Latest news with #Megalopolis'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 50th AFI Life Achievement Award Dinner For Francis Ford Coppola Is One Of The Starriest And Most Heartfelt Tributes Of Them All
On a night saluting the independence and go-for-broke cinematic life of Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino perhaps best summed up why the legendary filmmaker has opted out of accepting many honors over the decades by quoting Coppola himself, who once said, 'The things you do when you're young that you get fired for, are the same things that years later, they give you lifetime achievement awards for.' Well Coppola, finally on the 50th anniversary of the AFI Life Achievement Award dinners, got the most prestigious one of all for movie makers, and having been to numerous of these AFI events over the decades (Frank Capra's in 1982 was my first), this warm and very starry evening Saturday was among the very best, and certainly one of the best attended by other legends and past AFI honorees themselves. More from Deadline Francis Ford Coppola Felt Like He Returned 'To The Old Neighborhood' In AFI Life Achievement Tribute Speech — Watch AFI Life Achievement Award Red Carpet: Elle Fanning, Ron Howard, George Lucas, Spike Lee & More Honor Francis Ford Coppola Adam Driver Praises Francis Ford Coppola For "Not Letting The Money Dictate" 'Megalopolis' At AFI Life Achievement Tribute No less than seven, count 'em, seven past AFI Life Achievement Award laureates were not only on hand in the Dolby Theatre, they all got on stage to sing his praises. Pacino, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (the latter pair bookending Coppola at his long table in the middle of the room) were all there to pass the torch, but you have to wonder why it took until the 50th to give this man his due, arguably the godfather himself of his generation of filmmakers (and many of those who received this years ago). Well, it wasn't because the AFI didn't ask. I am told AFI had tried on many occasions to get him to agree. At last he did, and boy, what a night. AFI president and CEO Bob Gazzale welcomed everyone and started the evening with a remembrance of one of the first graduates of the AFI Conservatory, the late great David Lynch. But the day didn't start out well. The sudden rainstorm Saturday morning in parts of Southern California took a toll on Hollywood Boulevard and literally sent a river flooding the AFI red carpet that had already been set up for the event. Organizers, taken by surprise, flew into action, completely trashing the entire soaked carpet, and getting a new one in place before the first of many stars arrived. These included Spielberg, who has been in New York making a movie, but to show his respect for Coppola, didn't just send in a video greeting, but got a private plane, picked up De Niro and Spike Lee as well, and flew in earlier Saturday before immediately flying back so he can be back on set Monday morning. American Film Institute founder (and creator of this event) George Stevens Jr. had tipped me off Friday evening at the TCM Classic Film Festival event honoring him, that Spielberg felt so strongly about being there in person, and joining with Lucas to present the award they both had gotten long ago, that he just had to do this. When he got up on stage at the end of the evening, he said to Coppola, 'We have come all the way up the river to find you buddy,' in a wry reference to one of the master's masterpieces, Apocalypse Now. 'Francis is a warrior for independent artists and always championing their causes,' he added before pronouncing The Godfather as 'the greatest American film ever made.' But there was so much more before we got to that point. Freeman opened the show portion of the evening by telling the audience he was there despite never having been in a movie written, directed or produced by Coppola, who he noted was still ever so the independent filmmaker. 'He may have lost millions but tonight, f— the bankers!'' Throughout the night, there were not just film clips, but portions of an interview his daughter Sofia Coppola conducted with her father that took us through each step of his life and career from directing Fred Astaire in Finian's Rainbow in 1967 (where a young college intern named George Lucas would come by the set to learn) all the way to 2024's Megalopolis. Sofia couldn't be at the Dolby however since she is shooting her own new film in London. The interesting thing is how few sent tapes. They were all there, including Ron Howard who starred in Lucas' American Grafitti, which Coppola produced in order to even get this low-budget ($700,000) movie made by the largely untested young director. The studio (Universal) wasn't thrilled with what they were seeing, 'So after a very early screening, studio executives said to Francis and George, 'You should be embarrassed by this movie. It's too long. We hate the way it looks. It seems unprofessional.' George was shocked, so Francis, with unblinking authority, pulled out a checkbook and said, 'Alright, listen. You don't want the picture? Okay, I will buy it back from you right now. I will buy it back from you today.' Well never mind he didn't have the money, it worked. And the film went on to make well over $100 million, which at that time made it the most profitable ROI (return on investment) in Hollywood history. So that's a producer and that's Francis Ford Coppola.' Next up, the evening's first big standing ovation (after Coppola's as he was seated) went to De Niro and Pacino who made some brief remarks, including the aforementioned one from Pacino, and De Niro's gratitude for not getting cast as Sonny in The Godfather. A clip had been shown from De Niro's screen test and he would have been great, but Coppola thought he was not quite right for the role (James Caan got it). 'Thank you for not casting me in The Godfather, Francis, which meant I was available for The Godfather Part II!' he said of the role that won him his first Oscar. RELATED: Harrison Ford arrived to tell how he was a carpenter but determined to be an actor when he said he got lucky and landed the role in American Graffiti, and later a smaller one in The Conversation. 'Not the part I wanted but I got the part,' he smiled, saying he now felt part of the family. 'After that film, I built something for Francis because he hired me again as a carpenter. I'm not kidding. I was installing a library portico entrance for his offices, as one does, and George Lucas walks in and says (to Francis), 'I am looking for someone to play Hans Solo,' and I am covered in sawdust, wearing my tool belt, sweeping the floor. Well you know the rest… He created a world where the carpenter could be the guy. And by the way, thank you for Apocalypse Now, where I played a guy named Colonel Lucas. Subtle!' Lee talked about the influence Coppola had on him from the days he was a student at NYU ('I couldn't get into AFI'), seeing the uncut version of The Cotton Club with Coppola, and announcing he still has his ticket stub from Apocalypse Now. Also highlighted was Coppola's dream-like musical One From the Heart, one of his self-financed American Zoetrope swings for the fences, and early dances with bankruptcy, a movie now being reconsidered and watched again, even as a predecessor to the likes of La La Land. And then a look at The Outsiders, one of many films where Coppola rolled the dice with new talent including Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, and at the Dolby onstage, both Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Howell. Macchio drew big laughs with a story about borrowing $5 from Coppola on the set but never paying it back, or for that matter everything he owed the director for his career, until this night when he told Coppola to look under the centerpiece in front of him at his table. There was a $5 dollar bill, which got a smile from Coppola, who promptly handed it to Lucas, who probably doesn't need it. In the audience was a librarian, Jo Ellen Misakian from Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, who had sent Coppola a letter (that somehow got to him) with the enthusiasm of her class, who loved the book, suggesting he read S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders in hopes that he might make a movie out of it. 'Stay gold, Francis,' she said to him, repeating a key phrase from the book that urged Ponyboy to retain his youthful optimism and innocence, 'Stay gold.' It was one of the undisputed highlights of the night. Another Outsiders star, Diane Lane, was next, and interestingly the only female participant onstage for the evening who talked about the four films she has made with Coppola, including how while making Outsiders, they all had such a good time, they decided to make another film on the spot. That movie was Rumble Fish. After Roman Coppola paid tribute to his father for putting him to work on the visual effects for Bram Stoker's Dracula and starting his career, it was Dustin Hoffman's turn, who began by saying, 'Word has it you turned down a lot of these awards in the past.' He also said it took a while for Coppola to hire him. 'I waited until I was 86 for you to cast me in Megalopolis! It was worth the wait.' Regarding that movie, it was star Adam Driver who showed up to tell the tale of the futuristic and controversial, but unquestionable risk-taking and wild ride of a cinematic journey Coppola had been trying to get made for over 40 years and finally did by financing it himself to the tune of $120 million. Driver said at one point Coppola addressed the cast and crew and said, 'We're not being brave enough.' Of all the speakers, I thought Driver really summed up best just who this genuine maverick of a filmmaker is. 'Knowing Francis as I know him now, being brave is not such a surprising note if you consider the source. You can pick any section of Francis' work, open it up, and find bravery, whether it be fighting the studio over cuts of The Godfather; forming American Zoetrope; making Apocalypse Now, again with his own money; giving Ellie (his late wife Eleanor Coppola) a camera and saying 'shoot what you want'; running a studio that ended up bankrupting him; hiring Marlon Brando; defending Al Pacino; breaking all four of his Oscars by throwing them out of a window—I'm not sure that is especially brave but it certainly is passionate [ed note: he actually has five]; moving into the jungle and starting a hotel; spending $120 million on a piece of art and not letting the money dictate the content of the film,' Driver listed for the crowd. 'This is a principled life, and for a year in our culture where the importance of the arts is minimized and our industry is seemingly out in the open, that the only measure to judge a film's success is simply by how much money it makes, I hang on to individuals like Francis for inspiration who live though their convictions, through big moves, all in service of pushing the medium forward. Francis took $120 million dollars and created a singular gesture for what he thought film could be, and I think that's pretty great.' RELATED: The actual award to Coppola was preceded by an orchestra on stage with Josh Groban, who sang, all in Italian, a beautiful version of the immortal theme from The Godfather. Spielberg added to his remarks about seeing a five-hour cut of Apocalypse Now with other filmmakers invited to give their thoughts, and Lucas recounted the key lesson he learned from his American Graffiti producer. 'Don't be afraid of jumping off cliffs. I have lived by that my entire life,' he said while confirming Coppola was indeed the first cinema student to make it big and prove the worth of that education. As for Coppola, he was brief but charming in his acceptance (after all, we had seen him talk about his career all night in that interview with Sofia). He talked about his childhood and remembrances of growing up before addressing this community of those who toil in the same fields he does. '(I see) all the beautiful faces are welcoming me back because I am, and will always be, nothing more than one of you.' Stay gold indeed, Francis Ford Coppola. The evening earned a record $2.5 million for AFI and will be broadcast on TNT on June 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with an encore on TCM on July 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Best of Deadline Francis Ford Coppola's Career In Photos, From 'Apocalypse Now' To 'The Godfather' Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far Everything We Know About Netflix's 'The Thursday Murder Club' So Far
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Cruise Shuts Down Tariffs Talk at ‘Mission: Impossible' Press Event: 'We'd Rather Answer Questions About the Movie'
Tom Cruise ensured questions at a recent press event in Seoul for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning were focused on the film itself. On Thursday, Cruise and his Mission: Impossible co-stars and director Christopher McQuarrie, were promoting the upcoming final movie in the action franchise. However, when a reporter asked about President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on movies shot outside of the U.S. and the extent to which the Paramount film, which was shot around the world, would be affected by it, Cruise wanted to move past that. More from The Hollywood Reporter Is Europe the Last Bastion of DEI in Film and TV? A Belgian Boxer Goes to the Mat in Directors' Fortnight Entry 'Wild Foxes' (Exclusive Trailer) Francis Ford Coppola Reacts to Trump's Movie Tariffs, Says 'Megalopolis' Is "Selling Out Screenings" Since 2024 Election 'I'd like to ask this question to anybody who's up for it. I watched this film and I saw that it was filmed in many different locations around the world, including Africa,' the reporter said, according to an onstage translator. 'Of course, we all are aware of the tariffs that President Trump has been imposing on overseas productions and films. So, is this particular movie under that tariff? And how much of the film was shot overseas?' Cruise replied, telling the moderator, off-mic, 'We'd rather answer questions about the movie. Thank you.' The moderator said she thought that was a 'fair response' and suggested moving on to a different question. Cruise's rep has not yet responded to The Hollywood Reporter's request for additional comment. The Mission: Impossible films, which have grossed more than $4 billion at the global box office, are famously shot across the world. The most recent one, releasing in the United States later this month, was filmed in the U.K., Norway and South Africa. Trump announced his tariffs plan on Sunday, though the White House followed up Monday morning to note that nothing had been finalized. 'The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda! Therefore, I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' Other films that are currently filming outside of the U.S. include Avengers: Doomsday and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Last year's Wicked, Dune: Part Two and Deadpool & Wolverine were also made outside the country. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hits theaters May 23. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
San Francisco Chronicle
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Megalopolis' actor admits Francis Ford Coppola's ‘wacky' vision was confusing
Shia LaBeouf is opening up about his experience working with Francis Ford Coppola on ' Megalopolis,' and it turns out he was just as confused as most audiences. 'It felt like we had to mine his mind to figure out what the f— we were even talking about,' La Beouf, who played Clodio Pulcher in the film, said in a joint interview with filmmaker David Mamet published by the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, May 8. LaBeouf went on to explain that his relationship with the Napa Valley filmmaker became 'frustrated' because he kept asking questions about the script. 'It wasn't normal language. It was this archaic rhythm that he was chasing,' he said. 'It's not helpful to the actor to get overt notes … I became a nuisance.' The film reimagines New York as New Rome, and also stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza and Jon Voight, among others. Reflecting on the project, LeBeouf admitted it was 'way wackier' than he expected. 'I never thought we were going for we were going for wacky. I thought my character was wacky and I served that for the film. But I didn't think the whole movie was wacky,' LaBeouf said of Coppola's final product. The 2024 sci-fi drama cost $120 million, but made just over $14 million at the box office. Production was shrouded in controversy, from allegations of inappropriate behavior on set to artificial intelligence-generated trailers that included fake quotes from established film critics. The project wound up earning Coppola an award for worst director by the Golden Raspberry Awards, known as the Razzies, despite being a passion project that he helped finance by selling two of his Sonoma wineries. The 'Godfather' director revealed in March that his money is 'basically gone' because 'Megalopolis' flopped. 'Coppola thinks he's Dave,' LaBeouf said, referring to Mamet. 'He really believes he's this theater director guy. He's not. But he believes he is. He thinks he's the actor's guy — but he's not. 'That's not to say he's not incredible,' he continued. 'It's just not what his incredible is.'
Perth Now
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Shia LaBeouf to star in crime thriller God of the Rodeo
Shia LaBeouf is set to star in the crime thriller 'God of the Rodeo'. The 'Transformers' star, 38, has signed on to lead director Rosalind Ross' upcoming movie, which will be based on the reports of Daniel Bergner from inside the deadliest prison in the American South. Set in the harsh confines of Louisiana's Angola Prison in 1967, 'God of the Rodeo' follows Buckkey, a hardened inmate who discovers a faint hope of redemption through an unexpected chance - the prison's first inmate rodeo. As Buckkey and his fellow prisoners train for what may be their final shot at dignity, they come to realise the rodeo is no heroic contest, but a brutal spectacle. Designed to entertain the public and feed the warden's messianic ambitions, it becomes a punishing battle for survival masked as sport. As well as directing 'God of the Rodeo', Ross is set to write the movie's script. Meanwhile, Sir Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss are to produce 'God of the Rodeo' through Scott Free Films, alongside Giannina Scott under her Cara Films banner. LaBeouf could recently be seen in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis', in which he starred opposite the likes of Adam Driver and Jon Voight. The filmmaker previously explained he chose to cast "cancelled" actors like LaBeouf - who has faced allegations of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress from former girlfriend FKA Twigs - in order to avoid 'Megalopolis' being written off as a "woke" movie that was "lecturing viewers". In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said: "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." 'The Godfather' director praised LaBeouf for his work on 'Megalopolis', though revealed the actor had "deliberately" tried to create tension between the two creatives. He explained: "Shia really took to it. I had no experience working with him prior to this, but he deliberately sets up a tension between himself and the director to an extreme degree. "He reminds me of Dennis Hopper, who would do something similar, and then you'd say, 'Just go do anything,' and then they go off and do something brilliant." 'Megalopolis' - which also stars Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel and Giancarlo Esposito - takes place in a decaying future New York City, where a visionary architect battles political corruption and personal betrayal as he attempts to rebuild the city into a utopia called Megalopolis. Coppola also said he hoped audiences would resonate with the "vision of hope" woven throughout the movie, which polarised critics and ended up disappointing at the box office. Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival, the filmmaker 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."
CNN
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Hollywood Minute: ‘Rust' finally rides into theaters
The Alec Baldwin western marred by tragedy opens in theaters, plus news of a 'Megalopolis' graphic novel and 'Sinners' returning to IMAX. David Daniel reports.
