After a constant barrage of negative press, that’s lasted now for more than a year, Francis Ford Coppola has decided to sue Variety for libel over a July 26 article that called his behavior on the set of the sci-fi film “unprofessional.” The report alleged that the Oscar winner hugged and kissed on-set extras without their consent.
This is certainly one way to recoup your money.
Coppola, 85, is seeking $15 million and “further punitive and exemplary damages from defendants Variety Media LLC and journalists Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel.” Apparently, the cast and crew of “Megalopolis” had all signed an NDA.
It’s not just the kissing controversy, the attacks have been relentless towards Coppola and “Megalopolis” It’s honestly perplexing why so much of the media, not just Variety, has been trying to pile up the attacks on the filmmaker, and Coppola has had enough. The filmmaker is attempting to get back his good name, and one wonders if the case will even be brought into court given that suing journalists is certainly a dicey play on his part.
It should be noted that many of the outlets who have participated in the smearing of Coppola — THR, Variety, The Guardian —have been used in the past as studio mouthpieces, and this sort of reporting is sometimes designed for a specific purpose. They’ve most definitely succeeded in tarnishing Coppola’s reputation, hitting him at all angles.
Back in January, Coppola had come out and denied reports of a chaotic “Megalopolis” production. Key creative talent such as the visual effects production supervisor, production designer, and supervising art director were all fired in December.
The end result is that “Megalopolis,” which much like at Cannes, was not well received at TIFF, is projected to have a $5M opening weekend. It’s set to hit theaters on September 27.