The first trailer for MEGADOC was released this week, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Francis Ford Coppola’s long-running, self-financed effort to mount the science-fiction epic Megalopolis and the stakes of what has been described as a roughly $120 million gamble.
Directed by Mike Figgis, the documentary presents a fly-on-the-wall portrait of Coppola, now 85, as he stages massive scenes, directs thousands of extras and coaches leading actors through rehearsals that range from playful improvisation to intense emotional work. "Filmmaking is play," Coppola says in footage teased by the trailer, a line that the film uses to frame both the creative process and the personal risk of the project.
The trailer offers glimpses of production scale — elaborate sets evoking a futuristic "New Rome," hundreds or thousands of extras and sequences staged as political allegory — and highlights cast members including Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza and Shia LaBeouf participating in unconventional rehearsal techniques. Figgis’ camera captures both staged sequences and more candid moments, charting creative clashes, logistical challenges and the vulnerability of a director deeply invested in his artistic legacy.
MEGADOC has been likened in early reviews to Hearts of Darkness, the landmark documentary chronicling the troubled production of Apocalypse Now, for its candid depiction of the tumult and obsession that can accompany large-scale filmmaking. Figgis’ film premiered earlier this month at the Venice and Telluride film festivals and is scheduled to open in select theaters on Sept. 19, distributed by Utopia.
Coppola has publicly pursued Megalopolis for decades; the notes and footage in the trailer underline the project’s personal resonance for the filmmaker and his willingness to finance it outside the traditional studio system. The documentary frames those decisions as integral to the story it tells, showing how artistic ambition, financial risk and the demands of staging grand spectacle intersect.
The footage also foregrounds the film’s thematic ambitions. Megalopolis is presented in the trailer as more than a set piece: Coppola’s New Rome is depicted as a reimagined New York City threaded with political ideas and social commentary. The documentary’s scenes of actors rehearsing allegorical material and of Coppola discussing the film’s aims suggest the director sees the project as a vehicle for both aesthetic innovation and civic critique.
Critics and festival audiences who have seen MEGADOC in Venice and Telluride noted its intimacy and volatility, with reviewers pointing to moments that reveal the director’s emotional investment as well as the practical difficulties of mounting a spectacle of this size without major studio backing. Figgis, himself an established filmmaker, uses observational camera work to document the creative process rather than narrate it, allowing viewers to witness arguments, adjustments and breakthroughs on set.
With its combination of sweeping production images and moments of personal candor, MEGADOC aims to satisfy both cinephiles interested in Coppola’s career and audiences curious about the mechanics of large-scale moviemaking. The trailer emphasizes the dual narrative the documentary pursues: the work-in-progress of a high-concept film and the portrait of an aging filmmaker confronting questions of legacy and risk.
MEGADOC opens in select theaters Sept. 19, and the trailer’s release is likely to intensify interest in both the documentary and the fate of Megalopolis itself as the films move toward wider public viewings and further critical appraisal.