went viral, saying Trump was “ridiculed” and “destroyed as Jesus.” Voight also said that Trump is “targeted for information that can break through the morass of corruption” and that he is “the only person who can destroy the negative propaganda sworn to this president.”
But today, on the global Cannes stage, Voight kept most of his remarks apolitical, telling Coppola that the filmmaker’s focus was “to make the world a better place.”
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Voight went on to say: I think we’re all asking ourselves that question at this very moment. Where are we headed and what can we do? I’m a little older now, and as some of you may have noticed, my time is limited. And I think to myself, what can I do to protect these children and encourage us towards a better world? That’s exactly what I do, thinking about what I can do to make this world better every second of the day. We know it’s possible.
“I agree with this film, with Francis’ vision that humans can solve every problem we encounter. We can do it. That’s what Adam says in the final moments of the film. We can do it. We have to come together, help each other, listen to each other, and take this on to make the world a better place. We have been through quite a lot. have experience and know a lot. We have to do our best and do our best to appreciate those who step up and try to show us the way in some small way. No need.”
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Voight said he knew about Coppola. megalopolis An idea for about 25 years.
The Oscar winner said: Go home The actor said, “It was a vision that he had trouble expressing, and he had to do it.”
