42/42
Hamilton Crassus III: What do you think about this boner I have?
Line of Events
The city of New Rome is faced with a duel between Cesar Catilina, a brilliant artist who advocates a utopian future, and greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero. Between them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are divided between her father and her lover. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script in the early 1980s, but the film was shelved, in part because of his financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001 after shooting 30 hours of second takes and doing table reads with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Edie Falco, and Kevin Spacey, but the project was abandoned after the 9/11 attacks because a scene in the script (page 166) “predicted” the attacks. Coppola abandoned the project entirely in 2007 and didn’t begin developing it until 2019. There are many moments throughout the film where hand movements jump between cuts.
Every penny is on display
The “Ultimate IMAX Experience” version of the film features a live actor asking questions during a filmed press conference. Mentioned on The John Campea Show: Adam Driver in Francis Ford Coppola’s new film Megalopolis (2022). My Oath Written by Grace VanderWaal Performed by Grace VanderWaal Courtesy of Columbia Records Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Produced and arranged by Kris Kukula. That’s the good thing about Francis Ford Coppola’s latest and likely last film. Between the cast, the costumes, and the set design that imagines New York as New Rome, you can see everything. The only question that remains is why 42nd Street from Third Avenue to Times Square was left untouched, and what about the theaters from 7th to 8th Avenue?
And don’t forget the quotes from Marcus Aurelius
That said, it’s natural to be skeptical of what is essentially an admiring biopic about Robert Moses. Especially since it was apparently written by Ayn Rand as a response to METROPOLIS, then given to Abel Gance after convincing him he was making a movie about Julius Caesar, not Napoleon. All in all, this is a very scholarly film. To appreciate the details, you have to read a lot of Roman history, watch a lot of silent films, and be familiar with New York in the second half of the 20th century, including the flight of the middle and upper classes from the 1950s to the 1980s. Thanks to the vagaries of my upbringing and the chaotic process of self-education, I can say that. So.
What do I think?
The acting is okay. I do wonder, though, as with many films these days, who did Coppola make this film for? He reportedly spent about $140 million of his own money on this film. The general rule is that a film has to make about twice its production cost to break even. I don’t see a big enough audience for the film to make $300 million in box office and rights. It’s just too long, a shaggy tale of love and artistic vision overriding everything else.
I also don’t believe this film will ruin him
Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time Coppola has let his artistic ambitions run wild; while it’s been claimed that APOCALYPSE NOW ultimately made its money back, I have my doubts about that when you factor in the interest costs. ONE FROM THE HEART was certainly a disaster, and he spent decades making nice commercial films from other sources to get out and allow bodegas and restaurants to make money. There are certainly enough cinephiles out there to make the net loss bearable. All of which pretty much answers my question about who Coppola was targeting. It was Coppola himself, trying to prove himself as a complete filmmaker, not a good translator of other people’s well-told stories.
