Francis Ford Coppola says that 'Megalopolis' presents a "vision of hope".
Francis Ford Coppola considers Megalopolis to be a hopeful film
The legendary filmmaker has helmed the epic new movie that centres on the construction of the utopian city of New Rome and feels that it sends a message of optimism to audiences.
Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival, Francis said: "It's a Roman epic, what can I say? It's a dive into a world that exists more than it should. Of course, it's about loyalty, but ultimately in the end it's a vision of hope.
"There's always the vision of human beings that are great and are capable of dealing with any challenge they have to make a beautiful world for ourselves and for our children. It's a hopeful film."
'Megalopolis' has been a long-term passion project for 'The Godfather' director and he says that the story is inspired by what he discovered in historical accounts of both ancient Rome and modern New York City, although it is not "made up".
Coppola, 85, said: "If you said what about that nutty thing, or that weird thing? I can tell you where I got that from. I didn't make it up."
The director recently revealed how he deliberately cast "cancelled" actors such as Shia LaBeouf – who was accused of sexual assault in 2021 - and Jon Voight – one of the few Donald Trump supporters in the movie industry – because he didn't want his picture to be dismissed as "some woke Hollywood production".
He explained to Rolling Stone magazine: "What I didn’t want to happen is that we’re deemed some woke Hollywood production that’s simply lecturing viewers.
"There were people who are archconservatives and others who are extremely politically progressive. But we were all working on one film together. That was interesting, I thought."
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