NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Francis Ford Coppola believes he can stop time.
It鈥檚 not just a quality of the protagonist of a visionary architect named Cesar Catilina ( ) who, by barking 鈥淭ime, stop!鈥� can temporarily freeze the world for a moment before restoring it with a snap of his fingers. And Coppola isn't referring to his ability to manipulate time in the editing suite. He means it literally.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all had moments in our lives where we approach something you can call bliss,鈥� Coppola says. 鈥淭here are times when you have to leave, have work, whatever it is. And you just say, 鈥榃ell, I don鈥檛 care. I鈥檓 going to just stop time.鈥� I remember once actually thinking I would do that.鈥�
Time is much on Coppola鈥檚 mind. He鈥檚 85 now. Eleanor, his wife of 61 years, 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥� which is dedicated to her, is his first movie in 13 years. He鈥檚 been pondering it for more than four decades. The film begins, fittingly, with the image of a clock.
You have by now probably heard a few things about 鈥淢egalopolis.鈥� Maybe you know that Coppola financed the $120 million budget himself, using his lucrative wine empire to realize a long-held vision of Roman epic set in a modern New York. You might be familiar with the film鈥檚 in May, some of whom saw a grand folly, others a wild ambition to admire.
鈥淢egalopolis,鈥� a movie Coppola first began mulling in the aftermath of in the late 1970s, has been a subject of intrigue, anticipation, gossip, a and sheer disbelief for years.
Here's details and excerpts of and the film's stars.
COPPOLA ON THE FILM'S RISKS
If Coppola has a lot riding on 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥� he doesn鈥檛, in any way, appear worried. Recouping his investment in the film will be virtually impossible; he stands to lose many millions. But speaking with Coppola, it鈥檚 clear he鈥檚 filled with gratitude. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more blessed,鈥� he says.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 so worried about money. I say: Give me less money and give me more friends,鈥� Coppola says. 鈥淔riends are valuable. Money is very fragile. You could have a million marks in Germany at the end of World War II and you wouldn鈥檛 be able to buy a loaf of bread.鈥�
WHAT THE 鈥楳EGALOPOLIS鈥� CAST SAYS ABOUT THE FILM
鈥淥n our first day of shooting, at one point in the day he said to everybody, 鈥橶e鈥檙e not being brave enough,鈥� Driver recalled in Cannes. 鈥淭hat, for me, was what I hooked on for the rest of the shoot.鈥�
Giancarlo Esposito, who first sat for a reading of the script 37 years ago with Laurence Fishburne and Billy Crudup, calls it 鈥渟ome deep, deep dream of consciousness鈥� from Coppola.
Esposito was surprised to find the script hadn鈥檛 changed much over the years.
Every morning, he would receive a text from the director with a different ancient story. On set, Coppola favored theater games, improvisation and going with instinct.
鈥淗e takes his time. What we鈥檙e used to in this modern age is immediate answers and having to know the answer,鈥� Esposito says. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 think Francis needs to know the answer. I think the question for him is sometimes more important.鈥�
COPPOLA ON THE STATE OF HOLLYWOOD
鈥淚鈥檓 a creation of Hollywood,鈥� says Coppola. 鈥淚 went there wanting to be part of it, and by hook or crook, they let me be part of it. But that system is dying.鈥�
COPPOLA'S VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF FILM
In recent years, Coppola has experimented with what he calls 鈥渓ive cinema,鈥� trying to imagine a movie form that鈥檚 created and seen simultaneously. In festival screenings, 鈥淢egalopolis鈥� has included a live moment in which a man walks on stage and addresses a question to a character on the screen.
鈥淭he movies your grandchildren will make are not going to be like this formula happening now. We can鈥檛 even imagine what it鈥檚 going to be, and that鈥檚 the wonderful thing about it,鈥� says Coppola. 鈥淭he notion that there鈥檚 a set of rules to make a film 鈥� you have to have this, you have to have that 鈥� that鈥檚 OK if you鈥檙e making Coca-Cola because you want to know that you鈥檙e going to be able to sell it without risk. But cinema is not Coca-Cola. Cinema is something alive and ever-changing.鈥�
HOW TO SEE 鈥楳EGALOPOLIS鈥�
鈥淢egalopolis鈥� will be released by Lionsgate in theaters Friday, including many IMAX screens.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
