8 months ago
41
LONDON: Several crew members on
Francis Ford Coppola
's "Megalopolis" have alleged that the veteran filmmaker tried to "kiss some of the
topless female extras
" and make the team wait for "hours and hours" without filming anything.
The
allegations
, reported by Guardian, come days before the film, fronted by
Adam Driver
, has its world premiere at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.
Multiple sources told the publication that Coppola (85), best known for "The Godfather" trilogy and "Apocalypse Now", was "old school" in his behaviour toward women.
"He allegedly pulled women to sit on his lap, for example. And during one bacchanalian nightclub scene being shot for the film, witnesses say, Coppola came on to the set and tried to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras. He apparently claimed he was 'trying to get them in the mood'," the report read.
These allegations were countered by Darren Demetre, an executive co-producer on "Megalopolis", which is Coppola's self-financed passion project. He told the UK-based publication the filmmaker, 84, gave "hugs and kisses" to the cast and background players but no one ever complained.
Crew members told Guardian that Coppola would spend several hours away from the film set. "He would often just sit in his trailer for hours on end, wouldn't talk to anybody, was often smoking marijuana," one member said. Another said, "This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we all thought: 'Has this guy ever made a movie before?'" On claims of mismanagement, Demetre - who has worked with the filmmaker for 35 years - said Coppola "successfully" mounted a big-budget independent film like "Megalopolis". Coppola himself has not commented on the claims.PTI
