“Kind Of Undefinable”: Francis Ford Coppola’s Original Epic Sci-Fi Movie Teased By Adam Driver

Adam Driver teases Francis Ford Coppola’s original, epic sci-fi movie, Megalopolis, calling it “kind of undefinable.” The legendary director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, two of the greatest films of all time, Coppola’s next film is an ambitious passion project that he conceived over 40 years ago and follows an architect who rebuilds New York City after a devastating disaster. Driver leads the incredibly stacked Megalopolis cast alongside Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman, and Giancarlo Esposito.

During an interview with The Face, Driver described Coppola’s Megalopolis as “undefinable,” which he says won’t make sense until one sees the film. Asked to describe his “renegade architect” Caesar, Driver compared his character to Coppola himself. Read his full response below:

It’s kind of undefinable, which feels very general until you watch the movie. Then my answer will be perfect. There’s not a lot of precedent for it and it’s wild on a big scale, which is what’s really unique about it.

He’s a visionary. He’s very much Francis [Ford Coppola], in a way, where he’s investigated every way of how people can do something and is trying not to get stuck on the right answer. That’s an idea that’s moving to me – and one that reflects Francis.

What Is Megalopolis Actually About?

It’s no surprise that Driver describes Megalopolis as “undefinable” considering how hard it’s been to get a handle on what the movie is about. In the past, Coppola has said the movie is in the tradition of a Roman epic, but set in a utopic version of New York City called New Rome. The film has also been described as “a love story that is also a philosophical investigation of the nature of man.”

It can be said with certainty that Megalopolis follows Driver as an architect who rebuilds New York City as a utopia after a devastating disaster. Because of the film’s “undefinable” quality, no Hollywood studio would fund it, forcing Coppola to spend $120 million of his own money to make the movie. To make matters worse, Megalopolis reportedly endured a troubled production process, which isn’t always a bad omen in Coppola’s case, considering The Godfather and Apocalypse Now were just as chaotic.

If there’s one mistake that Coppola has made consistently throughout his career, it’s that he’s been ambitious to a fault. One of his prior passion projects that he self-financed, 1982’s One from the Heart, was a massive critical and commercial failure that caused his own Zoetrope Studios to collapse. Considering Coppola’s track record, Megalopolis will likely be a masterpiece or a massive failure, with little chance of anything in between.