‘Megalopolis’ trailer: Francis Ford Coppola drops dazzling teaser on Cannes opening day

Surely the most anticipated movie at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year is Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” It comes to the south of France already couched in rich drama: it’s a movie he’s been dreaming about for decades. The maverick film director paid for it himself—$120 million out of his successful winery’s coiffeurs to see his vision through. Sadly, his wife of 61 years, writer and documentarian Eleanor Coppola, just passed away, as did his mentor and first boss, legendary producer Roger Corman. A return to Cannes, where he’s won the Palme D’Or twice before with “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now,” is the perfect stage for a triumph. As the festival kicked off its opening day, Coppola released a snappy teaser trailer. 

The early L.A. screening of “Megalopolis,” a “Fountainhead”-esque tale about an ambitious city planner locking horns with politicians following a New York City calamity, left a lot of the industry scratching their heads—but a big splash at Cannes could change the movie’s fortune. And also land it a distributor. 

Indeed, the trailer released this morning comes from Coppola’s own YouTube channel, not even one of a sales company. “Our new film MEGALOPOLIS is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over,” the “Godfather” auteur wrote. 

The 91-second clip, opening with the classic 1970s American Zoetrope logo, features Laurence Fishburne making philosophical musings, as we see some kind of meteor attack (or something) hit Manhattan. Then, Adam Driver as the visionary Cesar Catilina, roams around a Roman-esque city asking questions about social structures. Giancarlo Esposito, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, and others are in the cast, but the teaser is very blink-and-you’ll-miss’-em. It looks gorgeous and sounds heavy. 

The final card reminds us that “Megalopolis” will be showing in IMAX … eventually. 

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