Actor D.B. Sweeney says theaters aren’t ready to screen his latest film exactly as it was meant to be seen.
Not yet, at least.
‘I can’t make the movie better, but I can make every scene I’m in better. … You can’t be too particular, but that attitude has given me more longevity.’
Director Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” features a short live-action component that patrons may not experience.
“Your local multiplex is not equipped for that right now, but it’s not unthinkable in five to seven years. [Coppola] is already thinking about it,” Sweeney tells Align of a press conference sequence mid-film. A few movie houses have brought it to life, but they remain the exception.
‘Gardens of Stone’
The visionary behind “The Godfather,” “Apocalypse Now,” and “The Conversation” is always looking to the future, Sweeney says. He’s also respectful of the past. Coppola remembered giving Sweeney his first big break by casting him in the 1987 war drama “Gardens of Stone.”
The pair reunited for “Megalopolis,” the most talked-about film of the fall. Adam Driver stars as an architect with a bold vision to transform New Rome into the city of the future. Some, like a corrupt mayor played by Giancarlo Esposito, have other ideas.
The sprawling film boast a $100 million-plus budget paid for via Coppola’s considerable wine empire. Critics remain divided about the film, and the movie won’t recoup its costs any time soon.
Uncommon vision
The director isn’t as obsessed with the film’s bottom line as select journalists.
“I have the luxury of having this money. … It’s not a piece of business. It’s a piece of art,” Sweeney recalls the director saying on the subject. “The money will come back to my descendants.”
Coppola’s uncommon vision arrives at a time when Hollywood appears obsessed with reboots, remakes, and sequels. There’s nothing quite like “Megalopolis” in the marketplace.
Sweeney first heard about Coppola’s dream project roughly 20 years ago.
“I knew some people were involved in the read-through [of the script]. Francis has all kinds of things going on all the time. He’s such a fascinating character,” the actor says.
A major theme in the finished film involves New Rome’s unchecked hedonism. Think Aubrey Plaza’s turn as an amoral TV show host or Jon Voight’s oily billionaire character.
‘Bad people on both sides’
“Francis is such a history freak. … He loves talking about the Romans and the Greeks and evolution of human society,” he says. “He really wanted to draw this parallel [between] where America is and where Rome was before it fell. Decadence was a huge part of it. It’s really well timed in an election year. The movie doesn’t veer left or right in any way. There are bad people drawn to politics from both sides.”
Coppola made news by telling Rolling Stone he hired “problematic” actors to smite cancel culture and show the value of art.
“What I didn’t want to happen is that we’re deemed some woke Hollywood production that’s simply lecturing viewers. … The cast features people who were canceled at one point or another. There were people who are archconservatives and others who are extremely politically progressive. But we were all working on one film together.”
Getting it right
Sweeney deemed the decision a “total nonissue” on set.
“Jon Voight is one of our greatest actors. He’s entitled to think what he wants,” Sweeney says of the conservative actor. As for Shia LaBeouf, who famously protested Donald Trump and later was accused of physically abusing girlfriend FKA Twigs, Sweeney says “nobody worked harder” on set.
Sweeney admires Coppola’s vision and remains grateful for the auteur’s support early in his career. That’s why he flew to Cannes Film Festival earlier this year with the director to bring the movie’s live-action component to life during the festival’s screening. He did the same at the recent Toronto Film Festival.
He wanted to get the small part just right for Coppola and for the film.
That’s how he has approached his decades-long career. Not every film will rock the zeitgeist as much Sweeney titles like “Lonesome Dove,” “The Cutting Edge,” and “Eight Men Out” did.
Sweeney knows a project can go south at any point for a variety of reasons. It’s why he took a previous conversation with Oscar winner Jodie Foster to heart.
“You’ve been in some great movies,” he recalls telling her. “They’re not all gonna be great,” she said. And over the years, he realized that some promising projects weren’t panning out as he had hoped.
That’s when he doubles down.
“I can’t make the movie better, but I can make every scene I’m in better. … You can’t be too particular, but that attitude has given me more longevity,” he says.