Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' is one from the heart

TORONTO (AP) — Francis Ford Coppola believes he can stop time.

It’s not just a quality of the protagonist of Coppola’s new film “Megalopolis,” a visionary architect named Cesar Catilina ( Adam Driver ) who, by barking “Time, stop!” 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.

“We’ve all had moments in our lives where we approach something you can call bliss,” Coppola says. “There are times when you have to leave, have work, whatever it is. And you just say, ‘Well, I don’t care. I’m going to just stop time.’ I remember once actually thinking I would do that.”

Time is much on Coppola’s mind. He’s 85 now. Eleanor, his wife of 61 years, died in April. “Megalopolis,” which is dedicated to her, is his first movie in 13 years. He’s been pondering it for more than four decades. The film begins, fittingly, with the image of a clock.

“It’s funny, you live your life going from being a young person to being an older person. You’re looking in that direction,” Coppola said in a recent interview at a Toronto hotel before the North American premiere of “Megalopolis.” “But to understand it, you have to look in the other direction. You have to look at it from the point of view of the older looking at the younger, which you’re receding from.”

“I’m sort of thinking of my life in reverse,” Coppola says.

You have by now probably heard a few things about “Megalopolis.” 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’s clamorous reception from critics at the Cannes Film Festival in May, some of whom saw a grand folly, others a wild ambition to admire.

“Megalopolis,” a movie Coppola first began mulling in the aftermath of “Apocalypse Now” in the late 1970s, has been a subject of intrigue, anticipation, gossip, a lawsuit and sheer disbelief for years.

What you might not have heard about “Megalopolis,” though, is that it’s an extraordinarily sincere message from a master filmmaker nearing the end of his life. Giancarlo Esposito, who first sat for a reading of the script 37 years ago with Laurence Fishburne and Billy Crudup, calls it “some deep, deep dream of consciousness” from Coppola.

At a time when many are consumed by bitterly partisan politics and climate change anxiety, Coppola has spent every opportunity this year pleading that we are “one human family.” His movie, a delirious dream of the future, is an unwieldy but heartfelt fable about the boundlessness of human potential. As implausible as optimism may seem in 2024, it’s Coppola’s cri de coeur — one that he connects less to his perspective as an elder statesman than he does to his abiding, childlike sense of possibility.

“I realized that the genius of human invention usually happened when we were playing with our kids. It’s in the act of play that we’re so creative,” Coppola says. “The cave paintings, you see hands but there are big hands and little hands.”

“Megalopolis” will be released by Lionsgate in theaters Friday, including many IMAX screens, culminating what has been arguably Coppola’s biggest gamble — which is saying something for the filmmaker who plunked down his own millions to shoot “Apocalypse Now” in the Philippines jungle and plunged his production company, Zoetrope, into bankruptcy to make 1982’s “One From the Heart.” That title has remained symbolic of Coppola, an eminently personal filmmaker, regardless of the success of “The Godfather,” who has often done his best work far out on a limb.

“On our first day of shooting, at one point in the day he said to everybody, ’We’re not being brave enough,” Driver recalled in Cannes. “That, for me, was what I hooked on for the rest of the shoot.”

In the film, Driver’s Cesar is at odds with a backward-looking mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Esposito), but falls for his daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel). Cesar’s powers as a time-stopper and an architect are derived from a substance called Megalon that could alter the fate of the metropolis dubbed New Rome. A lot is thrown into the mix, including Aubrey Plaza’s TV personality Wow Platinum and Shia LaBeouf’s Clodio Pulcher. Coppola spent years assembling a scrap book of inspirations for the film, though you could wonder if Cesar isn’t ultimately derived from himself.

“I thought about Francis but I wasn’t thinking I’m going to do a version of Francis,” said Driver. “All movies, I kind of feel, are their directors in a sense.”

Esposito was surprised to find the script hadn’t changed much over the years. Every morning, he would receive a text from Coppola with a different ancient story. On set, Coppola favored theater games, improvisation and going with instinct.

“He takes his time. What we’re used to in this modern age is immediate answers and having to know the answer,” Esposito says. “And I don’t think Francis needs to know the answer. I think the question for him is sometimes more important.”

Reports of disorder on the set led to Driver making a statement that, to the contrary, it was one of the best shooting experiences of his career. Later, just before the film was to premiere in Cannes, a report alleged Coppola behaved inappropriately with extras. Variety later posted a story with a video shot by a crew member showing Coppola, in a nightclub scene, walking through a dancing crowd and then stopping to apparently lean in to several women to hug them, kiss them on the cheek or whisper to them.

Earlier this month, Coppola sued Variety, claiming its report was false and libelous. The trade publication said it stood by its reporters.

Asked about the reports in Toronto, Coppola said “I don’t even want to (discuss it). It’s a waste of time.” Later in the interview, he separately noted: “I’m very respectful of women, I always have been. My mother, she always taught me: ‘Francis, if you ever make a pass at a girl, that means you disrespect her.’ So I never did.”

None of the major studios or streaming services (“Another word for home video,” Coppola says) sought to acquire “Megalopolis” after Cannes. He also first showcased it to executives and friends in Los Angeles before the festival, but found little interest.

“I’m a creation of Hollywood,” says Coppola. “I 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.”

If Coppola has a lot riding on “Megalopolis,” he doesn’t, 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’s clear he’s filled with gratitude. “I couldn’t be more blessed,” he says.

“Everyone’s so worried about money. I say: Give me less money and give me more friends,” Coppola says. “Friends are valuable. Money is very fragile. You could have a million marks in Germany at the end of World War II and you wouldn’t be able to buy a loaf of bread.”

Coppola has lately been watching a lot of films from the 1930s ( “The Awful Truth” is a favorite). But his mind is mostly on the cinema of the future. In recent years, Coppola has experimented with what he calls “live cinema,” trying to imagine a movie form that’s created and seen simultaneously. In festival screenings, “Megalopolis” has included a live moment in which a man walks on stage and addresses a question to a character on the screen.

“The movies your grandchildren will make are not going to be like this formula happening now. We can’t even imagine what it’s going to be, and that’s the wonderful thing about it,” says Coppola. "The notion that there’s a set of rules to make a film — you have to have this, you have to have that — that’s OK if you’re making Coca-Cola because you want to know that you’re going to be able to sell it without risk. But cinema is not Coca-Cola. Cinema is something alive and ever-changing.”

Coppola has hoped to include the live moment in screenings nationwide. As of Tuesday, there weren’t details available on those showings. He’s even come up with a way to “simulate for the home an experience that is somewhat theatrical," he said. Regardless of whether moviegoers will flock to “Megalopolis," it's clearly a passionate late-career statement from a titan of American movies, made without a whiff of an algorithm, that embodies a line heard several times in the film: “When we leap into the unknown, we prove that we are free."

“There have to be," Coppola says, "filmmakers who make the film without risk and jump into it and say, ‘Well, it feels right to me but who knows? Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right, it doesn’t matter. It’s in my heart.’”

Dustin Hoffman, from left, Chloe Fineman, Aubrey Plaza, Francis Ford Coppola, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, and Grace VanderWaal attend the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

FILE - Director Francis Ford Coppola poses for photographers at the photo call for the film "Megalopolis" at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Francis Ford Coppola attends the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

FILE - Director Francis Ford Coppola poses for portrait photographs for the film "Megalopolis," at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Giancarlo Esposito as Mayor Cicero in a scene from "Megalopolis." (Lionsgate via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows a scene from "Megalopolis." (Lionsgate via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Adam Driver in a scene from "Megalopolis." (Lionsgate via AP)

FILE - Director Francis Ford Coppola poses for portrait photographs for the film "Megalopolis," at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

This image released by Lionsgate shows writer/director Francis Ford Coppola, left, and actor Adam Driver on the set of "Megalopolis." (Phil Caruso/Lionsgate via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Prince Harry said today's youth is in the midst of an “epidemic” of anxiety, depression and social isolation due to negative experiences online, as he brought his campaign to help children and their parents navigate cyberspace to this week's Clinton Global Initiative.

“These platforms are designed to create addiction,” Harry, 40, said in remarks Tuesday in New York City. “Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing scrolling — being force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to. This is not free will.”

Beyond supporting parents and youth throughout this advocacy, The Duke of Sussex stressed the need for corporate accountability. He asked why leaders of powerful social media companies are still held to the “lowest ethical standards" — and called on shareholders to demand tangible change.

“Parenting doesn’t end with the birth of a child. Neither does founding a company," said Harry, who revealed that his smartphone lock screen is a photo of his children, five-year-old Prince Archie and three-year-old Princess Lilibet. "We have a duty and a responsibility to see our creations through.”

Harry’s remarks arrive as pressures continue to mount on tech giants like Meta, Snap and TikTok to make their online platforms safer, particularly for younger users. Many children on these platforms are exposed to content that is not age appropriate, such as violence, or misinformation. Others face unrealistic beauty standards, bullying and sexual harassment.

Companies have made some changes over the years — with Instagram, for example, announcing last week that it would be making teen accounts private by default in a handful of countries. But safety advocates have long-stressed that there’s more work to be done. Many also maintain that companies still put too much responsibility on parents when it comes to keeping children safe on social media.

Harry's contribution to this year's CGI annual meeting was part of the “What's Working” theme, in a panel that included former President Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres.

The Archewell Foundation, which Harry founded with his wife, Meghan Markle, to carry out their philanthropic work recently launched an initiative supporting parents whose children have suffered or died due to online harms. Harry highlighted the work of that initiative, called The Parents Network, in his speech Tuesday.

The foundation has also partnered with the World Health Organization and others to end violence against children, an issue he and Meghan outlined during a recent trip to Colombia. Harry on Tuesday pointed to the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, which is set to take place in Bogotá this November. He said that this meeting could result in the first global agreement for prioritizing child safety and protection online.

His CGI address was part of a string of appearances for Harry in New York at the growing number of humanitarian and philanthropic events that run alongside the United Nations General Assembly Week.

On Monday, he appeared at an event for The HALO Trust, where he discussed how the work of the landmine clearing charity was influential on his late mother, Princess Diana, as well as at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit, where he spoke with winners of The Diana Award.

“The HALO Trust’s work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother,” he said. “Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take seriously. And I think we all know how much she would want us to finish this particular job.”

Harry's message on Tuesday was generally well-received at the conference.

Nia Faith, 22, co-founder of the Canadian nonprofit Revolutionnaire, which works to empower youth and uses social media to mobilize members, said she saw his presentation as a “call to action” on an issue that does not get enough attention.

“I was incredibly moved by Prince Harry’s speech,” she said. “At Revolutionnaire, we use digital advocacy and social media to empower youth to make a positive impact. We also recognized that social media is being used in a way that is harmful and detrimental to the mental health of young people.”

Faith hopes that Harry's work will convince companies and governments to take action to protect children while encouraging the use of platforms to drive more positive action.

Ashley Lashley, 25, whose Ashley Lashley Foundation works to address environmental challenges in her native Barbados by motivating young people to take action in their communities, said she was impressed by his remarks, even though she also worries about the digital divide in her country.

“His message really hit home that parents, teachers, and students really need to unite to educate each other about the safe usage of digital technology," she said. “I really believe that there needs to be a multi sectorial approach. That’s what we’re seeing here at CGI where different persons from different sectors — from governments, from private sectors, from philanthropy organizations — can really work together to ensure that there is peace and equity across all social media platforms.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Prince Harry speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Prince Harry speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Prince Harry speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)