Hollywood movie director Francis Ford Coppola is set to premiere his forthcoming film Megalopolis at the star-studded Cannes Film Festival this week
Francis Ford Coppola’s conduct has been questioned on the set of Megalopolis.
The Hollywood director was set to premiere his forthcoming film at the Cannes Film Festival later this week. But now crew sources have spoken out about the “old school” Oscar-winning movie star, responsible for The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now.
Multiple insiders have made claims about Francis’ alleged behaviour on set, specifically his “behaviour around women”, with an eyewitness claiming the filmmaker once “came on to the set and tried to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras”.
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Darren Demetre, a producer on the film, told The Guardian: “There were two days when we shot a celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene where Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players.” He claimed that Francis hugging and kissing “was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film”.
He told the outlet he was “never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behaviour during the course of the project”, claiming he worked as an assistant director and executive producer on Francis’ film, alongside the long-standing 85-year-old director.
“Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision,” he told The Guardian, which reported multiple complaints.
One crew member said: “This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we were all standing around going: ‘Has this guy ever made a movie before?’ Another added: “We were all aware that we were participating in what might be a really sad finish to his career.” While a third alleged: “He would often show up in the mornings before these big sequences and because no plan had been put in place, and because he wouldn’t allow his collaborators to put a plan in place. He would often just sit in his trailer for hours on end, wouldn’t talk to anybody, was often smoking marijuana,” the crew member said.
They claimed “hours and hours would go by without anything being filmed. And the crew and the cast would all stand around and wait”. Telling the paper: “He’d come out and whip up something that didn’t make sense, and that didn’t follow anything anybody had spoken about or anything that was on the page, and we’d all just go along with it, trying to make the best out of it.” The crew members would allegedly “walk away shaking our heads wondering what we’d just spent the last 12 hours doing”, per the outlet.
The Mirror has approached Francis’ representatives for comment.
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