After a feverish courtship of Francis Coppola between the organizers of the Cannes, Venice and Toronto film festivals, Megalopolis has been locked into a gala premiere slot on the Palais on Friday evening May 17, I’m told. The film will premiere in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux wins the day on this one, on the eve of a full festival slate announcement Thursday. It comes shortly after a movie concept that had been eating at Coppola for 20 years was shown to buyers for the first time at the Universal CityWalk Imax Theater on March 28. Coppola’s longtime attorney Barry Hirsch is still in talks to secure a distribution partner for a film that will reach audiences in the fall, with an emphasis on Imax theaters.
While the safest bet would have been to premiere the film in Venice, Telluride or Toronto, Coppola has gotten where he has as a filmmaker and entrepreneur because he has taken gambles that more often than not pay off big.
