Adam Driver Has Become The King Of Getting “Unfilmable” Movies Made

Megalopolis star Adam Driver is fast becoming the go-to actor for getting “unfilmable” movies made. Since his breakout on shows like Girls and supporting parts in the likes of Inside Llewyn Davis, Driver is now recognized as one of the best actors of his generation. It’s a label that’s hard to argue with when presented with Adam Driver performances like those found in Marriage Story or Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. The Star Wars sequel trilogy may have proven critically divisive, but even those who didn’t enjoy the movies praised Driver’s works as Kylo Ren.

Driver’s career as a leading man is at a strange nexus because, while critics and viewers agree he’s one of the best in the business, most of his recent work has flopped. House of Gucci underperformed, while The Last Duel outright bombed despite incredible reviews. Even a seeming crowdpleaser like sci-fi adventure 65 wound up a financial disappointment. Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming passion project Megalopolis is Driver’s next film, where he plays an architect trying to rebuild a ruined city into a utopia.

Adam Driver Was Key To Getting The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Ferrari & Megalopolis Made

Without Driver, none of these auteur-driven projects would have happened

Coppola has been trying to make Megalopolis for decades, first conceiving of the concept in the late 1970s. Despite multiple attempts to get the movie off its feet, it appeared it would never happen. In the past, Coppola has famously gambled his own money on projects like Apocalypse Now and has decided to do the same with his next film, with Coppola self-financing Megalopolis to the tune of $120 million. It helped that actors like Driver, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman signed up to star too.

Those tracking Adam Driver’s film career might see a pattern emerging with the actor’s choices. In 2018, he fronted The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a fantasy adventure from director Terry Gilliam. The movie was one that Gilliam had tried to make for decades and he even famously began filming a version starring Johnny Depp in 2000, before it was canceled due to numerous production problems. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote felt like it would never happen, but in 2016 it was confirmed a new take had secured financing with Driver taking the lead.

In an interview with RogerEbert.com in 2018, Gilliam went so far as to state “This film was made because of Adam Driver.“ Driver went on to front another passion project for Michael Mann (Heat), playing the titular role in 2023’s Ferrari. Mann had spent over 20 years trying to get this biopic in gear, with actors like Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman signing on before later dropping out. Driver ultimately played the part, reducing his salary (via Screen Daily) to help the independently financed production get moving.

Why These Adam Driver Movies Took So Long To Happen

All of these Adam Driver projects spent decades trapped in development hell

Dream projects from legendary directors are often treated with suspicion by studios, since they can be expensive and lacking in commercial appeal. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Ferrari and Megalopolis all come from auteur filmmakers, who spent years pushing them up hills. For a time, all three movies looked doomed to spend eternity in development hell, and all three needed Adam Driver’s help to finally go into production.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is by far the cheapest production but also had the worst luck of the trio. Gilliam first developed the movie in 1989, and pictured his Time Bandits star Sean Connery in the title role, though other names were linked to the part as development wore on. Gilliam finally started filming it with Depp and the late Jean Rochefort as Quixote in 2000, but the latter falling ill and a flash flood hitting the set eventually led to its cancelation.

It was only after another decade and change of chasing money that The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finally went before cameras. Michael Mann’s Ferrari began development around the start of the 2000s, though like Don Quixote, he would spend years chasing actors and money. In an Uproxx chat, Mann claimed to have once turned down a $40 million budget to make Ferrari during its development cycle, as he feared it wouldn’t be enough. Christian Bale was also linked to the Enzo Ferrari role for years.

Independent financing and Driver’s commitment are what finally got Ferrari racing. Coppola always pictured Megalopolis as his epic, but despite the film often being mentioned in interviews, its large scale and ambiguity saw it being constantly pushed back. During this era, Coppola also had to focus on more commercial films like Dracula to pay off the debts incurred from 1982’s self-financed musical One from the Heart.

Around the early 2000s, actors like Coppola’s nephew Nic Cage and Russell Crowe were linked to Megalopolis as Coppola began to seriously develop the film. Hours worth of second-unit footage was shot for this version, which was ultimately abandoned. Self-financing Megalopolis means Coppola has complete creative control over the film, with the director selling off some of his wine empire to raise the necessary funds.

Megalopolis Needs To Avoid The Man Who Killed Don Quixote & Ferrari’s Fates

Megalopolis needs to be a win for Adam Driver

After decades in development hell, Megalopolis has finally been shot and is seeking a distributor. Early word is mixed, though it will be a must-see for fans of Francis Ford Coppola’s movies. Hopefully, the project will find a more willing audience than The Man Who Killed Don Quixote or Ferrari did. The former was greeted with mostly positive reviews, but after so much hype, its critical response was disappointingly muted. In fact, the film has largely been forgotten since its release.

Ferrari also received broadly positive critical notices, especially for Driver and Penélope Cruz’s work. Sadly, it failed to click with viewers, with Ferrari grossing less than half its production budget at the box office. The film will no doubt be rediscovered and reassessed in the years ahead, but it did little to help Adam Driver’s status as a movie star.

Will Adam Driver’s Megalopolis Even Receive A Wide Release?

Francis Ford Coppola is apparently struggling to secure a distribution deal

According to a THR article that covered the response to the first screening of Megalopolis to industry heavyweights, the response was downbeat. Those in attendance, including the head of Sony, were said to have praised its vision and ambition, but few wanted to meet Coppola’s demands for an expensive promotional campaign and theatrical rollout. Apparently, Megalopolis is seen as too experimental and offbeat for a major studio to distribute.

Hence, there is currently no release date set for Megalopolis, though it’s hard to imagine such an anticipated film won’t secure some kind of deal. It sounds like the movie is better suited to the likes of A24, though Coppola appears to be aiming higher. Regardless, Megalopolis will complete the unofficial Adam Driver’s auteur passion project trilogy, which includes The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and Ferrari. These are movies that were made with passion and artistic drive, and while they didn’t exactly set the box office on fire, that doesn’t have to be their only measure of success.

Source: Roger Ebert, Screen Daily, Uproxx, THR