The legacy of Francis Ford Coppola’s mega-flop Megalopolis may be the number of sexual misconduct allegations Coppola’s on-set behavior has generated, as now we have claims that he kissed a 13-year-old girl.
Months before the September 27 release of Francis Ford Coppola’s critically panned $120 million pet project Megalopolis, rumors were popping up that Coppola was engaging in kissing and groping with women who were extras on-set. Variety published the first set of accusations in late July, reporting that "The filmmaker kept leaping up to hug and kiss several women, often inadvertently inserting himself into the shot and ruining it."
A new video of Francis Ford Coppola grabbing and kissing female extras on the set of ‘MEGALOPOLIS’ has surfaced online.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 26, 2024
He reportedly announced with a microphone to the entire set, “Sorry, if I come up to you and kiss you. Just know it’s solely for my pleasure.”
Another source… pic.twitter.com/ZVaLZNgyj6
About a week later, Variety got one of those women to speak publicly. Lauren Pagone was an extra during one shoot, and told that publication, "I was in shock. I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off guard. And I can tell you he came around a couple times." Coppola has since sued Variety over the stories.
But more stories are coming out. The Daily Beast reported Monday night that the 85-year-old Coppola kissed a 13-year-old girl who was an extra. The allegation comes not from the girl, but from child labor coordinator Benjamin Cawood, who worked with the minors on-set.
The alleged incident happened during the shooting of a New Year’s Eve party scene. “Everybody was dressed up very glamorously and [Coppola] seemed to be leering at the girl,” Cawood told the Daily Beast. “He actually said ‘Hey there,’ [and] complimented how she looked, [in] kind of innocent way basically because of the costumes — like, ‘It’s a great costume’ or something kind of general.”
“There was an attractive thirtysomething extra and he was trying to encourage them, [so] he stood up and walked over and he kissed her,” he continued. “I couldn’t tell from the angle if he kissed her on the mouth or on the cheek. But then immediately went to the [13-year-old] girl and kissed her.” Cawood added that Coppola kissed the 13-year-old girl on the cheek, and not on the lips.
The names of extras are not listed on call sheets, and Cawood did not know the girl’s name. So this account cannot be verified with the girl, though Cawood noted that he spoke to the girl’s mother, who was also on-set.
"She was off in the stage area" during the incident, Cawood told the Daily Beast. “I found her mom and I said, ‘I just want you to know, the director just kissed her.’ And she said ‘Yeah, my daughter told me.’ I was like, ‘OK, because it just didn't feel right and I wanted you to know what happened.’”
And Cawood did bring this up immediately with his third-party child labor employer, but says they simply blew it off. Coppola financed the film with his own money, so there was no traditional movie studio human resources department for such complaints.
As the Chronicle notes in their reporting on the matter, the $120 million Megalopolis grossed just $4 million in its opening weekend, and has grossed only $10 million in its two-and-a-half weeks of release. Those would be career-killing figures for any director other than Coppola.
But the now-numerous misconduct allegations, and one including a minor, may be what ends Coppola’s directing career after this film.
Image: NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Francis Ford Coppola attends the "Megalopolis" premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on September 23, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/WireImage)
