Coppola's "Megalopolis" to be distributed in France by Le Pacte
Philippe Guedj
The suspense is over: just as speculation was running wild over the distribution of Megalopolis, the high-risk sci-fi blockbuster presented by director Francis Ford Coppola at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, Le Point Pop learns from sources close to the matter that the independent company Le Pacte will obtain exclusive distribution rights for the film in French cinemas. "It's going to be a real sport," says a film professional, referring to the uncertain commercial potential of the 26th feature from one of Hollywood's greatest living directors. In accordance with the filmmaker's wishes, however, this extraordinary work will indeed be seen on the big screen in France.
Scheduled for release in multiplexes in France at the end of September, Megalopolis is said to have cost between $120 and $130 million. The screenplay, which Coppola has been working on for four decades, focuses on the struggle for influence between two men involved in rebuilding a major American megalopolis (New York?) after a cataclysm in the near future. The two rivals are a visionary architect (played by Adam Driver), with ambitions for a city based on ecologically virtuous growth, and the city's mayor (Giancarlo Esposito), the embodiment of an old world with corrupt methods.
Self-financed by the director of The Godfather, who had to do without the support of a major studio for this kamikaze adventure, Megalopolis will be screened in competition on the Croisette, surrounded by a double aura of excitement and mistrust - the most skeptical fear a pensum of over two hours that risks scaring off the crowds with its excessive rejection of convention. Founder and president of Le Pacte, after having created other renowned companies such as BAC, Mars and Wild Side, Jean Labadie boasts an impressive track record of demanding, often commercially risky, French and international feature films.
Among other titles, Le Pacte has distributed in France such works as Drive, Snowpiercer, Timbuktu, Les Misérables, Roubaix, une lumière, Dark Waters, La Syndicaliste, Jeanne du Barry and, more recently, the phenomenal Anatomy of a Fall and Borgo. We can imagine that Le Pacte's cash flow, recently galvanized by the box office and worldwide sales of Justine Triet's Palme d'Or, has put the company in pole position in negotiations with Coppola. To be continued.