Megalopolis Cancel Attempt On Francis Ford Coppola Debunked By Extra
Last week we reported on Variety’s article about Megalopolis director Francis Ford Coppola allegedly kissing extras and acting unprofessionally during the shooting of a club scene in the film. Now Deadline is coming out with a report that calls out publications like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter while also reporting that the extra in Variety’s videos, Rayna Menz, has come forward and denied that Coppola acted inappropriately at all. Menz took to Instagram to post about the report and also gave a statement to Deadline.
Rayna Menz Comes Forward
Menz told Deadline, “He did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable,” adding, “I felt disgusted, I was blindsided by it because it was a closed set,” and “That someone had video of that is just ridiculous and super unprofessional.”
Menz also mentioned that Coppola’s wife, Eleanor Coppola who passed away in April, was on the set of Megalopolis most days and that Coppola would only ever speak about how wonderful his wife is.
Coppola was married to his now-late wife for over 60 years and she directed the documentary Heart of Darkness about the making of Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, amongst various other achievements in film.
Menz Defends Coppola
Menz continued to defend Coppola against the allegations saying, “It was all false,” adding, “In fact, I was the one who asked him to dance.” She continued to say their dance was like a waltz and that “He was nothing but professional, a gentleman, he was like this cute Italian grandfather, running around the set.”
Coppola was previously defended by the allegations published in Variety by Megalopolis executive producer Darren Demetre, who said Coppola would walk around the set to help establish the club atmosphere of the scene adding, “I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behavior during the course of the project.”
Mariela Comitini
Megalopolis’ first assistant director, Mariela Comitini, echoed these statements saying she “watched as Francis created a vibrant, professional, and positive environment on set.” These statements, along with Menz’s, directly counter to the statements made by anonymous sources to Variety.
Two sources indicated to Variety that Coppola had ruined takes by stepping in frames to touch and dance with actresses, and another claim said that Coppola announced on a microphone, “Sorry if I come up to you and kiss you,” and “Just know it’s solely for my pleasure.”
Earlier Claims
Menz’s statements are also counter to a May report published by The Guardian where anonymous crew members reported inappropriate behavior during the nightclub scene.
Coppola would defend himself against these initial allegations in The New York Times saying that he does not “disrespect” women. As of now, Variety has yet to publish an article regarding Deadline’s Megalopolis report.
Megalopolis is Francis Ford Coppola’s latest project and one that he independently financed to the tune of $120 million. The ambitious project first debuted at Cannes without a distributor attached and was then snapped up by Lionsgate.
While the early reviews for the film have ranged from calling it a mess to an extremely ambitious prestige drama, audiences won’t have a chance to make a decision for themselves until it hits theaters on September 27.
Megalopolis
Megalopolis follows a genius architect (Adam Driver) who wants to rebuild New York after a catastrophe but finds himself having to go up against the corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) when trying to achieve his vision. Coppola directed, wrote, and produced the film with the all-star cast being rounded out by Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza,
Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D. B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman. The drama around this film continues to be pretty intense, so expect this likely won’t be the last story before the film finally hits theaters.
Source: Deadline
