Francis Ford Coppola slams studio system at ‘Megalopolis’ press conference

Francis Ford Coppola slams studio system at ‘Megalopolis’ press conference
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May 17th, 2024 | ABC News Radio

One day after premiering his passion project Megalopolis at the Cannes Film Festival, director Francis Ford Coppola gave his thoughts on the state of the current studio system.

During a press conference on Friday, May 17, Coppola said he feels like the studio system may not be around for much longer.

“I fear that the film industry has become more of a matter of people being hired to meet their debt obligations because the studios are in great, great debt. And the job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure they pay their debt obligations,” Coppola answered a question from Variety.

“Obviously, new companies like Amazon and Apple and Microsoft, they have plenty of money, so it might be that the studios we knew for so long, some wonderful ones, are not to be here in the future anymore,” Coppola continued.

Megalopolis premiered Thursday, May 16, where it received a seven-minute-long standing ovation. The film, which stars Adam Driver, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza and Giancarlo Esposito, has yet to find distribution in the U.S., though it has guaranteed an Imax run.

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