Megalopolis star Adam Driver broke down the reason why shooting Francis Ford Coppola’s original film felt less stressful than working on his Star Wars trilogy.
Driver is no stranger to be on big budget movie sets thanks to his stint as the villainous Kylo Ren in the modern Star Wars trilogy.
However, the actor has revealed how the experience working on his new sci-fi movie Megalopolis was a vast improvement from being on a blockbuster set.
“Because [Coppola] was paying for [Megalopolis], there was just immediacy,” Driver told DiscussingFilms, “You didn’t have to worry about people making decisions — that’s not unique to Star Wars — that happens with bigger budget movies where a lot of money is at stake.”
He continued, “There was no producers in the way, there was no one standing over Francis’ shoulder trying to nudge him in a direction where they thought the movie should be. It was a direct conversation that you were having with Francis. Because of that, it was one of the best shooting experiences I’ve ever had.”
Driver went on to add that Coppola’s style of filmmaking made him feel like they were “rebelling” against the blockbuster Hollywood system and that audiences will be able to get a sense of that feeling when they watch Megalopolis.
As Driver was one of the lead actors in the latest Star Wars trilogy, a lot of his character’s motivations and actions had to go through several channels to get approval before he could step in front of a camera.
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The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker were not only produced by two huge studios (Lucasfilms and Disney), but the trilogy also changed directors twice as J.J. Abrams began and finished the trilogy with Rian Johnson taking the reins for The Last Jedi.
Because there were so many people involved with the movies, a lot of storylines and arcs were either dropped and added on a whim, which could be frustrating for the actors who are contracted to stay in their one role til the end.
With Megalopolis, on the other hand, Coppola directed, wrote, and funded the movie himself, and he only received help with producing by partnering with three other people to complete the task.
However, having little to no oversight doesn’t always work in a project’s favor as Coppola and Megalopolis have suffered several controversies before the film even premiered.
Megalopolis is now playing in theaters. For more, check out all the best movies on streaming this month and keep up with our guide to the best movies of 2024 so far.
