Francis Ford Coppola Explains Megalopolis VFX Team Controversy

Production and promotion Francis Ford Coppola's huge city The film has been dogged by controversy after controversy. Most recently, it was confirmed that the director tried to kiss an extra during filming, and the latest trailer for the film opened with fake reviews, generated using artificial intelligence, about Coppola’s previous films – which have now been removed from YouTube. While the series of controversies may seem like a recent occurrence, they have been happening since the film entered production, with The director fired the entire visual effects team for the project in the middle of filming..

Speaking to Empire magazine, Francis Ford Coppola explained why he parted ways with the original visual effects team on the project. The director explained that it was due to creative differences. Coppola said that he and the team initially shared a common goal for the film’s production design, which was inspired by the studio’s work on Edward Norton’s film. Brooklyn Without a MotherHowever, when Coppola hired a separate conceptual artist to help him set the visual tone for the film, Their professional relationship collapsed.He explained:

“In the end, Beth and I didn't share the same vision. [later] “We had a bit of a disagreement about whether it was better for me to hire a concept artist and come up with frames that showed what I wanted, which I did. The art department was frustrated because they felt I was developing the look of the picture independently of them. They wanted giant sets and pictures. I wanted other elements like costumes and live effects to do some of the work and not have it all centered around the art department. So, there was a disagreement like that.”

Francis Ford Coppola fires visual effects team over Megalopolis budget

Much like the controversy surrounding his film productions, Francis Ford Coppola and budget issues go hand in hand. The director, who is known for financing his own films, is known for going over budget on his projects. huge cityThe film's initial price was $120 million. However, Coppola was at risk of inflating it to something closer to $150 million. The director decided that firing a few members of the visual effects team would help ease the pressure on the budget. However, that could have been the case. It also angered the remaining visual effects artists, who unanimously decided to stop working on the film.Coppola continued:

“The picture was going over budget.” [towards $148 million]“I said, ‘We have to cut costs now and make it a lot less expensive.’ The art department had a production designer, five art directors and a supervisor. It was very hierarchical. I said, ‘Let’s fire one of the five art directors,’ and they said, ‘Well, if you do that, we’ll all quit.’ So I did that, and they did that. And then, of course, they criticized us: ‘Oh, this movie is crazy.’ I thought the movie was going well because I loved the actors and I loved the performances.”

While many films will collapse under the weight of huge cityFrancis Ford Coppola seems to relish these many controversies. In a recent interview, the director said he deliberately cast actors who were “excluded” from the work so he wouldn’t have to give up his role. The movie didn't look like a “woke Hollywood production.”