40/37
Hamilton Crassus III: What Do You Think About My Erection?
Narrative
The city of New Rome faces a duel between Caesar Catiline, a brilliant artist who advocates a utopian future, and greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are torn between her father and her lover. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s, but the film was shelved in part due to his financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001, after shooting 30 hours of second unit footage and holding a read-through with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Edie Falco, and Kevin Spacey, but the project was abandoned after the September 11 attacks because a scene in the script (page 166) “predicted” the attacks. Coppola dropped out of the project entirely in 2007 and didn’t begin developing it again until 2019. There are plenty of moments throughout the film where hand movements go back and forth between cuts.
You can see every penny on screen
In the “Ultimate IMAX Experience” version of the film, a real actor asks questions during the filmed press conference. Referenced on The John Campea Show: Adam Driver stars in Francis Ford Coppola’s new film, “Megalopolis” (2022). My Promise Written by Grace VanderWaal Performed by Grace VanderWaal Courtesy of Columbia Records In consultation with Sony Music Entertainment Produced and orchestrated by Kris Kukul. That’s the great thing about Francis Ford Coppola’s latest and possibly final film. Between the cast, the costumes, and the set design that reimagines New York City as the new Rome, you can see it all. The only question that arises is why 42nd Street from Third Avenue to Times Square was left untouched and what about the movie theaters from 7th to 8th Avenue.
So what do I think?
Still, it’s natural to be skeptical about this essentially admirable Robert Moses biopic. Especially since it was apparently written by Ayn Rand in response to METROPOLIS and then handed to Abel Gance after she convinced him to make a movie about Julius Caesar instead of Napoleon. And don’t forget the Marcus Aurelius quotes. All in all, it’s a very erudite film. To understand the details, you have to study Roman history, watch a lot of silent films, and know New York City in the second half of the 20th century, including the exodus of the middle and upper classes between the 1950s and 1980s. Due to the vagaries of my upbringing and a chaotic self-education, I can say this.
The acting is good
However, as with so many movies today, I wonder who Coppola made this movie for. He reportedly spent around $140 million out of his own pocket on this film. The general rule of thumb is that a film needs to gross roughly double its production costs to break even. I can’t imagine a large enough audience to make $300,000,000 in ticket and ancillary rights. It’s too long, a lurid tale of how love and artistic vision are more important than anything else. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time Coppola has thrown his artistic ambitions overboard; while APOCALYPSE NOW is claimed to have eventually paid off, I have my doubts about that when you factor in the interest costs.
I don’t think this film will ruin him either
ONE FROM THE HEART was certainly a disaster, and he spent a few decades making good commercial films from other sources to make his way through and let the wineries and restaurants make him money. There are certainly enough movie fans out there to make the net loss bearable. All of this goes a long way to answering my question about who Coppola’s target audience was. It was Coppola himself, an attempt to demonstrate that he is a complete filmmaker and not just a good translator of the well-told stories of others.