Tag : Megalopolis

London: 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 and hours without filming anything." The allegations, reported by The Guardian newspaper, come days before the film, fronted by Adam Driver, receives its world premiere 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, 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 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. Crew members told The Guardian that Coppola would spend the time away on set and keep the team waiti ...