Megadoc (2025) Movie Script

1
So I guess
the big question is,
how do you feel
before you set off
on this adventure
that's been 30 years
in the making?
I think I must be
a little afraid,
a little scared,
but I think I take that
as a really good thing.
Because if I'm
a little afraid,
it shows that I'm...
I'm not just doing something
that is just,
I know how to do or... uh...
I have no nerves about it all.
I'm doing something
I don't know how to do
and I don't know how
it's going to work out,
but I think that's good.
Jacques Tati,
for his last film,
put all his money in
and lost it and died broke.
But who cares if you die broke
if you made something that
you think is beautiful?
We're heading for the studio.
I'm intrigued.
I've never actually seen
another film director
at work before.
I mean, the only time
I meet film directors
is at festivals
or award ceremonies,
that kind of thing.
I've never seen one
actually working.
Also, I am intrigued to see
how someone can spend
120 million dollars
of their own money on a film.
What advice would you
give anyone
who wanted to make
a documentary
about your husband?
Um...
That's a tough one.
I think you just
observe what's going on
that you think is interesting,
that has life,
that has something, uh,
that really interests
you as the filmmaker,
because he'll have ideas,
and he'll...
everybody's going this way
and he's going to
want to go that way.
I don't really like
to shoot this too much,
but if you like,
I'm happy to tell you
what it is and we can have
a little interview in there.
Yeah, that'll be nice.
The rest of the time
I'll be naked
and I'll be in the bathtub
and so it's not really--
That's when
I should shoot, right?
Oh, no.
Francis is stepping in.
You all have heard
of the famous
"lasciate ogne speranza,
voi ch'entrate'"
Who knows what that is?
Anybody?
No one speaks Italian,
obviously, or I don't
speak it well.
That's abandon hope,
all ye who enter.
That's on the sign of Hell.
If I have a sign
and you'll see it,
it's supposed to be up,
which is basically
"Abandon worry,
all you in here,"
because in this space,
during this time,
nobody can be bad,
nobody can get in trouble.
Abandon worry, but it's
not without its price,
because I'll tell
you something.
When you're in this space,
you're not you.
You are the character
you're playing.
I want you to imagine
that you're coming
to a Halloween
masquerade party.
Not that you would come as,
that your character
would come as.
And not what Shia
would think of,
what Clodio
would think, right?
So you've got this
imaginary costume on
and the game is going to be
that we have to guess
like 20 questions who you are.
Who knows how to
play sound focus?
-Ah!
-Ah!
-Back!
-Back!
-Circus!
-Circus!
-Dock!
-Dock!
Yama!
If you do this every day,
you'll be great in the movie.
-You do this every day--
-You really will.
Games have rules.
And the rule of this game
is that when you get mad,
you dish it off to
the guy below you,
which is in fact
what happens in life
and what happens
in most plays.
Take your hat, and when
you throw it down,
you have to tell
the second guy to pick it up
and then go back
to your improv.
-Pick up my hat!
-Pick up my hat!
And I want you to somehow
bring the tone down.
Bring down all of the anger,
all of the rage,
all of the vulgarity.
Okay, I'm gonna
stop for a second.
I'm gonna be the boss.
You gotta
take care of my staff.
You're fired.
Here, I want you to
go talk to the mayor.
Tell the mayor,
there are three things
-I'm not happy about.
-Right.
One is their policy of...
One second.
You're fired.
Pay attention! Take a note.
You know what you have to do?
You sat in my chair.
-You know what you have to do?
-Yes.
It's an old, old rule.
Who knows the rules
what happens in movies
when a person sits
in the director's chair?
They have to buy
us all drinks.
They have to buy
the whole company a drink,
but I'm gonna forgive you
because you didn't know that.
-We're in rehearsal.
-Okay.
I've never had an
experience like it before.
I feel like I'm in an
acting class,
but with these
wonderful people,
which is so inspiring
and entertaining.
But the whole movie magic
can be like that.
Yeah.
Do you lie to make
people feel better?
Never.
I-I, you know, I-I-I...
believe in the army dictum.
Neither withhold nor
volunteer information.
If you ask me a question,
I won't withhold the answer.
But all your compliments,
all your encouragement,
it's honest.
I have to tell you
a really honest fact
that I only realized recently
that when I do
casting for a movie,
whether-- whether
it's an open calling
in this very room,
I met about 400 people
and I shook their hand.
Whether it's
a newcomer like that
or it's Marlon Brando,
I'm rooting for them
when I'm there with them.
I really am.
By the end of that week
of rehearsal,
he had created
a sense of camaraderie
amongst the principal actors
who had started to
enjoy these games.
And they-- and also with
deep respect for Francis,
they-- they did
whatever he asked.
Are they in character?
Good.
Don't mind the camera.
The camera's not even here.
So how close are you guys?
Do you-- do you-- do you
get together every week?
Occasionally.
Family's important, isn't it?
I think family is everything.
We have a close bond.
We support each other.
And I'm trying to be a proper
captain of the ship to guide
them forth into the future.
We have very
strong personalities.
Very strong.
Look how buff he is.
That's the one
compliment I get.
He's so buff.
Buff banker, right?
-Flex for the camera.
-Oh.
The actors started, I think,
acting with the camera
because I was pretty
close and because
I'm a filmmaker, I was getting
good angles and everything.
And Francis, I think,
liked the fact
that they were interacting
in a cinematic way
in a rehearsal,
that it took it
to a different level.
And at one point,
he started directing me,
which was very funny.
Oh, you don't want to
flex for the camera?
Why are you working
out so much?
Well, let me ask a question.
Do you go to the gym?
-No.
-Do you exercise?
-No.
-You do nothing.
You know, there's rumors.
I don't know if you guys
read those kinds of things,
but there's rumors of,
of slight instability.
Instability.
This is an advertisement.
Did you hear that?
Everything all right
over there, boys?
Buff grandnephew.
Oh, oh, oh.
He's showing off.
He's showing off.
-There we go.
-He's getting it down.
Eight, nine, ten, eleven.
Oh, man. Look at this.
-Look at this.
-13, 14.
- Look at this. Whoa.
- 16. Look at him go.
17, 18, 19,
20, 21, 22...
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine,
and that's good form, too.
I read the script.
The first version I read
was about five years ago.
He did a table read.
-Whoa.
-That's not bad.
That is not bad at all.
And in the time from that
reading to this film,
I had basically fucked
my whole life up.
So I thought, you know,
I was in the midst
of doing my ninth step
in this program
I'm in, and I had to go
make amends to Voight
because I had--
Voight's politics and mine
are very different.
I love him very much.
He was like my mentor
from a young age.
He was like the first
real actor I ever met.
And he's the first one
who put me on to
Hoffman's repertoire
and, you know,
he would sit in a room with me
and watch all
these movies back-to-back
and, like, brought me,
made fall in love
with the process
and the craft
because before that
I was just a poor kid
making money.
We had a big fight
on the phone
where I told him I was
going to come to his house
and we were going to
fist fight.
And I hung up the phone and
didn't talk to him for years.
I look at you
as a potential heir
to all that I have built.
And then when
I fell into this program
he was like at
the top of my list
of people I needed
to make amends to and...
I love you very much.
We get back to
the love that we had
and in the midst of
that he's telling me
he's getting ready to
start prepping this
Megalopolis.
He says, you know,
I hope you come with us
and I'm thinking,
"I love you but
you're delusional."
Merry Christmas.
I was beyond persona
non grata, I was nuclear.
And so in my head
there was no fucking way
I was going to be able
to take part in this project.
Your sisters want you
to come here
to meet someone
you don't know.
And then maybe
two weeks later
I get a call saying,
"Hey, Francis still wants
you to do this movie."
But she's a good friend of
your older sister, Clodia,
who you're sleeping with,
your own sister.
I'm sleeping with
my own sister?
Oh, yeah.
It's true by the way.
He really was.
Then I heard that eight
people wanted to come
so that four bedrooms
wouldn't have been enough.
So I looked around
at Peachtree City
and I looked at some
bigger houses
and then I heard, well,
it's really 15 people.
So I said why don't
I just buy a hotel?
So I got on the internet
and I said a hotel
in Peachtree City
and sure enough
one came up
called a Days Inn.
These are like a motel.
Bottom line is that I decided,
well, it doesn't only
have to have nice suites.
It could also have a
beautiful projection room
- if I knocked out--
- Sure.
If I took three rooms
and I make a big--
and I can show it to you.
Big screen where I can
have the editors
and I could have
a recording studio
and I could
have a rehearsal room.
It's all show business.
It's all the same.
There are sets.
There are guests, audience.
There's the crew.
They're doing the gardening.
There's the cast.
There are the people
who meet the people.
So it's all--
and there's the press.
This project has been around
for a while in your mind.
In my mind, incubating. Yes.
And... I don't know,
maybe 30 years.
I'm Bob DeNiro from New York
and I'm happy to be here
and I didn't read
the script but I told Francis
that it doesn't matter.
I'll still do a good job.
I'm Uma Thurman
and I was born in Boston.
My name is Billy Crudup and
I thought I was reading Clod.
So this is going to
be interesting.
I looked at my calendar.
I think we start shooting
in two weeks, right?
Right.
And I'm looking at this
and is it going to be ready?
Story revolves around Cesar
who has invented
a miracle material
called Megalon
that will allow him to build
a utopian city of the future.
But he has an enemy
in the mayor, Cicero,
who opposes this vision.
Caught up in the middle is
the mayor's daughter, Julia,
who falls in love with Caesar.
Wow Platinum is a
TV celebrity reporter
who plots to take over
the world's biggest bank
controlled by
the aging Crassus,
Uncle of Caesar.
And then there is
Caesar's cousin, Clodio,
who plots to overthrow him
and take control
of everything.
Get the fuck up, and get out!
It's bad enough
he won a Nobel,
now you've made him
a fucking martyr!
Close the door!
Close the fucking door!
How did you get
involved with this?
What was that process?
Well, I was in Italy
and I was shooting
a television show
called White Lotus.
And I got the call
when I was there
that they wanted me to
screen test for the movie.
-So, Aubrey?
-Oh, Jesus.
Where are you?
You're in Sicily?
-I'm in Sicily.
-Wow.
So, I had the weirdest
Zoom in my life with Francis.
I'm gonna run
and get something.
Take your time, sweetie.
I don't... Whatever.
Before the Zoom, he sent me
the script because he said,
you know, a lot of
people read the script
and they don't like it.
And they don't want to do it.
So, I want you
to read it first
before you even try
to get the part.
I read it and then
I emailed him back
and I said,
this is a nightmare
because it was
disturbing to me.
And I meant it.
But I liked it, but I was
like, this is a nightmare.
And then he wrote me
back and he said,
"How could you say my
movie is a nightmare?
"My dear Aubrey,
how could you say this?"
"I'm writing something
about hope."
"This movie will
change the world."
"This movie is
a positive movie."
"It's got a positive message."
And I had no idea what the
fuck he was talking about.
Okay,
we're gonna play a game.
-All right.
-This is gonna be fun.
So, don't worry.
You can't do bad in this.
Listen, I can do it.
I can be funny.
You know, that's
like my thing.
I don't think
you're gonna find
anyone else as funny as me.
Come up with just a line.
It could be any line at all.
Up to you.
All right.
How about, uh, you want to
know why I want this job?
Because I got $70,000
of student loans.
There's your fucking
answer right there.
I want you to now
say this line,
but say it as if
you're the mad queen.
You want to know why
I want this job?
Because I've got
$70,000 of student debt.
There's your fucking
answer right there.
Good.
Francis, uh, was one
of the first to use
videotape auditions.
And often he would
have a camera here
and a way to turn it on.
And they wouldn't even
know that it was on or off.
I love Harpo.
But I'll kill him dead
before I let him beat me.
That was the first line that
popped into my head.
And then Francis then gave
me all of these scenarios.
Like, say it as if your son
has just come to tell you
he's going off to war.
Now you're a
stand-up comedian.
You're on the stage.
This is the last joke
of the night.
Because I got $70,000
of student debt.
There's your fucking answer
right there.
Thank you very much.
Over and over and over.
It was ridiculous.
Can you now do it as Hamlet.
I love Harpo.
But I'll kill him dead
before I let him beat me.
I've never had this kind
of an art department
or this kind of a budget.
But I'm able to be
helpful because I know
what the director
is trying to do.
And no one else does.
You know how I work.
Sometimes I understand it.
Sometimes I don't.
Okay.
I'd like to.
You know, he had
a number in mind,
which was a hundred million,
kind of in that vicinity,
give or take.
The first pass of the budget,
I came in much leaner before
he revealed that number.
I think we were at
60 and Francis
wanted to open up the world
and give himself
a little bit more time.
So we sort of, we set a
hundred as an initial target.
And we're a little
north of that now.
So far, I feel like
I'm making a commercial.
Doesn't feel like
I'm making a movie,
much less a personal--
which this is.
So going into
the shoot, what are the kind
of safety nets that
would normally be there
that are missing?
Well, anybody who can say no.
Francis reached out
to me, it was an e-mail.
It was one of the most
thrilling days of my career.
I took a photo
of my laptop screen,
and I sent it to my parents,
and nobody could believe it.
And I called my agent to
ask if this really could be
the real Francis Ford Coppola.
And it was quite an
honor to hear from him.
But interestingly, I was
just about to start
Guardians of the Galaxy
for Marvel and James Gunn,
which was going to be a
year-and-a-half-long project.
You know what that movie cost?
Hm?
I can't even tell you
because it's a secret,
but it's north of $375 million
they're saying it costs.
And my initial reaction
was heartbreak,
that I wasn't going to
be available.
And just much to
my thrill and delight,
he came back and said
he was in no rush
and that he still
had some casting to do
and some work on the script
and said he was
willing to hang tight
while I was
finishing this movie.
So I read the script.
I thought it was
incredibly original.
I'd never read
anything like it.
I loved how bold it was.
I loved that he was
swinging for the fences
with all the scenes.
And I remember thinking,
I really hope he wants to
do that with the visuals.
And fortunately,
yes, he wants this
to feel big
and wants to feel epic.
But we are still circling
around what Mega looks like
and how we're going to
approach it.
With the movie being
named Megalopolis,
and with trying to get
this great big grand vision
of a world nobody's
seen before,
it's, I think, equal parts
exciting and distressing
that we're still figuring
that out at this point.
-I think that's my goal here.
-Okay.
Are your ears pierced?
No, they're not.
Cheeky.
- Hi, Mike.
- Hi.
I'm here for you.
We have some gentlemen
ready for you to review.
If you like, they're back
with hair and makeup.
The clothes are okay.
-Okay.
-And you should do the hair.
How would you like the hair?
Short. Roman.
-More cut?
-Yes.
We take normal tuxedo,
and then we're done
with the facing
with all different
type of design.
Most of the design comes from
Roman, antique Roman mosaic.
But usually we do
a complete look,
makeup and hair and costume.
The way you would
always work on a film,
that you'd combine hair
and makeup with--
Oh, yeah, always.
Since my first movie, always.
Really?
Well, I mean, how can I do you
without knowing who you are?
Sure.
I start with this
and then here.
- Yeah.
- You know, the same thing.
I think you start
with the head.
I'm here because Francis
said some words to me
about six months ago
that I really loved.
We were talking
about another project,
and then that didn't work out,
and I basically said to him,
look, Francis, anything
that heals the world,
I'm going to do.
- Okay.
- And so he said, "Oh,
I want to
heal the world, too."
Techniques he uses,
which are just brilliant
from my point of view,
because I've done a
lot of experimentation
with alternate movement
and body therapy
and all the games
you play in therapy
and all these things
are the same games
you play with actors.
He's playing in
the one foot in theatrical,
one foot in cinema,
and he's straddling
that line, and I do both.
So I understood what
he was talking about.
Move! Next one.
Move!
A lot happened
where Francis really
was giving
an anthropology lesson,
and we just talked
about these ideas.
In the Madison Square Garden,
which is also
the Roman Coliseum
and all these
relationships between
modern-day New York City
and Rome,
the Rome Republic.
The celebration of
the wedding of Crassus
and, wow, is a scene
where it's like
he's the most powerful
person in New York City
and the mayor, and everyone's
coming to celebrate,
and they're going to celebrate
this whole thing.
And columns come in.
Roman columns come in
and float in to cover--
basically the slaves
are on stilts.
You don't see it,
but then they walk away.
So you go, huh?
It's this theatrical joke
and this punch in the gut
at the same time.
I love it because
I'm a dreamer as well
as much as I can be,
and then there's a pragmatist.
And Francis said, too,
I'm a pragmatist.
But when you talk
to Francis at times,
he's the biggest dreamer.
And we talked about this being
a very magnificent
large scene.
Everything's here
for a reason.
I'm here for a reason.
And I guess the reason is to
help Francis with his vision,
but also to give this moment
that people may look
back in 30 years
and say, God, you got
to go back and watch that
Madison Square Garden
scene in Francis'
movie Megalopolis.
George, take one.
So I'm watching
Francis in Atlanta
spend $120 million.
That's how I started.
That's how I started.
I mean, my whole career is
based on watching Francis.
Tell us about your young
assistant, George Lucas.
Associate, okay.
George won an award to
come to Warner Brothers
and observe a film
being made there.
And he came when we were
making Finnegan's Rainbow.
And I kept seeing the
skinny kid with a beard
and he was always looking.
I sort of followed in
Francis's footsteps.
What he does, then I do.
Francis produced THX-1138,
George's movie.
American Graffiti,
which was, I think,
the biggest grossing film
for its budget of all time.
What was your first
impression of Francis?
Uh... flamboyant.
He is flamboyant.
You know, he's
the opposite of me,
which is I guess
why we got along so well.
I'm plodding along,
careful where I'm doing,
you know, plan it out,
and he's a
jump-off-the-cliff guy.
This is an
electronic storyboard.
Francis has been
very interested
in trying to
advance the medium.
What I want to do, I think,
is I want to walk around
all of these storyboards.
As I have
been very interested
in advancing the medium.
As I'm hearing the movie,
and let's say these
all have numbers on them.
You know, the whole,
I'll finance these
movies myself,
that started with
Apocalypse Now.
13, 15.
And then he said,
well, I'll start
a studio and, you know...
Just say these numbers, more
or less editing the movie.
He's idealistic,
but idealistic
in the artistic sense.
And I said, well, yeah, but
you've got to be
practical about it.
Uh, I mean,
that's the difference.
I mean, I built blocks,
financial blocks,
to be able to get to a point
where I could finance
my own movies,
have my own studio,
and not listen to the majors.
And then people can
take this unit,
which is a disc storage.
He just said,
no, I'll just
jump off the cliff
and we'll do it.
Let's say I push button 13,
that will give me that
picture on the screen.
And so you can edit
with the actual
sketches of the storyboard.
So when you're done,
you'll have
a whole little
miniature movie.
He had the feeling
that he was sort
of invincible.
After Apocalypse Now,
my reasons for doing this work
are different than
they used to be.
They're not related to career,
or they're not related to be
an important film director,
or to continue to be an
important film director.
They're more related to
my own personal education.
You know, what the nature of
existence is,
what the nature of
being a human being is.
To do your work
as hard as you can
and as passionately
as you can,
but to always do it
beautifully.
After the studio collapsed,
um,
Francis started
writing Megalopolis.
It's so much about
Francis's dream,
the way it didn't happen,
the way it did happen.
And this is a dream Francis
has been revising
his whole life.
And that is what
Megalopolis really is.
I tell you,
between the two of us,
no one I'm working
with that I think of
in this whole group realizes
how weird a movie
this really is.
Good morning.
Good morning,
good morning, good morning.
We need a big circle.
Everyone stand around
and we're going to hold hands
so you're touching
everybody on the show.
Everybody on the show!
All right, listen
to this folks.
So we're here to begin
this wonderful adventure.
I want to say this
is something
I've done since
I'm 16 years old
and all my family have done.
It's called the Poabah.
And what it's about,
it's about safety
that we work on a show
and no one is ever hurt.
Everybody make sure
you're touching each other.
Ready?
Poabah. Poabah. Poabah.
Okay. Now the bad news.
We're going to get
the first shot by 9:30.
- Watch us do it.
- Yeah!
All right, guys,
here we go everybody.
Let's get in position.
Traffic is locked.
Let's roll sound.
Ready and action.
And cut. Good.
Okay. Next case.
Ready, action.
Do pick up my hat.
Throw it on the ground and
say "Pick up my hat," okay?
Like we did in the game.
-Pick up my hat.
-Pick up my hat.
Movie making
is not work. It's play.
Everything human beings
have ever done
throughout history
that was worth anything
came about during play.
Never work, never toil.
Toil gives you nothing.
Play gives you everything.
His style of filmmaking
is very instinctive.
And it's about having
a thing called a script,
which basically
gets you to cast the actors,
choose the locations.
It gives you a blueprint
of a structure.
Then he builds on top of that.
So when he starts shooting,
he'll do a couple of
takes and he'll go
just do a crazy take now.
Let's change this.
So he's building all the time.
Kind of like a
jazz musician in a way.
You know, he's like,
here's some chords
and now I'm gonna
make the melody.
This is your house,
your elevator.
Your everything, Wow.
This, you own this.
And.... action.
Listen, you little bitch.
You and I ought to have
an understanding, okay?
You are on my territory now.
And you'll play by my rules.
-Really?
-Yes.
Crass, darling.
The mayor's daughter is here,
she wants to talk to
you about Catalina.
He's a really
weird combination
of being very open
to experimentation...
[Francis Okay, cut, print.
And also very
controlled and aggressively
wanting what he wants.
Here we go. And action.
Listen, bitch.
You and I ought to have
an understanding.
Okay, cut. Okay...
I hated that.
You hated it?
That means it's wonderful.
We'll do another one.
Okay, I'm going to
give you a last one
here in this take.
And I want you to
be able to do
anything you want
to do whatsoever.
You don't even have to
say the lines.
You can just
stand there quietly.
Whatever you want to do,
you can do it.
Totally free one.
I feel like I speak
the same language.
You know, when he tells me
to be a spider, take two.
You know, this time,
be a spider.
You know, you're a spider.
She's a fly on the wall.
That really works for me.
So now you're Rapunzel,
but you're Rapunzel
with a side of Wow.
He's sort of kind
of put this kind of weird
experimental theater
ensemble together.
That's exactly
how it feels to me.
The first time we rehearsed,
we had dinner
and he just said,
I, you know,
this group of actors
is really crazy.
You know, I like to bring
crazy actors together
because you never know
what will happen.
And I was--
and going into this,
I thought this is
a loaded situation.
So they shot
something the other day
called poor man's process
in a big studio.
Nighttime, a car
driving in rain.
I enjoyed filming
that very, very much.
It's going to be better if
we have a guy holding it
so we can put it...
For me,
the fascination with
this kind of filmmaking
is how do you coordinate
all these people and make
them work as one team.
It's better to have your
hands on this stuff.
What's going
on here, Francis?
This is--
Well, we're experimenting.
Of course, you know
poor man's process
where they make it
look in the dark.
It looks like there
are lights going by.
We're trying to see
what we can learn
when it also,
there's scenic pieces
and it's all sort of a...
It's really sort of
a theatrical concoction
but in the light
and the darkness
it's believable as
moving through the rain
through these cars
and passing buildings,
but the buildings are
just sort of scenic,
rolling, as we don't
know what we're doing.
But when we look at it
what looks good,
we'll do more of
and what doesn't look good
we'll do less of.
It's like the old
days which is
now producers say, hey,
what can we do different?
I say, well, let's just do
it for real like we used to.
That's different.
And all of us learn
that we can be collaborative
and try ideas
and do it together
and learn from each other.
Driving around town,
general's driving,
looking anywhere,
looking here, looking there.
She may be anywhere.
Oh, there's Cesar
on the other side.
Look at his stupid
Citroen. See him?
Take photos, take photos.
There's some
headlights coming past there.
Any headlights I can see,
any headlights at all,
I don't see any.
Is someone holding them?
Have them come right up
to the window with them.
Okay, cut.
This doesn't work.
-Roman.
-Yes.
Do any rig you think of,
just run it through it.
-Just keep upping the stakes.
-Okay.
I'm asking them
to play at it more
and they want to work at it.
So now we got the idea
what we're up against.
We're doing a performance.
We have to have more assets
that you could just
go right up and hold them
and go away.
So let's do it that way.
Julia?
I love you, Julia.
Marker.
And ready, action.
Perfect.
Julia?
Come, come.
Forgive the intrusion,
I'd hoped to speak briefly
with Mr. Crassus.
Sure.
Cut. Good, print.
- Hi, Mike.
- Morning, guys.
What's happening
with you guys today?
We're experimenting.
We're in the workshop mode.
But my dad called this morning
and said, oh, I want
to do an effect
where this character has
a sort of multiple facets
and you see multiple imagery.
So we set up these mirrors
and experimenting a bit
to try to create a sort
of infinity effect
that also includes
the background,
which is kind of
curious because we have
a 50-50 mirror
we can see through them
or have it reflect depending
on where the light is.
So the idea is that
we'll have a mirror effect,
but when we throw the light,
we'll also see the background.
Have you done this before?
No.
Laura, you're going to
be our super amazing...
Can Roman come here?
Yes.
And... to see
what we're doing.
-And Till is here, right?
-Yes.
Good.
Francis has this beautiful
love for in-camera effects
and trying to do it for real
before going digital.
And so our first idea was me
and Scott Wheeler, the makeup
and prosthetics person,
to figure out
a lenticular mask.
So to print these postcards
that you can shift
and you get perspective
and animation into it.
And we worked on that
intensely for many weeks
until last week,
end of last week,
it fell apart
because we could not
physically integrate
that into the mask.
It didn't work to
cut it and form it.
So Friday we had a meeting
with Francis and we're like,
okay, the lenticular mask
isn't working.
We need a solution.
And Francis had the great
idea to do a projection
and luckily...
luckily I have worked
with projection a lot.
I'm usually as a concept
artist on this show,
but I had done lots
of art installations
with projections.
So I was immediately on it
and then we figured it out
over the weekend.
Do you like these things?
Yeah, I like it especially if
something spectacular happens.
Let's try it like this
while we wait for the mirror.
Can you adjust
the head support?
Make the thing
holding his head...
Yes.
So it doesn't show at
the top of his head?
Okay.
-And give Till a moment.
-Yeah.
Not on his lip, Till,
it should be on his bandage.
Is there any kind of
a thing you have
where you could put
behind it that's like a prism
and you hit a light
and it shoots?
Yeah, I was just
talking to Jeff
so he's bringing something.
Yeah, you can throw
that in, too.
We throw everything
but the kitchen sink.
I can adjust the size,
the position
and dim it up and down.
The challenge is
they're setting up
this special effects
shot which always
takes a long time.
They're two big dialogue
scenes
with three, four actors.
So we're a little nervous
about today to make our day.
It may not work at all.
That's the big challenge.
If we accomplish the shot,
we'll have a happy day.
Is the mirror okay
with the wood that we see
or should we come...
What do you think?
You're doing
the diamond thing?
- Yes.
- Okay.
I can't do much
with him because look at him.
I can do the part where you...
All right.
All right. All right.
Okay. So are we ready?
Yeah. Let's do a rehearsal.
I'm going to talk
through the numbers.
Ready, everyone? Action.
Two, one, go.
That was good.
That was pretty good.
Personally, I feel like
it would be benefited
from a little visual
effects enhancement.
I've done it all for you.
Okay. Cut. Good.
Thank you so much.
Really quickly, Francis?
It was an experiment.
It wasn't 100% what I wanted,
but it was 70% what I wanted.
- I can add the last.
- That's fine.
And we learned how to put that
mirror in there, which helped.
It was well worth it.
How do I put this?
You seem to thrive on chaos.
-I don't.
-No?
No.
In the world of illusion
making, special effects,
there's a lot of technology,
whether it be computer
generated material,
or nowadays people
talk a lot about the Volume,
which is a big
LED video screen
that you can put images on.
So I think at the very
beginning of the process,
there was a curiosity about
how this new technology
could serve him to make
this big, ambitious movie.
But then I think
some of the team
assumed everything would
be done in that way.
I just wonder,
is it really necessary
to have an army
of such trucks?
But maybe it is.
- It's industrial filmmaking.
- Yeah.
But even Apocalypse Now
wasn't on this scale.
We're way beyond
Apocalypse Now.
- This is?
- Yeah.
We had helicopters and stuff,
but it wasn't like this.
Yeah.
So is this your biggest film?
By far.
-Question?
-Yeah.
We're going to see
how it feels.
Okay, yeah, 'cause it...
Yes, okay.
In other words, his line is...
coming out he says,
"I hope you had nothing
to do with that shooting."
"You've been trying to get
that cousin of yours
-since you were six."
-Yeah, okay.
That almost feels
like chapter two.
Like, like... that almost
feels very intimate, all that.
No, he's right
there next to you.
He's in there the whole time?
No, he's right next to you.
-Next to me.
-He's coming out.
And as he passes you, he says,
"I hope you had nothing
to do with the shooting."
"You've been trying
to get your" thing...
very intimate.
And then he walks out and
you're left with the response.
Okay. Okay.
Is there a...
Oh, yes. Okay.
Can I just throw out an idea?
Okay.
Is it possible also that
the reveal happens
and we have our banter and
then maybe I move to the desk?
No.
Oh, my God.
I've got to go in now.
This is very hard for me.
I know I'm toward
the end of my career.
This could be the ending.
He's going over here.
Yes, okay.
I need a little bit of...
I still need something
in my cards to get me here
because I actually
want to get here.
Well, he's just accused him of
shooting your thing,
so... you can do it
the way you want.
Okay, fine.
I know what you want.
I know what you want.
It's just that
that's a great...
-I know what you want.
-Shot.
I know what you want.
I know what you want.
Say a prayer.
What if you say
you're going to have
to prove yourself to me, son.
And then there's a break
in the action
as opposed to
saying it all at once.
And I'll sit
and I'll say, I can't.
Yeah, okay?
And then you can say the rest
of that on the other side.
-Yeah, sure.
-Okay.
Does that mean
I'm off the list?
What list?
Your list of heirs.
So, you, no, would you want
to do all that without
him behind your desk?
Just that little piece.
-Yeah.
-He's got to get over there.
You don't like it?
I'm trying to...
I'll be at the desk.
Whatever. Whatever.
Okay, so I'll be at
the desk and let's say...
I mean, if there's
a reason why I have
to have a shot over here
when I'm planning
to have a shot over there
because then I have
the shot over there,
then the scene's over.
My action's no different
no matter what he does.
Yeah, so what are we
inventing a whole step for?
Where did that come from?
Who is the director
who came in here
and started to
stage this scene?
You're obviously the director.
Yeah, but I'm not
having a chance to.
Let's try it behind the desk.
Yeah, the whole thing
behind the desk.
We're just sketching now.
Just show you something so
you can say no to that thing
that we showed you.
Okay, I'm happy to do that.
I only hope you had nothing
to do with that shit.
Of course not. How--
How could you say that?
So what happens now?
Am I off the list?
What list?
Your list of heirs.
You're going to have to
prove yourself to me, son.
Now I'm having...
Now I'm having fun.
Good.
It's Francis, you know.
It's cinema.
It's not...
It's not necessarily, um...
the easiest environment
for a performer like me.
Maybe it is for other people,
but for me
it's very difficult.
Tell me more in what way.
Well, I like when you get
to play a whole song.
I don't like playing
one note at a time,
and he's got images
in his head
that he's dead set on,
and sometimes there's
not enough dance floor.
When there's marks
on the ground,
it's inhibiting.
Once you get what you want,
can I be a little bit looser?
It's so fucking rigid.
You can be
very loose now, if you want.
For anybody else,
I probably would fight it.
You've got to let me
have some of these takes
are just straight trash.
You know, it takes a minute
to work up.
But I know where I am, and I
know it's the Super Bowl.
Did you see it?
No, I haven't seen it.
You don't know it's the trash.
All the characters
in this...
That's it.
That's the scene.
Good. Let's try to shoot one.
My guy has to
stay off the tracks.
- You're bouncing.
- Yeah.
Which is interesting,
because I have
the least job security
of all the fucking
actors on the show.
So having
the least job security
and the one job where
you got a rebel a bit,
it's turned him
into real Crassus
and me into real Clodio.
Do you know why
I'm doing this movie?
- Because you love it.
- No.
What do I get out of it?
What am I looking for?
This is what you do, man.
No, I can do...
I have wine. I have hotels.
Who gives a fuck
about all that, though?
This is what you...
this is your thing.
What am I paid in?
What currency am I paid in?
- Love.
- No.
There's only one thing I get.
I don't get money.
I don't get fame.
I already have fame.
I don't get Oscars.
I already have Oscars.
- What do I get that I want?
- Tell me.
Fun. I want to have fun.
I'm feeling everything
I'm supposed to be feeling.
Good.
I'm not really worried
about shit really.
I'm worried about getting
fired all the time.
I'm serious.
Every day I think
I'm out of here.
Why?
Because Keitel got fired
and he got fired a month in.
We're a week in
and I'm thinking, oh fuck,
I just got to get to a month.
I just got to
get to a month, man.
A month on Apocalypse Now
is like 5% of that schedule.
- That's true.
- They shot for 240 days.
Yeah, crazy.
You're good. I think
you're past the danger zone.
Yeah, I guess when you
fraction it out that way.
-Did you guys have tension?
-Tension?
Did you guys have
a wrestling match?
No.
No. Okay, then I heard wrong.
Well, it was...
I had written
a few other lines.
Which he loves.
- Which he really...
- Which he loves.
And so I wanted
to express myself
to what I felt
this and everything.
And he was locked
into everything.
What it finally...
We had to fight a little bit.
You know what I mean?
He had tension
and I had tension.
And at one point he said,
all right, well you
do what you want to do.
I'm going to go over here.
And he left the room.
So I said, all right,
I'll do it his way.
So when he left,
I did it his way.
He saw it. He was just
sitting there watching.
And he came back in.
And then
he made an adjustment.
And I made an adjustment.
I just dropped quite a lot
of what I was thinking.
But he took a couple
of things that I had put in.
And we worked it out
and the scene took place.
It actually was pretty good.
Let's cut, technical
issue with camera. Stand by.
I tell you, Mike, I'm too old
and grouchy for
this kind of work.
Now let me do
a documentary on your film.
This is ridiculous.
What I'm discovering is that
when you make a documentary
about filmmaking...
what you're looking for
are tensions
and, um, possible things
that can go wrong.
Hand me that.
Thank you.
Um, can you...
Ready, action.
It can all be yours...
darling.
Everything.
These mean nothing...
Nothing to me.
We had a necklace that was
set to open easily.
And unfortunately,
something happened
and the clasp got closed.
And so, she pulled
the necklace and it broke.
And it came unstrung.
So there's a lot of quick work
that needs to happen.
- Oh, the necklace.
- Yep.
They're doing
reconstructive surgery.
I take it
there's one necklace.
There's only one necklace.
Helena only gave us one.
We're moments away.
She's working furiously.
- Thank you, Lily,
- Yes.
She's nearly there.
Can I shoot or I can't shoot?
Less than two minutes,
you'll be able to shoot.
This is a prop.
This is not a costume.
It's a breakaway prop.
Yes, she closed it.
But it was rigged
not to be closed.
How am I going to do five
takes one after another?
It's got a magnet on it.
So it'll work.
What is the secret
to keeping peace on the set?
What's the secret?
I don't know if there's
necessarily a secret.
I just think it's
a peace of mind
where everyone just
needs to take a deep breath
and realize that
we're creating a movie
and that we're not
curing cancer
and that no matter what,
we'll fix it.
We get wrapped up in our jobs
and our position
and to make everything
fit and force it to fit.
And then sometimes
you just have to let go.
I've worked with
a lot of directors
who are like Francis,
believe it or not.
Tell me more, tell me more.
Well, just, you know,
that don't really like to prep
and like things to be organic
and feel it and find it
and not worry about
what's to come
and just focusing
on what's today.
Yeah, just try and anticipate
what he wants
and you can't.
- Nobody really can.
- Yeah.
He gets in the
moment and he gets upset,
rightfully so.
And then he, you know,
like you said
he recognizes it
and does apologize.
But that doesn't affect me.
He can yell and storm off
and do everything
that he needs to do
to get the frustration out.
It's okay.
'Cause it's only a movie.
'Cause it's only a movie.
What I was seeing was fine.
Let's go back to
what I was seeing.
Let's not reinvent...
Francis, can we try
with a longer lens?
'Cause I think we might have
a better chance of seeing
the reflections and all that.
Can we just do one
last one immediately?
- We can. Okay.
- Let's try to do it.
Do it again the same way.
I don't know where I am.
This is looking good.
Is there any way to
reflect Jon's moving?
Well, no, we want
to audition how to get
Wow and Felix
in the mirror for you.
Please, just calm down.
Ready? And action!
This is hostile.
This is treacherous!
-I didn't mean it--
-Villainous!
I didn't mean
it to be hostile.
Whose name is this?
I thought it was inevitable.
-Who signed this?
-I did what you asked!
No!
Get off me!
- Wow.
- Breathe.
What's happening?
-You!
-Call an ambulance!
-No!
-Now!
Go back and do that all again
on Wow's entrance,
let's try again.
Get away from me!
Get away from me!
Is Francis all sweetness?
No, Francis is
not all sweetness.
No great artist is, I think.
He's very demanding.
He demands a lot of himself.
And Francis's intentions
in the film
are really quite monumental.
I don't know, you know...
Did you fully
understand the script
the first time you read it?
Well, it's not something
you understand.
It's something that you
see as a possibility.
That's what he's doing.
He said it.
He said the script
is just the bones
and we're going to have to
find out what it is, you know?
And that's the way he works.
The great thing
about it is we're all
as involved as he is.
And Eleanor says this,
Francis's wife.
You know, she says, Francis,
the beginning of a film
is Francis asking a question
and the making of the film
is finding the answer.
There's no movie
I've ever worked on
where I wasn't scared.
The scene is really
between Hart and Julia
and Fundi by the fence.
That's the talk part.
The context is the sight
of these cops
bringing a strong man
from there to here.
So that's the scene.
Do you mind having
the other police car there?
Totally. I don't understand.
Because in reality
they shine those big lights.
Would you want to have
another car
over there for lighting?
For lighting, but also
my fear is that
the handheld flashlights,
they will have to
fight with him.
They won't have time to shine.
No, no, no, no, no.
The flashlights, he's not
going to fight with them.
You don't see how many cars.
No, but you feel the light.
You honestly think
inside the car...
I think one of my jobs
is to match stuff
from one shot to another.
If you don't want that,
I don't have to do it,
but I think my duty is
to tell you what we did.
Mihai, we made
three movies together.
There's never been an issue of
your job is to get one shot.
You don't know how
it's going to be cut.
That's true.
The way it's cut
determines it.
But part of my job I think
it is to make sure
that lighting wise from
one shot to another,
it's as similar as possible.
To me, your job is
not to match all the light,
your job is to get
beautiful images
of the scenes that we have,
which you do.
My opinion on this movie
is we always have
too many people,
too much stuff,
too many equipment,
too many everything.
Everything becomes hard.
This is simple.
Okay.
I don't want to
frustrate you.
No, no, no, no.
Cinema is
the only art that kills
what it's trying to preserve.
How would you define kill?
Anesthetize it.
It's injected with drugs
that make it freeze
and be inanimate
and be controllable.
It's because they
don't understand
that it's not necessary.
The low budget people,
Irvin Kirschner
and those...
and John Cassavetes
and all those people
taught us that
if you capture what's alive,
that's more beautiful
than if you
capture what's dead.
You watched him
through the whole
One From the Heart
period and that
must have been
very tough to watch.
Well...
Did you say,
yeah, I saw it coming?
Yeah, I said...
No, I saw it coming.
He sort of went up
against a few brick walls
and I managed to push through,
although to me my fate
wasn't dependent
on making it through
the brick wall.
So is getting
through the brick wall
part of his thing?
-Well, it's--
-Does he like brick walls?
Yeah.
So when he lands on his
head, I'm not surprised.
Three, two, one!
Go get 'em!
Hello, all.
How are you guys doing?
Hello.
What I would like is to get
a little more artsy fartsy
with the cyclone fence
and have it twisted
as though
a really cheap labor...
Okay, Huey?
You're looking for someone,
some girl
-that you can sell that to.
-Okay.
Go ahead.
Working quietly, please.
I'm worrying about
costume matching problems
I shouldn't worry about.
Doesn't it work
even if they don't know?
Why is that so important?
This is some shit
from your childhood.
It doesn't really matter.
You're full of shit.
Let me explain.
Let me explain something.
You see a guy
in a military band?
Yeah.
You see a guy
in a military band.
Yeah.
he goes AWOL and just quits
and he walks off
in his uniform
The next time he shows up,
you have no idea who he is.
I'm gonna have a shot
where he at least
has the jacket
that we saw him in.
You fixate...
I'm not gonna talk to you.
You're wrong.
I've done this for 50 years.
I know what happens
in the editing room
when they don't know
who the hell he is.
-Hey.
-Hey, I was thinking of you.
How are you doing?
Ah!
Film is one of the hardest
media to improvise in.
I mean, it's so expensive.
I'm not used to
this costume thing,
where every time
I say costume,
- three hours goes by.
- Yep.
I don't want it anymore.
I need help.
I know exactly
what I'm trying to do.
And somehow,
everything I try to do,
it takes, oh, it's got
to come up from there,
or they got to do the thing.
I feel like I'm working
in fast speed,
and everyone's working
in slow motion.
I mean, all I need is
my regular kind of crew
that's not so immense.
Every decision has to go up
and down the art department.
The danger is,
I'm going to get really mad.
I know what I'm talking about.
Give me what I want!
I don't know what you want.
If you're like looking at
all that way, you know,
it feels like we would
do blue screen
on that side of the screen.
Well, the blue screen also
could be next to...
because that could be a...
In other words,
I want Times Square,
the magic Disney now
Times Square,
all that stuff to be there.
Where he's pointing.
The purpose of that screen
is so that we can isolate them
without having
a foreground piece.
So if you don't want it,
if you like the aesthetic
of them over Megalopolis.
So how do the heads
all get put into...
it's just the green screen?
The green screen allows us
to put the heads
on top of it.
What I'm suggesting
is I don't mind
if you construct something
that imposes in there,
but if I don't have a problem,
then that all
above their heads
and stuff could
be green screen.
And that could be a real...
That could be a real... thing.
I'm anxious to get to
anything in your mind
is not a done deal,
because here we are.
We're a few days
before Thanksgiving,
and I feel that--
and I've set for myself
really as a financier
to tell you in advance
what the done deals are
so that you know and you can
continue and have them ready.
So what...?
It's going to be
very difficult
to do good visual effects
if we don't have something
that we can
separate them from,
because if you don't
put anything there,
you're looking at the--
Let me understand specifically
what we're talking about,
because I'm going
to say yes or no.
Right now, I'm going
to say yes or no.
Not the whole thing,
just enough so that when
people are standing
in front of it.
All we want is the door.
That's really all
I want is the door.
Don't give me
what I don't want.
Oh, light there. It's more...
I interpreted it
as being romantic.
Don't try to anticipate
what I'm going to do.
You'll only get me
in more trouble.
Really, don't.
Let me do it.
I don't want that look.
I don't want what
they can give me.
This gets back into
why I like live effects,
because although,
in your opinion,
they're not as extraordinary
and wonderful as
the other kinds,
I don't agree with you.
That's just my philosophy.
It might be wrong,
but it's what
I'm banking on, literally.
The big story in
The Hollywood Reporter
was then picked up by
all the international press
and stories of disasters
on the set,
et cetera, et cetera.
Adam Driver made a statement
saying he'd been
on some pretty crazy sets,
but this was not one of them.
They pass you,
they come here, they stop.
Already this has
become a myth,
so I'm trying to
get to the truth.
I think everybody very much
had the best of intentions
and really did want
to serve Francis
and really did want
to serve the film,
but I think we all
still wanted to make sure
that we were trying to honor
what was initially
asked of us.
The Hollywood article
just said,
okay, same thing
happened on Apocalypse,
same thing happened
One From the Heart.
It's sort of open season to
speculate on my craziness.
To achieve that epic scale
and this big vision
that's in all
of his key frames
while still doing it with
a really lean art department
that he was
more accustomed to.
Well, you know,
basically cost overruns.
In other words, the art
department of the film,
the last film they did was
Guardians of the Galaxy.
I've wondered if we missed
the signs earlier on
that he wanted to approach
the movie differently.
I do wonder if he didn't
communicate it as clearly.
One department needed
to eliminate one person
for constantly going
over budget, yeah.
Knowing what I do now about
how Francis prefers to work,
I really do feel like we
would have built this film
very differently.
We're on schedule,
I love the actors
and the look is great.
I don't know what
anyone's talking about.
I thought long
and hard about it.
It was very upsetting
and I felt like, um...
I felt like I was
put in a position
where there was
no way forward.
No one says who
these sources are.
Just sort of, oh,
we heard some gossip.
To that I say, ha-ha.
Wait and see.
My observation of Francis
was that he was suddenly
incredibly cheerful.
Okay, we're going
to go for it, Shia.
We're going to shoot
because we're ready to shoot.
We're born ready.
Action.
Whoo!
Again, again!
Okay, cut.
I'm Giancarlo Esposito,
born in Copenhagen, Denmark,
raised in Rome, Italy.
I guess you'd call me
a Black Italian.
I still don't know who I am,
still trying to find out.
What's going on in this scene
is the crux of the matter.
-Got it.
-You're a good honest man.
Yes, I'm frustrated in
this moment that I can't.
Because the people
of the city have real needs.
They need
the garbage picked up.
They need this.
And you don't have the funds,
but he does.
You're playing this
as if you can get this
because it's for
the people's need.
-Yes.
-And that to you
trumps everything.
And he believes sincerely,
what's the difference
if we pull this off
for this generation
and our grandchildren
end up with nothing?
And action.
Here is my plan...
That city
that people can dream about.
People don't need dreams.
They need jobs, sanitation,
teachers and police.
No time to talk
to people's future.
Yet there's always
time to convince them
to use money they don't have
to buy things they don't need
to imitate people
they don't like.
Which makes you
the chief slumlord
and the mayor of
the city of nothing.
Slumlord!
You will not call me
a slumlord!
Photographers,
yell at her! Get mad.
Tell her to get
the hell out of the way.
She's ruining your shots.
Excuse me.
You will not
call me a slumlord!
I read the script
23 years ago,
maybe 25 years ago.
I think there's always
a question about,
you know, genius at work
you know, who not many of
us understand or get that.
Like, what is
going on right now?
Well, you know what?
That guy knows.
Or he doesn't know.
And for him to allow
the space for himself
to do this for himself
by his own hand, handmade,
is a beautiful thing.
Like, when you think
about that,
this is an 83-year-old man
who's lived such
a beautiful life
doing a passion
project on his own.
I mean, come on.
When chaos throws a lot of
difficult options at me,
my imagination
usually comes through
to suggest an alternative
that doesn't have to stop.
And that's what seems
like thriving on chaos,
rather than what really
is happening,
is that I am
confronting chaos.
What does it cost
to hire this space--
for how many
days?
It's about ten days
at a cost of about
a half a million dollars.
- How many extras?
- 150 times several days.
In terms of manpower
and rentals,
another half
a million dollars.
What about feeding everybody?
$15,000 to $20,000 per day.
We have a lot of costumers.
We have a lot of hairstylists.
We have a lot of
makeup artists.
And Milena meticulously
signing off on every performer
and every
background performer.
It takes a lot of time.
There isn't a need to be here
to accomplish what
he wants to accomplish.
But Francis insisted
on filming here.
And I think having spent
the amount of time with him
I have now,
I think he really needs
to feel physical space.
-Hi.
-Goodbye.
Oh, my titty.
Whoo!
Go Grace!
Look at this... Whoa... shit.
To give Osvaldo an idea
of what this
weird movie is like
so he knows how to
write the music.
And we saw this thing,
and it was like...
- Holy shit.
- Oh, that's great.
I was amazed.
Francis, what
surprised you the most?
How it gelled.
How it wasn't a lot of parts,
it was... it was
a unified vision.
It's like I almost feel
I saw a glimpse of the movie.
I didn't say, oh,
isn't that photography
in that shot good?
Oh, isn't Adam in
that shot good?
Aren't the costumes
interesting?
But all these
disparate elements
didn't come to me as separate,
oh, that's good, that's good,
it came like, holy shit.
It's like I've got
a peek of something
that never existed before.
I'm only happy because it
looked like I'm not dead.
I mean, there have
been times when I said,
how am I going to
get out of this mess?
As you know,
I worry about am I
bankrupting my family
on some crazy thing?
Anyway, you know, I have--
I've alternated
by being very depressed
and very elated.
It's typical manic
depressive behavior.
But Richard Strauss
said, you know,
compared to Mozart
and Beethoven and Haydn
and Mendelssohn,
I'm a second-rate composer,
but I'm a first-rate,
second-rate composer.
I say, me, Francis
I'm a second-rate director,
but I'm a first-rate
second-rate director.
How's it going?
It's, it's going
well, actually.
It's going pretty well
for the three weeks or so
I've been a part of this.
How did
all this come about?
Well, I've come in,
in my position in this,
I've been able
to take advantage of
coming in naive and new
and inquisitive
about a lot of things
where I have his most
latest thoughts and insights
into what that
space or environment
is that he's expecting,
where maybe there
were conversations
six months ago
and no one's had a chance
to follow up with him about,
because they had a plan
that he said yes to
that maybe now has
changed his mind.
Or if we have
the background over here,
it gives you space.
In his approach to be
saving money,
the schedule has
changed around.
So one set that
was only designed
for the Clodio's loft
we're now making into two
or three different sets.
So it's been fun
to go repurpose
as much as we can.
I came into an understanding
that it's his money,
I'm not going
to be the no-person,
I'm going to be the yes, but
it's going to cost you this.
Do you want to do that?
How long does
it take to activate?
He's still trying to
figure out what, in his mind.
That's the Megalon.
This Megalopolis city
and Megalon material
looks like.
We're not really
sure what it is.
It's a Francis question.
I think everybody's still
trying to figure that out.
Have you got like
a tight remit of like
what it needs to do within
this small space of time?
No... No, and I think
a lot of it...
I'm not frustrated by it,
frustrated,
because I know
it's in his own mind
he's still trying to
figure out what he wants.
And part of my job is to help
find what he wants.
Uh... but there's also
a really clever way
in which I don't think
we have to make
that decision on
the day-to-day
in the scenery
that we're developing
that includes a lot of that
organic and magical material
that will be more
in the distance
and behind as a set extension
rather than something tactile
that we need to develop.
And he also doesn't
quite want to spend
the money on what that is.
So pinning this down will be
kind of a challenge
going forward.
Can we just have
one rehearsal?
- One rehearsal.
- It looked really good.
I don't make
those calls, you guys.
All right, to key one.
For my money,
that means that Madeleine
is entering first so that
people are moving behind her.
Maybe just standing up,
we just kiss...
The grapes are really good.
And then...
-Get on top of me, whatever.
-I'll try.
I mean, I feel like
if it's too much.
What do you think?
Should she get on top of me?
Should I get on top of her?
I don't think,
I just observe.
-Okay, that's fine.
-Well, okay.
What would you
like to observe?
Anything you like.
That's a very
Werner Herzog of you.
I don't think, I just observe.
My job, in a way, is to
make a good documentary.
But the thing is,
you start a documentary,
you don't know
what it's about.
Is it just about
making the film?
Or is it about Francis?
Or is it about the actors?
In fact, is it
about all those things?
But where's the story?
Because all the really
good documentaries
about filmmaking has actually
been stories about disasters.
So, you know, every time
something negative happens,
I think, oh, that's good
for the documentary.
So that's a weird
feeling by itself.
And obviously, it's got
a lot of actors in.
And I have
different relationships
with all of the actors.
From the very beginning,
Shia LaBeouf
was super friendly.
From the very beginning,
Aubrey Plaza was fun.
Like she would pretend
to be pissed off,
but she wasn't
really pissed off.
Those relationships have
continued to build.
Jon Voight
from the very beginning
super, super friendly.
Most of the actors
are very friendly.
And then there was an
interesting moment,
because Adam Driver
came on the set
much later than
everybody else.
So this time,
two things happened.
Because the other actor
that I'm having
some problems with
is Nathalie Emmanuel.
She also-- I got a little
message from her agent.
She doesn't like to be filmed
when she's eating,
blah, blah, blah.
And Francis was doing
theatre games
involving them all eating,
so that was a
bit limiting, too.
And then one day
she was talking to Adam.
They play a couple
in the film.
And Adam looked at me
and said,
first time I made eye contact.
So I said, Adam, it's Mike.
Mike Figgis.
And he went, oh my God,
Mike, how are you?
Did you just get here?
And I said, no, I had
sort of been here
for quite a long time,
but I didn't want
to get in your space.
And then I asked him, I said,
I have heard you don't want,
you don't like being filmed.
And he said, oh well,
as it's you, no, that's okay.
But every time I have been
in the space with him,
he's kind of got Mike, sorry,
can you-- do you mind?
But I get it.
I do understand
there's a difference
between the camera that's
filming you for the film
and the camera that's
recording your relationship
with the camera.
That's very different.
So I do understand it
and I respect his space.
Whilst it's a little
bit annoying
for whatever I want to do,
at the end of the day,
I'm the documentary.
I'm the fly on the wall.
I am not the film.
And sometimes it's quite
difficult for me to--
I have to remind myself
that I'm not
the director of the film.
I'm making a documentary.
So I have a plan.
I think I'm going to
just go to Adam and say,
look, I think
you're uncomfortable.
I don't want to compromise
what you're doing.
But it's also kind of
compromising what I would do.
So it's probably better
that if you're in a scene,
I just don't come.
On the other hand, you could
then do an interview
for me one on one.
Off the set, so I'm not
distracting your acting.
And we could do some
interesting stuff
for this documentary
just between you and me,
an actor talking to
a director.
Cut to, interior,
the four seasons, night.
Gift.
The guests are enjoying
the lavish wedding meal.
Gift.
Hamilton Schuyler sits
with his new wife
at the bridal table
with Serge,
the groomsman
and the bridesmaids.
I'd like to propose a toast
to Wow Platinum
and my dear Uncle Hamilton.
Together they represent
the big three:
economics, journalism,
and sex appeal.
To the future of our families.
To the future of our families.
Are you guys in character?
Yes.
I'm afraid Hamilton's
not paying attention
to his bank these days.
He's... how shall I say?
- How shall I say?
- Distracted?
Distracted?
I guess by me.
By me, I guess.
He doesn't realize how
weak he is at this moment.
He has no idea how weak
he is at this moment.
- A perfect target.
- A perfect target.
Let's start just clearing
so we can find
a frame, everybody.
We're going to be super wide.
What are we doing?
Putting the arrow
just for the stunt.
When he gets shot in the butt.
Are we rigged with the arrow?
- Yes.
- Marker.
Ready and action.
This is your closing bell,
honey.
Bang!
He's like Willy Wonka,
you know?
He comes out with the cane,
and then the cane goes away,
and you're like, oh,
you didn't need the cane?
Oh, so he really, oh, okay,
because I thought he was...
he's like a mad scientist,
you know,
with like mismatching socks.
Okay, one second.
He works from a place
of just pure passion,
and he's a romantic,
and he's very repressed.
- He's very what?
- What?
What was the last phrase?
Um, I don't remember
what I said.
Your old town,
master of the known world.
We all are.
It's finally...
All of us Catholics,
you know.
We're all just good old
Catholic boys and girls
getting together,
making a little play.
Who was your
favorite dance partner?
Who elevated you?
The second film
I did was Cowboy,
and I guess it was Voight,
because we improvised
in rehearsal
for about three weeks
in a room,
and the times that
we weren't in that room,
we hung out together,
and we would go to places
that we thought
the characters would go to.
There had to be a click
because of how far
that character is
from your natural,
uh... just even mannerism.
It wasn't for me.
To go from Dustin into Ratso?
I was Ratso.
With all
the mannerisms, though,
-There's a certain--
-No, not with the mannerisms.
But going through
junior high school,
high school, city college.
I was an outsider.
I was funny-looking.
I was short.
I had a lot of acne, so...
You had the soul of him down.
-I felt I was Ratso.
-Ratso.
Tell me a
little bit about Francis
and your relationship
with Francis.
Well, that's a quick answer.
He never asked me
to work with him.
In fact, I appreciated his
honesty when he called me,
which was a shock to me,
to ask me to be in this film.
Clodio and Huey
are basically seeing
that there's this
popular uprising...
And he said,
I just want you to know,
I wrote this part
for Jimmy Caan,
but, unfortunately,
he passed away.
And, of course,
I took the part,
not even having
a clue what it was.
And now that I finished it,
I'm not sure I feel
any differently.
Who is this? What is this?
Not so fast.
Catilina leveled
their neighborhood...
Turn and then listen.
Catilina leveled
their neighborhood
for his fucking Megalopolis.
You know, I've been
here for months,
and I'd notice a repetition
of him saying,
I just want to have fun.
I think he means it.
See, this is power, man.
That exchange, this.
This is where we find power.
I've always felt that
there's two kinds
of directors,
those that like actors and
those that don't like actors.
A psychological
interpretation could be
that a director is kind
of a father figure.
And the father wants
to have the final say,
and he wants to be the one
who knows when it's the best.
So when you ask for one more,
after you've done all
the ones he likes,
and you want to do
it differently,
there's something,
an emptiness,
that comes across some
of these guy's faces,
and you know that
you've insulted them.
And Francis, I find,
is the opposite of that.
He loves actors.
And I feel that that's
what Francis wants,
as much as anything.
It's just to enjoy it and have
the actors enjoy it.
It's important to him.
These are immigrants.
They believe in citizenship
and speak their vote.
You understand?
Okay, got it.
Begin.
Vamanos Brooklyn.
Si, senor.
You know, Anton, my old chum.
Interesting thing
about immigrants?
Paying attention?
Is that they actually value
their American citizenship.
They feel like it's
their patriotic duty
to their new country.
No.
You see, I'm a citizen
and you're a citizen.
I'm a citizen,
you're a citizen.
This is non-Roman filth.
Anti-Roman garbage.
Okay.
You cast this money out,
and you give me your fur.
You see that sign
written up in the sky?
Look really hard
because it says city for sale.
Let's go out
and knock on some guys.
-What do we want?
-Homes!
-When do we want them?
-Now!
-What do we want?
-Homes!
-When do we want them?
-Now!
-What do we want?
-Homes!
-When do we want them?
-Now!
I just found a way
to become
the king of New York City.
I'm going to control
the immigrant votes
in all five boroughs.
I must speak
all their tongues.
I'm going to lay my
hands upon them
as though they were
little sheep.
And I'm going to
become their messiah.
Are you excited?
Huey, look at me.
You made him a martyr.
It's bad enough
he won the Nobel.
Now you've made him a martyr
because you're
a fucking idiot.
You're an ignoramus.
Ignoramus! It's ignoramus.
I told you. I said to you.
I said I don't want you
to hurt him.
I said that to you.
I'm in a situation now where
I've spent my whole life
trying to prove something.
And now he's not here to see.
Do you understand?
Listen, you shouldn't have...
Get the fuck out.
Get the fuck up
and get out now!
Sic semper tyrannus!
Close the door.
Close the door, please.
Okay. Cut.
- Cutting.
- Let's do it again.
I'm not doing any of that.
Yeah, don't do that.
Let's do it once again.
-Shia...
-Give him a second.
Look, we're going to
go work through this.
It'll be fine.
How do you go
from where we're starting
to anything other than
straight-up fisticuffs?
Okay,
let me explain it. Why?
He's sitting in my desk
with his shoes on my desk.
Yeah, but let me
explain something.
He's been doing
that for a year.
So you're using this
really as a pretense of,
in other words, it's--
all right, I come,
I'm working on a picture,
and you're in my chair,
and you're talking to Anahid,
and I come and say, hey,
wait a second, you know,
this is my chair.
Can I have my chair?
And he's like,
well, in other words,
it could be moderated
at that earlier level.
You just, in other words,
you can't just
start a fight at that point.
Play it like a chess game
that gets heated,
but it's over
a piece of property
which is the desk space.
Okay, let's try it again.
Here. I'm ready.
Let's just do it.
God help us.
All right, so go ahead,
background action, and Huey.
I walked in here
with reverence, you know,
but I found that not to be
an effective way
to work with him.
It's shit, isn't it?
Yeah, it's really,
it's so bad, man.
- It's really...
- You wouldn't say.
Fuck what people
think about it.
You know, I prayed for this
opportunity, and it happened,
and God placed me in
a position with a director
who I was going to respect.
If I didn't like it, I would
do it again a different way.
He's just talking shit.
No, he's not talking shit
because he would
ask for more takes
if he wanted something else.
My relationship to him
is really about, like...
-What'd I promise?
-It's a pinky promise.
You're my dude.
When you see a
movie, Kramer versus Kramer,
you're looking at
flickering light.
You're not looking
at anything real.
There's no real
people up there.
When he filmed that movie, he
was going through a divorce.
And they caught it.
They captured it.
But you don't think
in one line.
You jump.
All I'm saying is,
what's on the screen?
Is it real or
is it flickering light?
It's real.
Okay, it's not real.
In a movie, the only real
thing is the audience.
Okay, but we're having
a real conversation.
My hand's really
on your shoulder.
-Figgis is filming it.
-Right.
Okay, so what they watch
when we talk is real.
-No, it's not.
-Okay, well, we disagree.
And action.
One, two, three.
Oh!
Ugh!
Ah!
Help.
I've never worked
with a more open process
once he gets going.
He, you know, the things that
I've done in the piece so far,
some of the spontaneous
moments
that have occurred
couldn't have happened
under other circumstances.
But it's drama.
You know what I'm saying?
It's not...
sometimes it's not easy.
I feel like we're
rehearsing all day long,
which is, which is I would,
and in a sense that's
what he's doing,
you know, he's... he's...
because he's, he can cut
and he's watching his box
and he's got that, told my
wife, he's got the six images,
you know, what's there
and he's saying,
okay, I could cut--
I could use that,
then I could cut here,
then I could cut here.
So in a sense, he's rehearsing
at the same time that he's--
that he's shooting.
Francis loves story,
but he doesn't want
to be confined by it.
I mean, he loves structure,
but he needs to be free,
you know? I mean...
He's got a big dream.
It's a dream.
He sees it, he feels it,
it's visceral,
and, and he can voice it,
but he still, I believe, has
something else up his sleeve.
I was so young
when I started
working with him.
You know,
my relationship with Francis
is very much father and son.
He is my godfather.
When we were doing
Apocalypse Now,
I would come onto the set
and I'd be going,
Francis, you're full
of contradictions.
What's with all the
contradictions?
You know, he never denied it.
He was just like, that's
just-- that's just how I am.
You look at him and you go,
I don't know how
that's going to work.
Well, I can tell you,
he doesn't know
how that's going
to work either,
but he's brave enough
to risk it.
Francis' vision was
really about changing,
not just the way
movies are made,
but changing the way
that we can communicate.
You know, the beauty
of movies is,
is that, I mean,
at their purest,
they're not verbal.
Cut.
And where's my little wife?
She's not here.
As you know,
this is the, uh...
-She's coming.
-Today, actually,
today is the 60th anniversary
of our marriage.
Whoo!
I'm notoriously tardy.
Eleanor and Francis.
Dad, can I make a little toast
or at least welcome
everyone to celebrate?
I have to say I've been on
a great 60-year adventure.
It began because, uh, I asked
for a job on that first film,
and he, uh, I was
the assistant
to the art director
and the art department
consisted of two people,
the art director and me.
How much did I pay you?
$100 for four weeks work.
I've had so many
extraordinary adventures
in this family of film life.
You know, it's been
kind of a circus life.
This is the first time I
haven't stayed on a location,
because I had some
issues in California,
but it's just really
a thrill every time
I come and see what's going on
and how everyone's rallied
around to do his film.
So I thank all of you.
I'm so appreciative
that you're here
supporting Francis.
As an actor,
you've worked
with lots of
different directors.
How would you
characterize Francis
in relation to the other
experiences you've had?
Well, I've had
this conversation
with another director before,
but Francis really
embodies it more.
There's the logic of a scene
when you're playing it
with the text,
but then there's also
the emotion of a scene,
which I feel Francis
is more interested in.
I see that as a theme
in watching his movies
before we
start working together
and watching some
of his movies
as we're working together.
He's more interested
in what's more alive.
You know, that to him
is way more interesting.
And I feel like you have a lot
of people talking about that.
That's like a thing
that you learn
in drama school
again to go back.
That, like, you know--
But rarely do you find people,
I think, who live up
to that discipline.
But he said something
the first day
where I think I was wearing
like a bandage on my head
and he was like,
we're not risking enough.
It wasn't a condemnation
of the actors.
He said it in a way
that you felt that
it was for everybody,
including himself,
or at least that's
how I took it.
And that for me was
like, oh, that's
the kind of movie
we're making.
But he's structured his day,
and that's why
he's paying for it.
He's... to make sure
that he can control
how to give the actor,
to trust his cast,
and give them total control
to come up with something
that he hasn't thought of.
It's an incredible
act of generosity.
We're all related.
We're all cousins.
Oh, that's it,
that's the spirit.
We can have lunch here.
Okay, Jerry,
what's going on this?
I don't want to
hurt you, Nash.
I don't want you to hurt me.
First ever in the history
of the Wow Platinum Show,
Wow Platinum is now arm
wrestling a political relic.
You know how to grab.
You know how to take the arm.
Yes, I do.
I'm not going
to hold back now.
-That's all right.
-Really?
Yeah.
Okay, Jerry, let's--
count us out, Jerry.
We have to look each other
in the eye all the time.
One, two, three.
You fucker.
Tell me when you want
to end this fiasco.
Are you serious?
Oh... I'm not gonna fucking...
You... can I touch
your bicep as we play?
You are very strong.
-Yes, I am.
-All right.
You know what I'm going to do,
because it's your show?
What?
Don't you fucking let me win.
Oh, that's what
I was going to say.
Don't.
Don't care how
long this takes.
I think you're
very sentimental
underneath all this toughness.
I am not. I have no feelings.
How would you feel about us
being romantically involved?
I'm open to it.
Come on.
-You're my kind of girl.
-Oh, God.
Let's get on a loudspeaker.
Let's announce that there's
a surprise in Atlanta
that Donald Trump is
having a mini-rally
-in front of the courthouse.
-Yeah.
And first come first served.
I want that kind
of excitement.
We don't have
permission yet to have
any vehicles on the park.
We have a problem
because the truck
pulling the float is
too heavy, they think.
The float isn't that heavy.
-It's just the truck.
-The truck that pulls it.
Yes, sir.
What if the float
wasn't pulled
but was just
put there by hand?
Again...
Now, if we did that,
would we need
the permission to put
the float without the truck?
We still would,
but I think I might...
So here's what
I'm proposing is if...
if I could pull
one in a favor...
We've added some buttons
on to some of the people
if you're okay with that.
Oh, it's great.
You know, like
campaign buttons and stuff.
Yeah, make it as real
as you can for when...
I just wanted to make
sure you're aware of it.
-That's all.
-Oh, good.
Yeah, let's make this a real
big event when the whole...
All right, let's start
sweeping, everybody.
I would like
two motorcycle cops
come up and one
of them is the actor
who just tells him
from a perch...
You know, says, by the way,
sorry, but this has
been booked and...
Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
-Power to the people!
Power to the people!
We're approaching
the end of the shoot.
For me, it's been
a unique experience,
and I've really loved being
a member of the crew.
And I made friends.
Something you don't
normally do
when you're a director.
I got to know Francis.
But at breakfast,
people are already
talking about their next job.
It's always a sort of...
kind of a sad moment on
the film, but inevitable.
The process has been
intense, exhausting,
and people are very tired.
Francis...
I just don't know where
he gets his energy from.
I have inherited
a billion dollars here...
that's what I cashed...
Julie?
I thought I asked you not to
ride in police cars anymore.
Now that last scene...
Well, we didn't shoot
the last scene.
I know, but I tell
him to take him
not in my here, but over here.
Take him there.
-We'll try it that way.
-Yeah.
Okay, no you can
be able to sit.
You don't have to sit into it.
You can already
be sitting here.
Action.
Have a seat.
Clodio is a close friend
of your daughter, Julia.
So I wanted to come to you
first because, you know,
he, he faked that--
Got eye-line problems here.
Frank, uh...
I'm aware
that this kid, Clodio,
is a close friend of
your daughter, Julia.
Hmm?
There he goes again.
He can't--
They're walking
around. Is that Trevor?
Who's in the red sweater?
Just stop. Everyone sit down
and don't do anything.
You know,
I grew up practicing this:
quiet silence, but because
we haven't practiced it
in all these weeks,
we're not used to doing it.
But this is what
we're here for.
And the most important thing
is what's happening right now
between this group of
people right here.
So I know we haven't
practiced it,
but now let's start
to practice it.
Because once we get it, we're
done and we're out of here.
Frank...
It was an immense
privilege to watch you acting
today as a member of the crew,
actually, you know.
Oh, well, thank you.
I mean, it's not--
I'm not aware of any of that.
All I'm thinking of is fuck,
I'm fucking this thing up.
That's always what
you're thinking
is what you got wrong.
And at the same time,
I want to be aware of,
of, of what I'm feeling
about the crew.
That's always where I am.
I'm always-- the crew is
intrinsic in my working.
I think I learned
that from Brando,
who was a hero of me and Duval
and Hackman back in our time,
because Brando said once that
he loves to talk
to members of the crew.
And he said that once,
he says, you can even roll.
And they start rolling
and say action.
And he tries to see that
the way he is talking
to this person from the crew,
can he keep that same reality
and switch it straight
to the so-called character
that he's talking to.
Otherwise,
he knows he's acting,
which is what he
doesn't want to do.
And I thought that was--
that was really wonderful.
The joke I always make is that
if Brando were in a scene
and herd a buffalo ran
through the-- the room,
he wouldn't say, holy shit,
I'd better get out of here.
He'd say, oh,
look at the buffalo.
That's what's
extraordinary about film
is that it's the only medium
that I know of
that catches what
we do in life.
We're not listening
to what people say.
We're looking at
what they don't say
and what they reveal.
Okay.
The last time I saw you,
I think you were about to pull
an arrow out of your ass.
Oh boy.
And then get
Mussolini'd, right?
Dude, Mussolini'd is right.
We're off the street and
they're saying he owns a bank.
-He's a banker?
-He's a banker.
-Yeah, that's all you, right?
-That's all that, that, yeah.
Yeah, but they've always
known that I'm a banker.
So I don't know what
this discovery is.
They know you're
the banker's grandson.
That you have been
a rich kid, but also...
Yeah, there's a million
reasons. You own the bank.
Everyone knows,
you're on television.
There's a whole movie
about how you own the bank.
So the fact that the guy
says you own the bank,
someone told him that
that's who you really are,
that you're a traitor.
I'm not going to
talk about it.
I tell you, I'm going
to go and wait
until someone tells me
what to do
because I am absolutely ex--
All day long, I just
worked on stuff on this movie.
And I don't want to
have the typical games.
You hear the crowd
is coming in here.
He's backed up.
They know he's a fake.
He's backing up.
One guy, he shoots.
Then he's out of bullets.
He throws the thing at him.
And then they're
going to come after you.
What is your question?
I don't know why previously
they were with me
and now they're not with me.
Because in the course
of the thing
when they were
with you previously,
the reality of
who you really are
and how you basically
are a privileged guy
who's taken over,
all has become disseminated.
Okay.
That's it.
If you don't need me tonight,
I'm happy to go home.
At this point,
our communication
has become so blunt.
There's no more like
cutesy pie diplomacy.
It's just like we're
at the end of our rope.
He's exhausted.
That's my weapon.
If they drive me crazy,
I'm just going to leave
and watch from the Silverfish.
It's my polio mentality.
That's me watching from
the iron lung or something.
I have to insulate myself
because it's not reasonable.
He drove me nuts,
but his performance is great.
Yeah.
And I'll say it's great.
But I mean, I was
in the Silverfish,
saying I'm not even
going to deal with them.
He says, "You know, I have
one regret on this show."
I said, "Okay,
what's the one regret?"
He goes, "You. You have
been the biggest pain
in my fucking ass,"
the only time he cursed.
"You've been the biggest
pain in my fucking ass
of any actor
I've ever worked with."
I said, "Really, really?
Any actor?"
"Did I show up fucking
700 pounds overweight
in the jungle?"
"Really, any actor?"
"Did I quit
ten days before we wrap?"
"Really, any actor?
You're just being dramatic."
He's like, "I'm not
being dramatic. Get out."
Do what you want.
I wake up in the morning,
there's this long email.
I'll read it to you.
"Of course, I feel badly about
my reaction last night."
"Many crises hit the fan
all at the same time."
"My default reaction
was to quit."
"On The Conversation,
you must know,
I quit ten days
before finishing
for similar reasons."
"Just know I didn't
quit the shoot this time."
"Nonetheless, as usual,
you've done good work
and I thank you for that."
"However, we remain two
totally different viewpoints,
which of course
is how people tend to be."
"I love you."
Man. What do we know of him?
His gods: liberty, love,
mind, death, destiny.
We're in need of a great
debate about the future.
We want every person
in the world
to take part in that debate.
But first, we have to
tear down conventions.
Tear down an
antiquated mindset.
Tear down our inhibitions.
And tear down debt!
Tear down the world
of ready-made slums
by the men who run
the world shove you into.
You were born with the option
to be what you want
to be and must.
Let it not be said
that we reduced ourselves
to be brutes
and mindless beasts of burden.
The human being
shall once again
be called a great miracle
and a living creature
for all to admire.
Bravo, yeah.
The human being is that.
God damn it.
You know, I had no idea
what was going to happen.
I was happy with
the movie I had made.
My life is extended time.
I'm 85.
You know, a man,
if he makes it to 85,
probably is going to make
it to 90-something.
So, I have no idea.
But whatever it is,
I'm going to be having fun
playing with theater
and movies
and the combination
of the two.
I like that.