Director Francis Ford Coppola accused of trying to kiss extras

Francis Ford Coppola

Several crew members on Francis Ford Coppola's Cannes-bound Megalopolis have alleged that the veteran filmmaker tried to "kiss some of the topless female extras" and make the team wait for hours without filming. The allegations, reported by The Guardian newspaper, come days before the film, fronted by Adam Driver, receives its world première at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival in the Competition segment.

Multiple sources told the publication that Coppola, best known for The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now (1979), was "old school" in his behaviour toward women. "He allegedly pulled women to sit on his lap. During the shoot of one bacchanalian nightclub scene, 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 that the filmmaker, 84, gave "hugs and kisses" to the cast and background players but no one ever complained to him about it.

"There were two days when we shot a celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene where Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players. It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film. I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behaviour during the course of the project," Demetre said.

On allegations of mismanagement, Demetre - who has worked with the filmmaker since 35 years - said Coppola "successfully" mounted a big-budget independent film like Megalopolis. Mike Figgis, one of Coppola's longtime friends, said the director held together a "massive team". "He was up every morning making notes on his way to the set, or he's discussing his ideas with Roman, his son. And at the end of the day, he's also the producer, so he's thinking about his interest rate."

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