Forest Whitaker Reveals New Details on Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis,’ Says Shoot Is Set for August

Forest Whitaker has shed some new plot details about Francis Ford Coppola’s mystery project “Megalopolis,” which is set to start shooting in August.

The actor-producer, who is in Cannes to receive the festival’s honorary Palme d’Or, suggested he had a substantial role in the new movie, and spoke favorably of Coppola’s script, which is a long-gestating passion project that’s been in the works for 20 years. Coppola invested more than $100 million of his own resources to make the film, which is his first film since 2011’s “Twixt.”

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“The cast is coming together,” said Whittaker, who praised Coppola as an “amazing filmmaker” that he was excited to work with. The “Last King of Scotland” Oscar winner will star in “Megalopolis” alongside Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel and Jon Voight.

The plot of “Megalopolis” has been something of a mystery, with Coppola saying in the past that it’s to be made in the tradition of a Roman epic but set in a utopian version of New York City called New Rome.

Whittaker — who was speaking to media ahead of the festival’s opening ceremony, where he’ll receive his honorary Palme — also shed some details about the plot, noting that “the story deals with the city and the power structures within it, who are fighting for power. One is more progressive.”

“I like the script and I like him,” said Whittaker of Coppola while smilingly talking about the project, which has a budget just south of $100 million.

Whitaker previously won the best actor award at Cannes for his performance in Clint Eastwood’s “Bird.” Besides “Bird,” he has also starred in three other movies that have competed at the festival: Bill Duke’s “A Rage in Harlem,” Abel Ferrara’s “Body Snatchers” and Jim Jarmusch’s “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”

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Whitaker is in Cannes this year as a producer on Christophe Castagne and Thomas Sametin’s South Sudan-set documentary “For the Sake of Peace,” which will play in the festival’s Special Screenings section on May 18.

More to come.

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