Photo by Phil Caruso/Lionsgate/Phil Caruso/Lionsgate – © 2024 Lionsgate

Three weeks ahead of the September 27 release of Megalopolis, director Francis Ford Coppola is already commenting about the allegations that he’d fired his art department and visual-effects team back in December of 2022. News of the firings was first published by The Hollywood Reporter in January of 2023.

In a just-published interview with Empire, the iconic auteur offered his own explanation of the incident. Speaking of his interactions with production designer Beth Mickle, Coppola was quoted as saying: “Megalopolis had a big art-department need because you have to show the world of the future. Ultimately, [Beth and I] really didn’t share the same vision. We [later] disagreed to a degree that it was decided that the best thing would be if I hired a concept artist and came up with frames that showed what I wanted, which I did.”

Coppola added that the art department was frustrated because they felt he was usurping their role in creating the visual look of the film, saying they wanted to do “giant sets and images” while he was focusing more on costumes and design.

According to Coppola, his approach would have helped reduce costs for the extravagant production, which were approaching $148 million. When he suggested firing one of the five art directors as a cost-cutting measure, all of them resigned in protest.

In his Empire interview, Coppola justified his decision by declaring, “I said, ‘Let’s face it, I’m the only one who knows what the director has in mind. I don’t care what you think.’ Also, I’m not only the director — I was also putting up the money. So, to be told that I had to have a huge art department that I didn’t want was absurd to me.”

Megalopolis was self-financed by Coppola, who sold off his wineries to make the film.
Reflecting on his repertoire of other iconic films that included Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, and The Conversation, Coppola justified his own artistic vision by adding, “Artists are the ones who shed light on our human condition. That’s why artists are necessary. We give them a chance to illuminate contemporary life. The film leaps into the unknown unafraid. It’s a dangerous thing to do.”

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