How to live alongside the masters: Roman Coppola's work ethic, raised in a film family and loved by film

"Megalopolis," a film that Francis Ford Coppola spent 40 years planning and saw the project stalled many times along the way, but ultimately completed using his own money, truly putting his life on the line, has finally been released.

The film is described as a "Roman epic set in modern-day New York, modeled after ancient Rome." It follows the story of architect Caesar (Adam Driver), a Nobel Prize-winning inventor of the new material "Megaron," who strives to build his ideal city in the near future, a city on the brink of crisis due to the emergence of various social problems. Despite obstacles from the city's mayor, Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), and others, the film continues to push forward.

The second unit director was Roman Coppola, Coppola's second son and a film director himself. We spoke to Roman, who is probably more familiar with the film than anyone else, about Megalopolis.

Roman made his directorial debut with "CQ" in 2001, and hasn't directed a film since "Inside the Head of Charles Swan III" in 2012. However, around that time he became known in Japan as a collaborator of Wes Anderson.

"I met Wes through a mutual friend, L.M. Kit Carson (the screenwriter for Paris, Texas), who wrote the screenplay for his first short film, Bottle Rocket, and also because his cousin Jason (Schwartzman) appeared in Max. Then, when I went to Italy to watch the filming of The Life Aquatic, I was asked to be the second unit director, and we've been working together ever since. I was involved in The Darjeeling Limited as a friend from the original idea stage."

Alongside his work with Wes, Roman has also worked as a producer and second unit director on films for his father and sister, Sofia Coppola.

"I really like being a second unit director as a part of my career. I think the professional attitude of a second unit director is to adapt to the director and their style, and to serve the director's work without showing any ego, and I think I had those qualities."

Roman will now serve as second unit director on his father's film, Megalopolis, but he has actually been involved in the project since its inception.

"I graduated from high school in 1983, and that summer I spent all my time scanning books about New York architecture like the Chrysler Building to gather materials and materials for this film. I used incredibly large-scale filming equipment. After that, I was called in whenever the project progressed, but this was the first time I was involved in full-scale filming."
　
So, which scenes did Roman actually take part in filming?

"I was involved in the strange, alien, and bizarre scenes in this film, such as the party scene at Madison Square Garden at the beginning, the car scene at night, and the riot scene in the second half."

Speaking of mysteries, there is a new material invented by Caesar called "megalon."

"Using Megaron, you can build buildings and heal the body. So I think Megaron represents the infinite potential that humans inherently possess, as well as an optimistic view and hope for the future. But that's just my personal opinion."

In the sense that Coppola's father spent his own money to create a city called "New Rome," Megalopolis is more reminiscent of Jacques Tati's "Playtime," which Coppola has often mentioned, than Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." Tati also used enormous amounts of money to create a town called "Tativille."

"My father wanted to know what possibilities the form of film had, how far it could evolve, and how it would continue to expand into the future. He was willing to spend both time and money to achieve this. It was the same with Tati. We both wanted to expand the horizons of the field of film. So, even though we never met, we were like spiritual comrades in arms. I'm sure my father drew courage from the films of Tati, who was a pioneer."

Some of Roman Coppola's work