Coppola regularly held table readings of his latest draft of the script with actors including Paul Newman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, James Caan, Edie Falco and Uma Thurman.
About 300 rewrites, 40 years of preparation and one winery sale later, he finally had the means to make his dream script come true: in autumn 2022, shooting commenced over several sound stages at Atlanta’s Trilith studios.
By the sound of things, the shoot became a clash between Coppola’s old-school approach, privileging spontaneity and “finding magic in the moment”, and newer digital film-making methods, such as filming actors in front of virtual CGI landscapes in a “volume” – effectively a giant wall of LED screens.
But pretty much every day, we’d just walk away shaking our heads wondering what we’d just spent the last 12 hours doing.” As a third crew member puts it: “This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we were all standing around going: ‘Has this guy ever made a movie before?’”
Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision.
Another told reporters: “There is just no way to position this movie.” A third said: “It’s so not good, and it was so sad watching it … This is not how Coppola should end his directing career.” Shortly before its Cannes premiere, the film was acquired by distributors in the major European markets.
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