Francis Ford Coppola addresses inappropriate on-set accusations: 'I'm too shy'

Francis Ford Coppola is brushing off accusations of inappropriate behavior on the set of his 40-year passion project "Megalopolis."

In a report from The Guardian published on May 14, several anonymous crew members described Coppola, 85, of having "old school" behavior around women on the set.

"My mother told me that if you make an advance toward a woman, it means you disrespect her, and the girls I had crushes on, I certainly didn't disrespect them," the director told The New York Times in an article published Thursday. "I'm not touchy-feely. I'm too shy."

Sources told The Guardian ahead of the "Megalopolis" premiere on May 16 that Coppola "allegedly pulled women to sit on his lap, for example" and tried to kiss some of the topless female extras while filming a bacchanalian nightclub scene. One source said the director claiming he was "trying to get them in the mood."

"Megalopolis" executive co-producer Darren Demetre defended Coppola and told The Guardian, "There were two days when we shot a celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene where Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players."

Demetre added: "It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film. I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behavior during the course of the project."

Coppola also told the Times that the father of one of the women he kissed on the cheek took a picture of the duo, adding, "I knew her when she was 9."

"Megalopolis," which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, has received mixed reviews from festivalgoers, with some calling the drama "staggeringly ambitious" and others dubbing the long-awaited movie "absolute madness."

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Deadline and The Guardian report "Megalopolis" received a seven-minute standing ovation. Coppola first conceived the film in the 1970s and development began in 1983. After several false starts and cancellations, the "Godfather" filmmaker revived the project in 2019 and used $120 million of his own money to fund it.

The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter and Dustin Hoffman.

The film follows an architect who "wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster," according to IMDb. The movie is a "Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America," according to the film synopsis on the Cannes website.

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Among other allegations in The Guardian's report is crew members claiming the director was "unpleasant" and unorganized on set.

"We were all aware that we were participating in what might be a really sad finish to his career," one source said. "He was just so unpleasant toward a lot of the people who were trying to help facilitate the process and help make the movie better."

Another told the outlet, "This sounds crazy to say, but there were times when we were all standing around going: 'Has this guy ever made a movie before?'"

Coppola did not address those allegations to The New York Times.

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Francis Ford Coppola talks 'Megalopolis' inappropriate behavior claims