There are new allegations of Francis Ford Coppola’s bad behavior on the Megalopolis set

Francis Ford Coppola isn’t exactly known for being the most cuddly and nurturing guy, especially if those traits would come at the expense of his art. The set of Apocalypse Now was famously so chaotic that it led to a near-fatal heart attack for its star and an entire documentary chronicling the madness of its production—not to mention the real live water buffalo that was slaughtered on camera, and so many other things that would cement it as a classic decades later, but certainly would not have flown today.

So it comes as no surprise that there would be some complaints from the set of Megalopolis, the director’s greatest (in his opinion) and potentially final film ever. We’ve already gotten wind of some of them. Back in January, there were reports of mass crew walkouts and ballooning budgets—ones that came as no surprise considering the fact that Coppola spent 40-odd years writing and rewriting the project, which he funded largely out of his own pocket.

Now, just days ahead of the film’s premiere at Cannes, The Guardian has a long piece fleshing out some of those behind the scenes claims from members of the crew. There’s essentially one real allegation here. According to the report, the director tried to kiss several female extras during a nightclub scene because he was “trying to get them in the mood.” He also allegedly pulled some women to sit on his lap.

In a statement included in the report, executive co-producer Darren Demetre pushed back on these allegations (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I have known and worked with Francis and his family for over 35 years. As one of the first assistant directors and an executive producer on his new epic, Megalopolis, I helped oversee and advise the production and ran the second unit. Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision,” he said. “There were two days when we shot a celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene where Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players. It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film. I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behaviour during the course of the project.”

The rest of the piece essentially boils down to Francis Ford Coppola acting like, well, Francis Ford Coppola. “I think Coppola still lives in this world where, as an auteur, you’re the only one who knows what’s happening, and everybody else is there just to do what he asks them to do,” said one former crew member. These requests included multiple scenic redesigns (“[E]very time we would have a new meeting, it was a different idea”) and a lot of “old school” technology.

In one anecdote, for example, a crew member explained that during Adam Driver’s (who plays the lead) first day on set, Coppola essentially “strapped [him] into a chair for six hours” and used a $100 projector to project an image onto the side of his head for an effect that also could have been produced digitally. “So he [Coppola] spends literally half of a day on what could have been done in 10 minutes,” the crew member continued. “This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we were all standing around going: ‘Has this guy ever made a movie before?’” added another, speaking of long, wasted days where the director would sit in his trailer not speaking with anyone.

Still, others were fulsome in their praise. “Francis has always had this reputation for being ahead of his time,” said sound designer Richard Beggs. “He’s laughed at and tolerated with good humour, and then, 10 or 15 years later, people are saying: ‘The guy knew what was going to happen.’” We’ll see whether history repeats itself when Megalopolis premieres this Friday.

You can read the full Guardian report here.