Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project, Megalopolis, is set to hit theaters in a matter of weeks and part of the distribution deal of his self-financed film included that he would also take control of marketing. According to World of Reel, the Godfather director has hired the company Utopia to help him out and is said they were told to “implement specialty marketing, word-of-mouth, and non-traditional theatrical distribution initiatives targeting moviegoers.”
This eccentric brand of viral marketing has started to form on social media as the official film’s account amusingly inquired if they could quote a user’s bewildered comment as part of the marketing of the film.
However, in the more traditional manner, the studio has also released a new poster for the film, which you can view below:
Here’s the official synopsis for Megalopolis courtesy of Lionsgate:
“Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”
Early reviews for Megalopolis say Coppola’s self-financed film is as divisive as it gets. According to David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, Megalopolis is “windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky.” However, Rooney also says the film is “often amusing, playful, visually stunning, and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity.” If nothing else, Megalopolis sounds like a film people should see and form their own opinion of.
Meanwhile, Deadline’s Damon Wise thinks, “Megalopolis is something of a mess; unruly, exaggerated, and drawn to pretention like a moth to a flame.” Still, Wise injected positivity into his review by saying the film is “a pretty stunning achievement, and the work of a master artist.”
Megalopolis boasts a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, DB Sweeney, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Bailey Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar.
Megalopolis will be released in domestic theaters and IMAX on September 27.