Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Adam Driver has quickly become one of the most popular and acclaimed actors working today.
Following his breakout role on the HBO series ‘Girls,’ Driver rose to fame playing the iconic role of Kylo Men in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ and its sequels, but has also appeared in such critically acclaimed films as ‘Lincoln,’ ‘Inside Llewyn Davis,’ ‘House of Gucci,’ and ‘BlacKkKlansman,’ for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and ‘Marriage Story,’ for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Driver starred in last year’s ‘Megalopolis‘, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and is being rereleased on January 1st, 2026 in select theaters across the US.
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In honor of the rerelease, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best movies of Adam Driver’s career, including ‘Megalopolis’.
(L to R) Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.’ Photo: Lucasfilm.
The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.
An aspiring dancer (Greta Gerwig) moves to New York City and becomes caught up in a whirlwind of flighty fair-weather friends, diminishing fortunes and career setbacks.
A professor (Driver), husband and father to four is torn asunder by a rail car chemical spill that releases an “Airborne Toxic Event”, forcing him to confront his biggest fear – his own mortality.
Two Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield and Driver) travel to seventeenth century Japan which has, under the Tokugawa shogunate, banned Catholicism and almost all foreign contact.
(L to R) Adam Driver and Matt Damon in ‘The Last Duel.’ Photo: 20th Century Studios.
King Charles VI (Alex Lawther) declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris (Driver), by challenging him to a duel.
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll and Driver) return to their childhood home and are requested — with an admonition — to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother (Jane Fonda) and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
The revealing story of the 16th US President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari in director Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari.’ Photo: Neon.
A biopic of automotive mogul Enzo Ferrari (Driver), whose family redefined the idea of the high-powered Italian sports car and practically spawned the concept of Formula One racing.
The story of Daniel Jones (Driver), lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Driver) and his army of Stormtroopers.
When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately… murder.
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Genius artist Cesar Catilina (Driver) seeks to leap the City of New Rome into a utopian, idealistic future, while his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future following the suicide of his singing partner.
Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman (Driver), his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
A stage director (Driver) and an actress (Scarlett Johansson) struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.
Adam Driver in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’. Photo: Lucasfilm.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.
The movie would have been Ben (AKA Kylo Ren) secretly surviving the events of ‘Skywalker’ and going on a quest for redemption.
Here’s what Driver said about a potential return:
“I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars.’ I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen Kennedy had reached out. I always said: ‘With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second.’ I loved that character and loved playing him.”
(L to R) Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.’ Photo: Lucasfilm.
As Driver tells it, he, Soderbergh, Blunt (who helped rough out the story) and Burns (who wrote a draft) came up with the idea –– no word on how Solo survives after seemingly dying in ‘Skywalker,’ but if Palpatine can return, who knows? –– and took it to Kennedy, Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck at Lucasfilm, who all loved the idea.
But the space-buck doesn’t stop with them, and the group then had to sell Disney on the idea.
Here’s Driver on how that went:
“We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.”
And this is what Soderbergh told the AP of his regrets for the unmade movie:
“I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.”
(Left) Leonardo DiCaprio at the Los Angeles World Premiere of ‘One Battle After Another’. Photo Credit: Jay Clendenin. Copyright: Shutterstock. (Right) Director Michael Mann at the premiere of ‘Ferrari.’ Photo: Neon.
Preview:
Michael Mann’s ‘Heat 2’ has Leonardo DiCaprio circling a role.
Bradley Cooper and more are also said to have met for the movie.
The film itself is on the move from Warner Bros. to Amazon after budget disagreements.
And that’s not the only development –– the movie itself has shifted from Warner Bros. (where the studio and director couldn’t come to terms on the budget) to Amazon MGM Studios, which will produce via its United Artists label after winning the chance over the likes of Sony and Paramount.
(L to R) Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 1995’s ‘Heat.’
Mann’s original film follows Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), who leads a group of professional bank robbers, taking down major scores around Los Angeles. But after their latest heist goes terribly wrong and ends up in homicide, detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) finds a clue and becomes obsessed with the case, determined to stop McCauley’s crew.
Hanna and McCauley are competing against each other in a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Although they are on different sides of the law, they still find huge respect, recognition in each other’s troubled personal lives and they understand their competing motivations –– yet they won’t hesitate to do whatever they can to win the battle.
How does ‘Heat 2’ tie in?
(L to R) Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer in 1995’s ‘Heat.’
‘Heat 2’ (written by Mann alongside Meg Gardiner) in book form tells the story of everything that happens before and after to the principal characters. The book jumps between two time periods, the first following Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer in the original film) as he tries to evade the LAPD and Hanna following the bank robbery gone bad and moves forward into new territory in the tri-border zone and Southeast Asia.
The second storyline takes readers back to Chicago in 1988 when McCauley, Shiherlis and their crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the U.S.–Mexico border, and in Chicago. At the same time, Hanna is cutting his teeth as a rising star in the Chicago police department chasing an ultraviolent gang of home invaders.
The fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative.
DiCaprio is reportedly interested in the role of Shiherlis, and the likes of Austin Butler and Bradley Cooper have also had meetings about potential parts. Driver is still apparently part of the mix too –– essentially anyone with a profile is circling this one. But zero deals are in place yet.
Still, at least it seems Mann can finally get the burner lit and get ‘Heat 2’ cooking.
Director Michael Mann at the premiere of ‘Ferrari.’ Photo: Neon.
(Left) Adam Driver stars in director Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari.’ (Center) Anne Hathaway for Apple TV+’s ‘WeCrashed.’ (Right) ‘Eden’ director Ron Howard.
Preview:
Anne Hathaway and Adam Driver are starring in ‘Alone at Dawn’.
Ron Howard is in the director’s chair.
It’s based on a true story.
Director Ron Howard is no stranger to based-on-truth moviemaking –– the likes of ‘Apollo 13’ and ‘Thirteen Lives’ speak to that. He’s reuniting with Amazon MGM Studios (which produced the latter) for a new film that tackles an incredible true story called ‘Alone at Dawn’.
Adam Driver in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’. Photo: Lucasfilm.
The new movie is based on the book of the same name by Dan Schilling and Lori Longfritz and is inspired by an incredible true story.
Years after Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman fought to the death to save his fellow soldiers, an intelligence officer strives to prove his valor — leading an investigation that would ultimately secure him the Medal of Honor. Schilling is a military consultant on the movie and, like Chapman, was also a Combat Control Technician. Longfritz, full name Lori Chapman Longfritz, is Chapman’s sister.
Thruline Entertainment brought the manuscript of the book to The Hideaway Entertainment who optioned it in a heated bidding war before it became a New York Times bestseller.
With the project still at an early stage, we don’t yet know when it might hit screens, and in true Amazon fashion, it could land in theaters or debut on Prime Video.
Ron Howard on the set of ‘Eden’. Photo: Jasin Boland.
Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller will star in ‘Paper Tiger.’
They replace Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway in the crime drama.
James Gray wrote and is about to start directing the movie.
It’s all change –– well, not quite all change… but some change for ‘Ad Astra’ writer/director James Gray, who is swapping out some hefty A-list names for some equally notable talent on his new crime movie ‘Paper Tiger.’
While back in November last year he had Adam Driver set to star alongside Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong (who appeared in his most recent directorial effort, the semi-autobiographical ‘Armageddon Time’), he’s down two actors, as Hathaway and Strong have since had to drop out for scheduling reasons.
Since the movie, as the below logline suggests, sees brothers getting into deep trouble with the Russian mob, we can only assume Strong decided he needed more time to become a Soviet crime boss in real life to prepare.
Still, Gray is pushing forward with a new lead duo to work opposite Driver –– Deadline brings word that Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller will be taking over the roles, and cameras should be rolling next month in New Jersey.
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
The new movie, which Gray wrote, is described a tense and gritty story revolving around two brothers (we’d guess Teller and Driver) who pursue the American Dream — only to become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true.
As they try to navigate their way through an ever-more dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian “Mafiya.” Their bond begins to fray, and betrayal — once utterly unthinkable — now becomes all too possible.
Where else can we see Scarlett Johansson?
Scarlett Johansson as skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, directed by Gareth Edwards. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Johansson will be back on our screens this summer, leading ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, playing a specialist who must lead a group of scientists and mercenaries to the island where the original Jurassic Park dinos were bred in search of medical resources.
The latest entry in the giant beastie franchise will stomp on to our screens on July 2nd.
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On a very different scale (and wavelength) Johansson also has her latest collaboration with director Wes Anderson, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, which will see theaters next month, June 6th.
And possibly even more excitingly, Johansson is making her directorial debut with drama ‘Eleanor the Great,’ which stars June Squibb in the story of a 900-year-old Floridian woman who moves to New York City for a fresh start. When Making new friends her age proves difficult, she unexpectedly befriends a 19-year-old student.
That movie, formerly known as ‘Eleanor, Invisible,’ also stars Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jessica Hecht, and scored a deal with Sony Pictures Classics. It’ll make its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
It’s the story of how, after death, everybody gets one week to choose where to spend eternity. But for main characters Joan, Larry, and Luke, it’s really a question of who to spend it with.
While the movie doesn’t have a set release date in place yet, it’s already drawing potential awards buzz.
Then there is ‘Michael,’ the musical biopic of superstar Michael Jackson, in which Teller plays John Branca, Jackson’s manager, lawyer and close friend. The movie currently has an October release window from Lionsgate, though there has been chatter about legal issues surrounding the depiction of one of his accusers in a sexual abuse case, and the potential for the movie to be split in two so as to cover the full breadth of Jackson’s story.
Outside of those, there is animated tale ‘The Ark and the Aardvark,’ in which Teller voices Gilbert, the titular creature, who is given the task of shepherding the animals on to Noah’s Ark.
And we know he’ll be part of Paul Downs Colaizzo’s ‘Winter Games,’ set in the high-stakes arena of the Winter Olympic Games, following a perpetually overlooked skier and a self-sabotaging hockey legend (Teller) who collide at their breaking points. Their unexpected connection threatens her chance for a medal and his shot at a comeback as they navigate romance and redemption in the Olympic Village.
Miles Teller plays Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
The actor is also attached to the long-developing third outing for the ‘Top Gun’ franchise, where he would reprise the role of Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, AKA the son of Anthony Edwards’ Goose from the 1986 original.
More recently, it was announced via Deadline that Teller will lead the cast for quirky new music comedy ‘Possum Song,’ directed by ‘Sing Sing’s Greg Kwedar to follow his Oscar-nominated prison pic.
Written by Isaac Adamson, ‘Possum Song’ will follow Eddie (Teller), an overconfident Nashville star who is hiding a dark secret: He stole the songs for his hit debut album.
Now, with a new wife and a baby on the way, Eddie must write his follow-up solo or risk losing everything. But just when things seem most hopeless, Eddie discovers a musical genius in the form of a magical possum with whom he strikes a dangerous Faustian bargain.
FilmNation is backing the movie, and here’s what Ben Browning, the company’s president of motion pictures had to say about it:
“This is a one-of-a-kind film. Greg’s vision, Isaac’s hilarious script and the magnetic performance of Miles Teller will create the kind of cinematic ride that audiences are craving — with showstopping music, visceral shocks, possums, humor and emotion.”
There are a number of other projects on his To Do list, including crime thriller ‘Wild Game,’‘Bartali,’ another sporting tale (where Teller would here play champion cyclist Gino Bartali, who put his career on hold to fight in World War II) and Martin Scorsese’s wishlist project ‘The Life of Jesus,’ which also has Andrew Garfield attached but has still yet to shoot.
When will ‘Paper Tiger’ be in theaters?
Since we’re in the Cannes Film Festival zone (a little bit like The Twilight Zone, but with fewer gremlins ripping bits off plane wings), add this one to the list of titles up for sale to distributors.
Vincent Maraval and Kim Fox’s The Veterans are representing the international sales rights and CAA Media Finance is handling North American rights. With the movie still in sales limbo, we’ll have to wait to see which company picks it up and what date it assigns to the movie.
(Left) Adam Driver talk ‘Megalopolis’. (Right) Jessica Chastain star in ‘Memory.’
Preview:
Jessica Chastain and Adam Driver are starring in new Apple TV+ series ‘The Dealer.’
It’s set in the world of high-end art.
Sam Gold is directing the series, with Lucas Hnath writing.
Apple TV+ is clearly looking to stay in business with Jessica Chastain, locking down the busy actor (who has one show on the way for the streaming service already –– more on that below) and also securing the services of intense fellow star Adam Driver for a new series called ‘The Dealer.’
But in case the title has you thinking that this might somehow spin-off from the Chastain-starring poker drama movie ‘Molly’s Game,’ think again: it’s actually going to be set in the art world.
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What’s the story of ‘The Dealer’?
Jessica Chastain as Madeline “Elizabeth” Sloane in ‘Miss Sloane.’ Photo: Relativity EuropaCorp Distribution.
With Sam Gold aboard to direct and Lucas Hnath leading the writing, ‘The Dealer’ is described as a biting exploration of power, class, seduction and culture set inside the glittering world of the high-end art market.
Per Deadline, it’s told through the eyes of an aspiring super gallerist, played by Chastain, and the tangled relationship with her most gifted and unnerving artist, to be brought to screens by Driver.
Gold is a theatre director who won the Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award in 2015 for ‘Fun House.’ He, Hnath and Hnath’s long-time collaborator Sarah Lunnie worked together on ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2,’ a play written by Hnath, directed by Gold and dramaturged by Lunnie.
It earned Gold and Hnath Tony nominations in 2017, with its star Laurie Metcalf winning the award for Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. Lunnie also served as dramaturg for the Broadway production of Hnath’s play ‘Hillary & Clinton.’
Who else is behind the new series?
Apple TV+ logo. Photo: Apple TV+.
The new show is just the latest Apple TV+ series from production company Media Res, which already produces the Emmy– and SAG Award–winning drama ‘The Morning Show,’ which is headed into its fourth season, ‘Pachinko’ and ‘Extrapolations.’
It’s the fourth high-profile sale for the company over the last few months. It recently set up ‘The Band,’ an hourlong dramedy series starring Ben Stiller, at HBO and also has bisexual romance drama ‘Enigma Variations’ starring Jeremy Allen White percolating at Netflix.
Jessica Chastain as Amy Loughren in Netflix’s ‘The Good Nurse.’
As we mentioned, Chastain already has another project, limited series ‘The Savant,’ in the works for Apple via her Freckle Films company.
The series is reportedly inspired by a true–life story entitled ‘Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?’ which featured in Cosmopolitan in August 2019 of a woman who has come to be known as “the Savant” who infiltrates online hate-groups in order to prevent large-scale public attacks.
Most recently seen in ‘Mother’s Instinct,’ Chastain has a few films coming up, including new drama ‘Dreams,’ which sees romance blossom between a wealthy socialite and a Mexican ballet dancer, intertwining their contrasting lives and cultures.
Chastain is also playing Goneril, in the Bernard Rose–directed Shakespeare adaptation ‘Lear Rex,’ which stars Al Pacino as Lear.
Then there’s crime thriller series ‘His & Hers’ –– though Chastain is only a producer on that one.
She has a typically busy schedule of projects she’s attached to, including Barry Levinson’s ‘Assassination’ (which also stars Pacino) and new drama ‘Losing Clementine,’ the latter one just as a producer.
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Driver was most recently seen in Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis,’ and last worked on director Jim Jarmusch’s new drama ‘Father, Mother, Sister, Brother,’ which follows estranged siblings reuniting after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.
It’ll premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month but doesn’t yet have a set release date.
The actor is also attached to James Gray’s new drama ‘Paper Tiger’ and, assuming it comes together, he’ll be part of Michael Mann’s much-anticipated ‘Heat’ sequel.
And ‘The Dealer’ represents his first time starring in a TV series since he was one of the main characters on HBO’s ‘Girls.’
When will ‘The Dealer’ be on screens?
Depending on the actors’ busy schedules and how quickly this makes it through the process of development at Apple, this could shoot this year and land on the tech company’s streaming service in 2026.
Steven Soderbergh is one of the most prolific and celebrated filmmakers of his generation.
The director’s breakthrough movie, 1989’s ‘sex, lies, and videotape‘, gave birth to the independent film movement of the 1990’s. Soderbergh would go on to helm such acclaimed films as ‘Out of Sight‘, ‘Erin Brockovich‘, and ‘Traffic‘, which earned him an Oscar for Best Director, before going on to make the popular ‘Ocean’s Eleven‘ and ‘Magic Mike‘ franchises.
Soderbergh has two movies releasing in 2025, the experimental supernatural film ‘Presence‘, which opened in theaters on January 24th, and the spy thriller ‘Black Bag‘, which stars Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, and is scheduled for release on March 14th.
In honor of the upcoming release of ‘Black Bag’, Moviefone is counting down every film Steven Soderbergh has ever directed, including TV movies, documentaries, anthology films, and his latest.
Matt Damon in ‘The Informant!’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion.
From the first time he performed ‘Swimming to Cambodia‘ – the one-man account of his experience of making the 1984 film ‘The Killing Fields‘ – Spalding Gray made the art of the monologue his own. Drawing unstintingly on the most intimate aspects of his own life, his shows were vibrant, hilarious and moving. His death came tragically early, in 2004; this compilation of interview and performance footage nails his idiosyncratic and irreplaceable brilliance.
A celebrated author (Meryl Streep) takes a journey with some old friends to have some fun and heal old wounds. Her nephew (Lucas Hedges) comes along to wrangle the ladies and finds himself involved with a young literary agent (Gemma Chan).
A recovering gambling addict (Peter Gallagher) attempts to reconcile with his family and friends but finds trouble and temptation when caught between feelings for his ex-wife (Alison Elliott) and her dangerous hoodlum boyfriend (William Fichtner).
Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Salma Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse… and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he—and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape—be able to pull it off?
The film documents, in an often dramatic and humorous fashion, Spalding Gray’s investigations into alternative medicine for an eye condition (Macular pucker) he had developed.
Based on the Depression-era bildungsroman memoir of writer A. E. Hotchner, the film follows the story of a boy (Jesse Bradford) struggling to survive on his own in a hotel in St. Louis after his mother is committed to a sanatorium with tuberculosis. His father, a German immigrant and traveling salesman working for the Hamilton Watch Company, is off on long trips from which the boy cannot be certain he will return.
Chelsea (Sasha Grey) is an in-demand call girl whose $2,000 an hour price tag allows her to live in New York’s lap of luxury. Besides her beauty and sexual skill, Chelsea offers her clients companionship and conversation, or, as she dubs it, “the girlfriend experience.” With her successful business and a devoted, live-in boyfriend, Chelsea thinks she has it made… until a new client rocks her world.
A tech worker (Zoë Kravitz) with agoraphobia discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime but is met with resistance when she tries to report it. Seeking justice, she must do the thing she fears the most: leave her apartment.
A three-part anthology film about love and sexuality: a menage-a-trois between a couple and a young woman on the coast of Tuscany; an advertising executive under enormous pressure at work, who, during visits to his psychiatrist, is pulled to delve into the possible reasons why his stress seems to manifest itself in a recurring erotic dream; and a story of unrequited love about a beautiful, 1960s high-end call girl in an impossible affair with her young tailor.
An American journalist (George Clooney) arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover (Cate Blanchett).
After the Cuban Revolution, Che (Benicio del Toro) is at the height of his fame and power. Then he disappears, re-emerging incognito in Bolivia, where he organizes a small group of Cuban comrades and Bolivian recruits to start the great Latin American Revolution. Through this story, we come to understand how Che remains a symbol of idealism and heroism that lives in the hearts of people around the world.
When a widow (Meryl Streep) gets swindled out of insurance money, her search for answers leads to two cunning lawyers (Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas) in Panama who hide cash for the superrich.
André Holland in ‘High Flying Bird’. Photo: Netflix.
During an NBA lockout, a sports agent, Ray Burke (André Holland), presents his rookie client, Erick Scott (Melvin Gregg), with an intriguing and controversial business opportunity.
A woman (Rooney Mara) turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband’s (Channing Tatum) upcoming release from prison.
The Argentine, begins as Che (Benicio del Toro) and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro (Demián Bichir)) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956. Within two years, they mobilized popular support and an army and toppled the U.S.-friendly regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), is recounted.
A group of criminals are brought together under mysterious circumstances and have to work together to uncover what’s really going on when their simple job goes completely sideways.
Danny Ocean’s (George Clooney) team of criminals are back and composing a plan more personal than ever. When ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) doublecrosses Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), causing a heart attack, Danny Ocean vows that he and his team will do anything to bring down Willy Bank along with everything he’s got. Even if it means asking for help from an enemy.
Kafka (Jeremy Irons), an insurance worker gets embroiled in an underground group after a co-worker is murdered. The underground group is responsible for bombings all over town, attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society. He eventually penetrates the secret organization and must confront them.
Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny’s hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts).
(L to R) Channing Tatum, Riley Keough and Adam Driver in ‘Lucky Logan’. Photo: Bleecker Street.
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Mike (Channing Tatum), an experienced stripper, takes a younger performer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money.
As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus – that kills within days – rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) reunites with his old flame and the rest of his merry band of thieves in carrying out three huge heists in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam – but a Europol agent is hot on their heels.
Ann (Andie MacDowell), a frustrated wife, enters into counseling due to a troubled marriage. Unbeknownst to her, her husband John (Peter Gallagher) has begun an affair with her sister. When John’s best friend Graham (James Spader) arrives, his penchant for interviewing women about their sex lives forever changes John and Ann’s rocky marriage.
‘Black Bag’ is a gripping spy drama about legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When she is suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test – loyalty to his marriage or his country.
A twice-divorced mother (Julia Roberts) of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins — with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Meet Jack Foley (George Clooney), a smooth criminal who bends the law and is determined to make one last heist. Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez) is a federal marshal who chooses all the right moves … and all the wrong guys. Now they’re willing to risk it all to find out if there’s more between them than just the law.
An exploration of the United States of America’s war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (Michael Douglas), the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter (Erika Christensen) is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman (Benicio del Toro) agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin’s sheltered trophy wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) must learn her husband’s ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.
(L to R) Luis Guzmán and Terence Stamp in ‘The Limey’. Photo: Artisan Entertainment.
The Limey follows Wilson (Terence Stamp), a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter’s death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine (Peter Fonda) and an army of L.A.’s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.
(L to R) Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola and Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina on the set of ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Phil Caruso.
‘Megalopolis’ is the first film from Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola in thirteen years and a project he has been developing since 1977. The result is an exhilarating and complex motion picture that pushes the boundaries of cinema while exploring class and the fragility of societies.
Anchored by a fantastic ensemble of actors including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne and Aubrey Plaza, Coppola experiments with story, visual effects and even live-theatrical components. However, this movie is not for everyone, and will have its fair share of critics due to its experimental nature and a somewhat confusing script. But if you ignore that, and just go for the wild cinematic ride Coppola has created, you will be in awe of the director’s latest masterpiece.
Story and Direction
Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Phil Laruso.
Combining the Catilinarian conspiracy with modern day New York, ‘Megalopolis’ is set in a decaying metropolis called New Rome. An Idealistic architect named Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), who has the power to control space and time, seeks to demolish and rebuild the city into a sustainable utopia using a new material called “megalon”. Standing in his way is Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), the Mayor of New Rome who is committed to a regressive status quo.
Things get complicated for Cesar when he falls in love with Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter. Also, lurking in the shadows is Cesar’s cousin, Clodio (Shia LaBeouf), who along with his uncle Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight) and his new wife former TV journalist Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), is plotting to destroy Cesar before he can build his new utopia.
Aubrey Plaza as Wow Platinum in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Dense and complex, Coppola’s screenplay explores class warfare and how easily societies can fail. Mixing Roman mythology with what at times feels like a Shakespearian script, (Driver even recites the “To be, or not to be” speech from ‘Hamlet’ at one point), the story at times can seem convoluted but if that bothers you, then I think you are missing the point of Coppola’s film. And knowing how much of the script and story was found on the set by the actors through improvisation, to focus on the screenplay’s shortcomings is again, to miss the point of the movie entirely.
Arguably one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema after making ‘The Godfather’, ‘The Godfather II’, and ‘Apocalypse Now’, just to name a few, the true joy of ‘’Megalopolis’ is watching the master filmmaker experiment with the medium and create something unexpected and quite beautiful in its own way. Not only is Coppola experimenting with the themes of the movie, but he is also experimenting with filmmaking technologies he hasn’t used before like digital cameras, digital effects, and a fascinating live-theatrical stunt, unlike anything I’ve seen before in a movie theater, but more on that below.
Live Theatrical Experience
Grace Vanderwaal as Vesta Sweetwater in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Towards the end of the second act, there is a moment when Driver’s Cesar is participating in a press conference. At that exact moment, the lights in the theater go on, and a person from the audience (obviously a plant) walks up to a microphone close to the screen. Then, in character, the “actor” asks the on-screen Cesar a question as if they are the reporter in the scene themselves. At least in my screening, the timing worked perfectly, and Cesar seemingly answered the member of the audience.
It’s obviously a constructed stunt, but I absolutely loved that Coppola decided to experiment in this way and it’s the moment when (faults and all) I really fell for this film. It’s a bold move, and one that I wish more filmmakers would take the risk to do. I’m not saying every movie should have a live component, but I would love to see more filmmakers play with the medium and experiment with techniques that are outside of the norm.
A Misunderstood Masterpiece?
Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero and Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
With the media seemingly wanting to see Coppola fail after rumors of production troubles, not to mention the experimental nature of the movie, reviews out of the film’s Cannes premiere have been mixed at best. But don’t listen to them, and don’t even listen to me, see the movie for yourself and make up your own mind! However, I would suggest seeing the film in IMAX, as it adds to Coppola’s vision and the overall experience of the movie.
While it’s unfair to compare ‘’Megalopolis’ to Coppola’s past work, it is important to remember (as the fake quotes in the film’s first trailer point out), films like ‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ and yes, even ‘The Godfather’, received some mixed reviews upon release and of course have gone on to be considered cinematic classics. That may or may not eventually happen with ‘’Megalopolis’, but it is certainly a bold and intriguing movie, which is in stark contrast to the standard sequels and superhero films that litter our local cinema.
The Cast
Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
While the true star of ‘’Megalopolis’ in my opinion is Francis Ford Coppola, he has assembled a remarkable cast of actors, young and old, and the film is certainly anchored by Adam Driver’s strong performance. Driver embodies the character with an intelligence and an aloofness that only the former Kylo Ren actor could supply.
Veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito has finally become a household name thanks to his vast television work on hit shows like ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Boys’. This is Esposito’s first major role in a movie since his recent success, and while he once again plays the antagonist, the actor gives a very good performance.
Shia LaBeouf as Clodio Pulcher in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
While purposely over-the-top at times, Shia LaBeouf gives a commanding performance as the sinister Clodio, and Oscar-winner Jon Voight is at his best in years as Hamilton Crassus III. Also excellent in her role is Aubrey Plaza, perfectly cast as a Barbara Walters meets Megyn Kelly type journalist more concerned with moving up society’s later than reporting the truth. Other strong supporting performances come from Laurence Fishburne (the film’s narrator) and Grace VanderWaal as a Taylor Swift type entertainer.
However, coming off an excellent performance in director John Woo’s remake of ‘The Killer’ is Nathalie Emmanuel, who is adequate as Julia, but has a hard time overcoming the shadows of the other heavyweights in the cast. Talia Shire (Coppola’s sister), Jason Schwartzman (Shire’s son and Coppola’s nephew), ‘Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman and Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman are all welcomed additions to the cast, but unfortunately are not given enough to do.
Final Thoughts
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
In the end, you may like ‘Megalopolis’ or you may not, but it is worth seeing in a theater, if for nothing else to experience a once in a lifetime theatrical experience from one of the greatest directors of all time.
‘Megalopolis’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘’Megalopolis’?
In a decaying metropolis called New Rome, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is an idealist architect who is granted a license by the federal government to demolish and rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia using a new material, “megalon”, which can give him the power to control space and time. His nemesis, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), remains committed to a regressive status quo. Torn between them is Franklyn’s socialite daughter and Cesar’s love interest Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life’s meaning.
Moviefone recently had the honor of speaking with legendary writer and director Francis Ford Coppola and Adam Driver about their work on ‘Megalopolis’, Coppola’s passion and dedication to get it made, the live theatrical aspect of the film, how he utilized new technology, Driver’s approach to his character, improvisation, and what he learned from working with Coppola.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Phil Laruso.
Moviefone: To begin with, Mr. Coppola, can you talk about the spark of the idea for this film that excited you and what kept you passionate and determined over all these decades to finally get this movie made?
Francis Ford Coppola: When I started, I didn’t specifically start with this project. I just thought that since I had made so many films with different styles, I was curious what my style was. So, I just started to note down articles I read, or I had a collection I remember of political cartoons because cartoons tell a whole story in one image, and things I had read. After a while, I found that I was interested in the idea of doing a Roman epic because I had seen them as a kid, and I loved Roman epics. Then at one point, I read a particular Roman story about what was called the Catiline conspiracy. In that, it said that could happen in modern America because modern America has based itself on being Roman. That’s when it began to really take shape in this. Then I started to collect possibilities of what it might be like and how it might be done, and ultimately led to this incredible collaboration with my wonderful cast and with Adam and with the various people who supplied everything in the film, and we made ‘Megalopolis’ together.
(L to R) Writer/Director Francis Ford Coppola and Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina on the set of ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Phil Caruso.
MF: Adam, what was this experience like for you working with Mr. Coppola, and what did you learn about filmmaking from watching the specific way that he makes movies?
Adam Driver: I think there’s maybe a misconception or an assumption that people make about directors that are like Francis that the atmosphere when you get on set is going to be very dictatorial, that it’s going to be “Do what I tell you to do”, or at least that’s just what the feedback that I get from people is, “Do you just say everything that he tells you to do?” That’s not actually what it’s like at all. He’s very disarming, which I guess should be no surprise because his movies feel that way. They all feel like everyone is pretty invested in what they’re doing because he gives you an incredible amount of trust, which it could easily have been the opposite of, “Move here because I said so, and I have a resume of films that have changed filmmaking as evidence that I know what I’m talking about”. That would’ve been a very compelling argument, but it’s the exact opposite. He makes you part of it because you have some authorship of it, you get obsessed with it and excited, and are invested and want to bring ideas to the table. Because he has such a, this is the understatement of the century, but an incredible film vocabulary that he is very good at picking the things that are in line with what he’s trying to make in an incredibly diplomatic way and discarding the things that aren’t what he needs. So, the thing I took from it is also, it felt like experimental theater in a way, where you can’t make a mistake, and setting an environment for people to feel comfortable to do whatever they wanted within the parameters. It is an experience that I didn’t have in film before, and I don’t think I’ll have again. Trying to take that to other films will be difficult.
Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Mr. Coppola, there is a staged moment in the film where someone from the theater’s audience stands up and interacts with Adam’s character on-screen. Can you talk about the choice to include this unusual experimental theatrical experience and how you were able to execute it?
FFC: Well, it’s interesting because the film didn’t have that scene at all in it, and it was Adam who said to me, “Remember we shot a sequence where the people asked questions. I miss that. I wish that were back in.” I said, “Well, let’s go find it and put it back in and see what you think,” and we did. Then we put it in, and I agreed with him that it was missing, and it was better with it. It wasn’t in it. It was his idea and we put it in, and then the only thing that happened is I thought, “Well, wouldn’t it be interesting if a real person brought the microphone over and put it there?” We tried it and it seemed to be exciting. I’m a guy who in a way still has one foot in theater and one foot in cinema and I haven’t forgotten my theatrical training as a kid. I love to combine the two, and that’s where that came from. We only had it because of this idea about actors and directors, I’ve heard it said, “Oh, that director got this great performance out of the actor.” Directors don’t get great performances out of actors. The actor does the performance. The director’s like a coach. He’s there to be able to say something helpful, hopefully at the right time, when the actor is trying to achieve something, just like a coach in a sports team says, “Why don’t you try thinking this?” If it helps, great. But the actor does the hard part, let’s face it. The director is there to just say the right thing at the right moment if you are lucky enough to have the right thing to say.
(L to R) Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Adam, I understand there was quite a bit of improvisation on the set. Can you talk about your approach to playing Cesar, and did the improv help you find the character on set?
AD: There’s the version and what we had talked about. Francis told me some inspirations, not directly, but like Walter Gropius was somebody that we talked about. Robert Moses was another person, just to kind of get a sense. But what Francis was saying, he’s being a little modest. I think sometimes people say that idea, which sounds romantic, and in practice, never practice it, or they reserve it for press. But Francis really acts on his principles and everything that he’s describing is very rare, I think, to get that experience as an actor and to get the freedom to kind of come up with an idea and surprise yourself, and hopefully Francis. But he still is the one that’s making that happen, so you wouldn’t get that movie obviously, if Francis wasn’t kind of conducting all these kinds of wild personalities. So, it all kind of was found by the other actors that I’m acting with, the props, how (Cinematographer) Mihai (Mălaimare Jr.) was shooting it with Francis and all Francis’ direction. He kind of set up the rules. The first day of shooting was something really and I remember at one point, Francis said, “We’re not being brave enough,” and that was like, “Oh, that’s probably the best piece of direction I’ve ever been given,” and that set the tone for the rest of the film.
Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero and Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, Mr. Coppola, obviously the tools used to make films has changed a lot since you began making movies with advances in digital cameras, visual effects, and editing software. Can you talk about how you were able to implement those new tools into your style of filmmaking?
FFC: Well, I think Orson Wells once said that a lot of those aspects of movies, you can learn in a weekend. But fundamentally, the two main components of cinema are acting and writing. That’s not something you can learn over the weekend. I mean, you can’t have a great movie without wonderful acting. You need some kind of good writing. Everything else is you can take great liberties with and choose to use or not to use. Just because there’s some new development that is possibly revolutionary doesn’t mean you have to use it or must use it in the way they’re using it. We did use a technique that falls in that category, what’s known as the volume. It’s when they have this huge space and it’s a huge LED screen. But we used it a different way. We put the scene that we shot very high, and so if they’re walking along up there and fall, they’re going to fall 15 feet into a net, and so that the actors would be a little trepidatious about walking around too casually up there. He (Adam) wasn’t afraid of it, but Natalie (Emmanuel) was. When she walked, you could feel she didn’t want to fall. So, I mean, as I said, you can use things, but you don’t have to use them in the way that they were invented for.
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What is the plot of ‘’Megalopolis’?
In a decaying metropolis called New Rome, Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) is an idealist architect who is granted a license by the federal government to demolish and rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia using a new material, “megalon”, which can give him the power to control space and time. His nemesis, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), remains committed to a regressive status quo. Torn between them is Franklyn’s socialite daughter and Cesar’s love interest Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life’s meaning.
Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ is scheduled for release on September 27, 2024.
Preview:
Francis Ford Coppola has made a deal with Lionsgate to release ‘Megalopolis’.
The filmmaker’s passion project stars Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Coppola poured millions of his own money into making the movie.
Given how much time and money Francis Ford Coppola had poured into making his latest passion project, the epic known as ‘Megalopolis’, things were looking a little grim.
Coppola, the man behind movies such as ‘The Godfather’ trilogy and ‘Apocalypse Now’ had been looking to bring ‘Megalopolis’ to life for years but hadn’t found anyone to invest fully.
So the filmmaker went ahead and sold a chunk of his vineyard business to drum up the cash himself, tracking down a cast and getting under way.
Then came reports of trouble on set, with effects issues and even accusations of inappropriate behavior by the director (an issue which has yet to be settled either way).
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Finally, Coppola finished the film and screened it for potential distributors in Los Angeles, to reportedly zero interest. He scored a slot at Cannes and that has sparked wildly divisive reviews, many calling out its gonzo storytelling and performances.
Yet after the festival screening, there has been a big turnaround in the movie’s fortunes, Coppola securing a raft of international distribution deals across the world.
And today brings word that Lionsgate has scored a deal to distribute the movie here in the States, and to handle its home entertainment release.
What’s the story of ‘Megalopolis’?
(L to R) Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in ‘Megalopolis’. Photo: Lionsgate.
The fate of Rome haunts a modern world (and a city that’s essentially an alternate New York) unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius, and conflicting interests.
‘Megalopolis’ essential clash is between Cesar (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare.
Caught between the two? Franklyn’s socialite daughter and Cesar’s love interest, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life’s meaning.
Who else is in ‘Megalopolis’?
Jon Voight as Byrne in ‘The Painter.’ Photo: Republic Pictures.
Director Frances Ford Coppola at the 50th Anniversary of ‘The Godfather’ event and historic street naming ceremony the Paramount Theater in Hollywood, CA on February 22nd, 2022. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.
Here’s the statement the director released about the new deal:
“One rule of business I’ve always followed and prioritized (to my benefit) is to continue working with companies and teams who over time have proven to be good friends as well as great collaborators. This is why I am thrilled to have Adam Fogelson and Lionsgate Studios release ‘Megalopolis’. I am confident they will apply the same tender love and care given to ‘Apocalypse Now’, which is currently in its 45th year of astounding revenue and appreciation.”
And here’s Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson’s comment:
“Francis is a legend. For many of us, his gifts to cinema were one of the inspirations to devote our own careers to film. It is a true privilege to work with him, and to bring this incredible, audacious, and utterly unique movie to theatrical audiences. At Lionsgate, we strive to be a home for bold and daring artists, and ‘Megalopolis’ proves there is no one more bold or daring than the maestro, Francis Ford Coppola.”
When will ‘Megalopolis’ be in a theater near me?
Lionsgate has set a September 27th release date for the movie.
Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro onstage during the 50th anniversary tribute of “The Godfather” at the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
