How do you feel before setting on an adventure that’s 30 years in the making?
We all know the flop that was Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis (2024). The one that was his over 30-year passion project. But what we are not aware of is how much time he truly spent making the film.
When Coppola finally had everything ready to go for production, he asked fellow filmmaker Mike Figgis to follow along and document anything he saw. After a strenuous process, Figgis’ results ended in this 107-minute documentary, Megadoc (2025) premiering at the 2025 Venice Film Festival as part of the Venice Classics section.
Megadoc follows Francis Ford Coppola as he sets out to finally create his own personally financed film that he has been developing for over 25 years. In true behind-the-scenes fashion, Figgis forms this documentary as a combination of his own on-set footage, interviews with the cast and crew, and archive footage from the early 2000s. It is perhaps not the most put together documentary, but it provides a huge context for what went on during the production of Megalopolis (Coppola, 2024), and the feelings of almost everyone involved. It captures a few positive moments but primarily focuses on the drama that occurred both on and off-set.
There is nothing overly special about Figgis’ Megadoc in terms of technique or style. It is, however, what it reveals from the set and production that provides the greatest value for the audience. As someone who was not a fan of Megalopolis when it hit cinemas last year, and still now, Megadoc provides a heartfelt look into Coppola’s desires and creates an understanding for how sure of himself he was when making the film. Coppola stated that he does not care in the slightest about dying broke if “you make something you think is beautiful” and that is what he emulates during the footage captured by Figgis.
It's clear that Figgis was not entirely aware of what he would or could achieve in the process of creating this documentary. In fact, during the film itself he has several moments where he talks to the camera about what the audience has just seen, his thoughts, or what he plans to do next. In an interview with Eleanor Coppola, Figgis asks her what she believes would be best captured on-set. Apart from a singular interview, at the end of the film, most of the work is low quality and handheld. Thankfully, it is not the quality that matters in terms of the documentary, though it does cause a lack of clarity. Even the on-screen titles to explain which element of filmmaking he dives into in the next section are just slapped on like it was done so quickly.
Megadoc succeeds in its ability to truly show how Coppola works with his cast before even beginning shooting. There are group exercises and bonding routines he puts them through before getting them into their characters and allowing them to discover their own sense of their ‘new self’. There are moments when Figgis witnesses the cast acting like their characters for his camera and he even tells the audience how he realizes though it may help them, it may distract them from their actual jobs. He is intended to be a fly-on-the-wall.
The highlight of the film is how up-close and personal Figgis is able to get with some of the cast members. Aubrey Plaza is a true comedian; she is her typical sarcastic self, and she hasn’t a single care in the world. Before even agreeing to be in the film, Plaza told Coppola that the “movie is a nightmare,” and he still hired her. Other cast members are interviewed, discussing how they had absolutely no clue what the film was about, and even after wrapping, they still did not understand. Figgis includes several cast members ripping the film to shreds, but because of their love or admiration for Coppola, they do it in such a kind way.
The downside of Coppola having another filmmaker see his filmmaking process is that the mistreatment of some of the crew was included in the final product. Coppola gave himself a $120 million budget to make this passion project of his. There are moments where you wonder how he is able to successfully make a film. He hired an entire motel and knocked down three rooms just to be able to build a screening room for the actors and crew. Figgis showed the budget for each of the film’s departments, some of which were extraordinary and insanely huge. Figgis even confronted Coppola, claiming that “[he] seems to thrive on chaos,” of which Coppola completely denied. He argues with his cast, though that was mostly Shia LaBeouf, and it seems at times that they are not all on the same page. Though there appears to have been a better relationship between Coppola and his cast than there was between him and the crew. Midway through shooting, Coppola hated the production design so much that the team was either fired or left of their own accord. This, however, does not get explored all too deeply.
As scenes are shot, Figgis cuts between different days on set. It is not until a relapse occurs does the film focus on this moment for longer than just the one take. Several times, we see members of the cast - LaBeouf, and even Dustin Hoffman - getting annoyed and wanting retakes. Between these weird cuts and continuing moments of chaos, Figgis takes successful shots from behind-the-scenes and shows his audience the real moments on-screen by having it projected onto an edited cinema screen in the film. Though it is a bit off-putting, it does allow the audience to see the scene before and after postproduction. The compilation of his footage into the finished product of Megadoc is somewhat jarring, but it excels when it provides moments of laughter for the audience.
Megadoc, just like Megalopolis, is chaotic and unclear. However, it does provide an enjoyable bit of behind-the-scenes footage of the creative process and the insanity of the cast and crew. Perhaps Coppola might regret the decision of having someone on set for a film of this caliber, or he does not care - just as he does not care what people think of Megalopolis. Filled with arguments, laughter, and pure silliness, Megadoc is a messy look at how passionate Coppola becomes when he makes a film.
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