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“To make a Roman epic set in modern America, I didn’t imagine that today’s politics would make it so relevant,” Francis Ford Coppola said Friday in Cannes about the $120 million epic. dollars that lasted 40 years. Megalopolis.
The film follows The City of New Rome, an allegory for New York City, in which Adam Driver’s architect Cesar Catilina faces off against a regressive status quo mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), as well as a radical renegade, Clodio Pulcher (Shia LaBeouf). the hopes of building a utopian society.
“What is happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost its republic thousands of years ago,” The Godfather » said the filmmaker during a press conference for the film after its world premiere in Cannes on Thursday evening.
“Our politics have brought us to the point where we are in danger of losing a republic, and so it’s not people becoming politicians who are going to be the answer, it’s American artists.”
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“The role of the artist is to illuminate contemporary life, to highlight it, to be its beacon. So, creating art that doesn’t illuminate contemporary life is like making a hamburger that you eat that has no nutrients in it, which is also happening,” Coppola continued.
Coppola was asked how afraid he was of the future, and particularly of politicians like former US President Donald Trump.
Coppola pointed out: “Men like Donald Trump are not in charge at the moment, but there is a trend emerging in the world… there is a trend towards a more neo-right, even fascist, division, which is scary. Everyone who lived through World War II witnessed the horrors that took place, and we don’t want it to happen again. Once again, I think it’s the role of cinema artists to shine a light on what’s happening in the world.
Coppola then withdrew his Megalopolis actor Jon Voight, known for his conservative views, participated in the conversation. “Jon, you have different political views than me…”
“One of the things I could say about our wonderful cast is that they reflect all kinds of political ideas,” Coppola said.
Voight has spoken out in support of Trump and, in a recent video that made the rounds, defended Trump, saying he had been “ridiculed” and “destroyed like Jesus.” Voight also said Trump was “targeted for his information that can turn around the corrupt swamp” and that he is “the only man capable of destroying the negative propaganda sworn into this office.”
But today, on the global Cannes stage, Voight kept his remarks mostly apolitical, telling Coppola that the filmmaker’s goal “is to create a better world.”
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Voight continued, “Where are we going? I think we’re all asking ourselves this question right now. Where are we going and what can we do? I’m a little older now – some of you may have noticed – and I don’t have much time. And I ask myself: what can I do to encourage us towards a better world to protect these children? That’s exactly what I do, I’m on my mind every second of the day to see what we can do to make this world a better place. I know it’s possible.
“I agree with this film, with Francis’ vision that human beings are capable of solving all the problems we find ourselves in. We can do it; This is what Adam says in the final moments of the film. We can do it. We have to bond together, we have to help each other, we have to listen to each other and we have to own that and create a better world. We’ve been through a lot. We have experience and we know a lot. We have to do our best and we have to do our best to appreciate these people who come out and try to show us a little bit of the way.
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Voight said he was aware of Coppola’s information Megalopolis idea for 25 years.
Says the Oscar winner Go home actor, “It was a vision that bothered him to express – he had to do it.”
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News Source : deadline.com
