Francis Ford Coppola may very well be our greatest living filmmaker, so the looming release of his first feature in 13 years would be a major cinematic event at any juncture in his career. That he is 85 years old and spent $120 million of his own money to finance it makes it a one-of-a-kind risk — one that, judging from the reviews out of last May’s Cannes Film Festival, might come up snake eyes at the box office.
I’d like to think that any new Coppola is a preordained success, that movie lovers of all stripes will flock to theaters this September to bear witness to the 41-years-in-the-making sci-fi epic that is “Megalopolis.” But at 138 minutes and freighted with some particularly nasty pans (The Hollywood Reporter called it “windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky”), will rank-and-file moviegoers opt to wait for streaming?
A bit of canny salesmanship is clearly in order here, so perhaps this brand new theatrical trailer will drown out the negativity that’s dogged this movie for months (some of which has been brought on by reports of Coppola’s amorous mistreatment of extras on the film’s Atlanta set), and get audiences in the mood for a literal world-building saga that draws on go-for-broke efforts like Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” and Tinto Brass’ “Caligula.” Bolstered by a star-studded cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Dustin Hoffman, there’s certainly enough here to pique potential ticket-buyers’ interest. Does this new trailer close the deal? See for yourself by watching it above.