Megalopolis [ a ] is a American epic science fiction drama film written, directed, and produced by Francis Ford Coppola.
Sweeney , and Dustin Hoffman. Set in an alternate, 21st-century New York City restyled "New Rome" , the film follows visionary architect Cesar Catilina Driver as he clashes with the corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero Esposito , who opposes Catilina's plans to revitalize New Rome by building the futuristic utopia "Megalopolis".
In , Coppola had the idea to make a film drawing parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the future of the United States by retelling the Catilinarian conspiracy in modern New York. Although he began plotting the film in , the project spent decades in development hell.
Coppola attempted to produce the film in and , but each time, the studios refused to finance the film, due to Coppola's string of late-career box-office disappointments and the September 11 attacks , respectively. Disillusioned by the studio system, Coppola did not produce Megalopolis until he built a large fortune in the winemaking business. Principal photography took place in Georgia from November to March Like several other Coppola films, Megalopolis had a troubled production.
Coppola adopted an experimental style, encouraging his actors to improvise and write certain scenes during the shoot, and adding his own last-minute changes to the script. Members of the art department and visual effects team, among others, left or were fired from the film.
