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Francis Ford Coppola and Shia Lebouf's fraught collaboration on Megalopolis is seeing the light of the day, thanks to Mike Figgs' new documentary Megadoc. The behind the scenes film is offering audiences an unfiltered look at one of the most combustible actor-director pairings in recent years, and this new clip highlights the complex relationship they had on set.
A standout moment took place mid rehearsal as a tense exchange between Coppola, who was exasperated by LaBeouf staging suggestions, cuts him down with a sharp question as he says:
"What are we inventing a whole set up for? Where did that come from? Who is the director who came in here and started to stage this scene?"
To which the actor responds, "You're obviously the director" and Coppola responds, "But I'm not having the chance to."
That clash, circled around a scene involving Jon Vight, shows the push-and-pull that defined much of their time together. Labeouf, who plays the scheming Clodio Pulcher often pushed for alternatives and Coppola grew impatient with what he saw as interruptions. The documentary does not shy away from painting their relationship as volatile.
In another part of the documentary, the actor claims to have been told by Coppola that he was 'the biggest pain in my f------ ass' as he says:
"He says, 'You know, I have one regret on this show.' I said, 'Okay, what's the one regret?' He goes, 'You. You have been the biggest pain in my f------ ass' — the only time he cursed — 'You have been the biggest pain in my f------- ass of any actor I've ever worked with.' I said, 'Really? Really? Any actor? Did I show up f------ 700 pounds overweight in the jungle? Really? Any actor? Did I quit 10 days before we wrapped?"
As Megadoc heads into theaters this September 19 after festival buzz at Venice and Telluride, it reframes Megalopolis not just as a divisive film but as a battleground of clashing temperaments where passion, ego and vision collided in spectacular fashion.
More details about Megalopolis
Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis has been brewing since the late 70s. Initially it was supposed to be a film that mirrored the fall of Rome through a futuristic New York. But for four decades, the film lived in development hell, with canceled attempts, endless rewrites and everything you can possibly imagine coming in between a potential film and it's production.
When cameras finally rolled in Georgia in late 2022, Coppola was self financing the project with $120 million of his own. The film had an impressive cast of Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, Giancarlo Esposito as a corrupt mayor, Shia LeBeouf as Catilina's scheming cousin, with Aubrey Plaza , Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Nathalie Emmanuel and Dustin Hoffman rounding up the cast.
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It went on to make $14.3 million at the box office, and was considered to be a failure because of negative reviews of the film, it's stars and Coppola's direction.
Megalopolis is available to stream on Prime Video.
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