WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.879 Let's untack this. Today we are diving deep into 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:05.799 a singular career, one that is less a steady 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:10.199 path and more a series of magnificent explosions, 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:13.439 a timeline defined by soaring success, spectacular 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:15.919 collapse, and just relentless entrepreneurial 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.660 reinvention. We're talking about the life and 00:00:18.660 --> 00:00:21.519 work of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. And our 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.620 listener, The Learner, is keen on understanding 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:27.039 the complex genius behind the iconic films. The 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:29.519 mission here is to look beyond the undisputed 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:31.879 masterpieces, you know, beyond The Godfather 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:35.039 and Apocalypse Now. We are tracing the trajectory 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:37.840 of a relentless risk taker and serial entrepreneur 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.179 who figured out how to use the profits from a 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:42.159 massive commercial empire. And we're talking 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.140 wineries, resorts, pasta sauces to fund his ultimate, 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:47.820 deeply personal and often hugely expensive independent 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:51.420 passion projects. Like the upcoming epic Megalopolis. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:53.460 Exactly. We're tracking his career from his absolute 00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:56.560 earliest days hustling in low budget skin flicks 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:59.039 right up to his current phase as a self -funded 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:01.579 visionary. The arc of his life is so dramatic, 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:03.939 it often feels more like the plot of one of his 00:01:03.939 --> 00:01:06.620 own operatic films. And the surprising element 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:08.900 is that this whole journey begins not with a 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:11.739 clapboard and a camera, but with fragility and 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:14.560 confinement. Really is a story rooted in surprising 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:17.760 humility. Francis Ford Coppola was born in Detroit, 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:21.459 Michigan in 1939. And here's a detail that immediately 00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:23.939 anchors him in the American industrial landscape. 00:01:24.340 --> 00:01:27.459 His middle name, Ford. That wasn't a coincidence, 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.230 was it? Not at all. It wasn't just a random name. 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:33.189 It was inspired by the Henry Ford Hospital where 00:01:33.189 --> 00:01:35.689 he was born and the Ford Sunday Evening Hour 00:01:35.689 --> 00:01:38.569 radio show. That show was sponsored by the Ford 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:40.989 Motor Company. Where his father, Carmine Coppola, 00:01:41.109 --> 00:01:42.629 who is a talented, flawed, distinct composer, 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:44.849 actually worked as an arranger and assistant 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:47.530 orchestra director. So from day one, his life 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:49.969 is steeped in these two competing worlds. You 00:01:49.969 --> 00:01:52.049 have the high culture of classical music, thanks 00:01:52.049 --> 00:01:54.390 to his father. And then you have the mechanical 00:01:54.390 --> 00:01:56.870 industrial behemoth of American manufacturing. 00:01:57.269 --> 00:02:00.069 It's kind of the perfect setup for a career that 00:02:00.069 --> 00:02:02.510 would later merge grand artistic vision with 00:02:02.510 --> 00:02:05.709 meticulous engineering. It is. And that journey 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:08.530 took a crucial and pretty brutal early detour. 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:11.900 When he was just a boy, he contracted polio. 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:14.620 Oh, wow. And this resulted in long periods of 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:18.000 being confined and bedridden. This physical isolation, 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:20.199 which could have been crippling for another kid, 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:22.960 actually became the crucible of his imagination. 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:25.159 He couldn't go out and play with other children, 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:28.800 so he began creating entire worlds indoors. So 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.020 this is where the director's instinct comes from. 00:02:31.099 --> 00:02:33.159 This is exactly it. It started primarily through 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:35.530 homemade puppet theater productions. The desire 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:38.689 to control and manipulate a miniature world of 00:02:38.689 --> 00:02:41.810 characters and events, that's the ultimate genesis 00:02:41.810 --> 00:02:44.189 of a director, isn't it? Exactly. The source 00:02:44.189 --> 00:02:46.909 material notes he also began creating 8mm feature 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:49.349 films. He would usually edit them from his family's 00:02:49.349 --> 00:02:51.750 home movies, and he'd give them these incredibly 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:54.629 grammatic titles like The Rich Millionaire and 00:02:54.629 --> 00:02:59.069 The Lost Wallet. Huh. Even then, you can hear 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:01.009 the beginnings of the operatic scale he would 00:03:01.009 --> 00:03:03.389 later apply to the Corleones in those early titles. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.759 Absolutely. And this fascination with the mechanics 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:08.780 of creation, particularly the technology side 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:12.099 of it, earned him the nickname Science as a child, 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.780 which is funny because he was apparently a rather 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.960 mediocre student otherwise. The Science nickname 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.379 is great because it shows his technical engineering 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:22.300 side was always there, sort of competing with 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:25.060 the artistic side. He initially trained for music, 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:27.539 right? I read he played the tuba and even earned 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:29.259 a scholarship. He was definitely on the music 00:03:29.259 --> 00:03:31.319 track for a while. He got a tuba scholarship 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:34.020 to the New York Military Academy. And then at 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:37.439 1955, he enrolled at Hofstra University. But 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.199 by then, he had decided he was going to chart 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.340 his own course. He majored in theater arts, a 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:45.300 decision that directly opposed his father's strong 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:48.039 desire for him to go and study engineering. It's 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:50.439 that classic conflict, the practical father versus 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.780 the artistic son. A tale as old as time. And 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:56.240 the moment that truly pivoted him away from the 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.280 stage and into the cinema workshop sounds incredibly 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.900 specific. It was a single. Old, silent film. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:05.439 And it was all about the editing. What was the 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:08.419 film? It was Sir Eisenstein's 1928 film, October. 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.879 Ten days that shook the world. For Coppola, it 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:14.500 was a visual and structural revelation. He was 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:17.000 just profoundly impressed by the sheer mastery 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.620 of the editing. That visual influence, the power 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:23.439 of montage, is what cemented his decision to 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.980 dedicate himself to cinema over traditional theater. 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.579 He saw the power in it. And he didn't waste any 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.639 time applying that drive at Hofstra. That new 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.139 production every week schedule mentioned in the 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:36.639 sources sounds completely exhausting. It was 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.060 an incredible pace that really honed his craft. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:40.939 He was elected president of the university's 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:43.540 drama group and its musical comedy club. And 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:45.740 what does he do? He immediately merges them into 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:48.439 a single entity, the Spectrum Players. Of course 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:51.000 he does. And under his leadership, this single 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.040 group staged a new production every single week. 00:04:54.410 --> 00:04:56.189 He was basically operating a professional factory 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:58.610 while he was still a student. It was laying the 00:04:58.610 --> 00:05:00.610 groundwork for the high -pressure, high -output 00:05:00.610 --> 00:05:03.050 environments he would later manage on his film 00:05:03.050 --> 00:05:05.449 sets. He also founded the Cinema Workshop, which 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:07.529 shows that early drive to build infrastructure 00:05:07.529 --> 00:05:10.129 alongside just creating things. He wanted to 00:05:10.129 --> 00:05:13.470 build the whole system. He did. And his prolific 00:05:13.470 --> 00:05:15.870 output earned him three D .H. Lawrence Awards 00:05:15.870 --> 00:05:19.509 for theatrical production and direction. That 00:05:19.509 --> 00:05:22.310 manic, relentless pace of production is precisely 00:05:22.310 --> 00:05:24.850 what prepared him for the intensity of the new 00:05:24.850 --> 00:05:27.310 Hollywood era. But then post -UCLA film school, 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:30.709 after getting his MFA in 1967, the reality check 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.149 was brutal. He had a degree, but he had no money. 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:36.449 Right, the hustle of the early 60s. This is a 00:05:36.449 --> 00:05:38.589 real grind for him. A true grind. Initially, 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:41.910 he was earning just $10 per week, which, even 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.850 if you adjust for inflation to about $103 today, 00:05:45.089 --> 00:05:47.980 is clearly not a living wage. No. Not even close. 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:50.319 So this financial necessity forced him immediately 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:52.860 into low budget and, let's say, sometimes questionable 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:56.000 genres. To put food on the table, he was writing 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:57.980 and re -editing these short comedy films known 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:01.660 as nudie cuties. So what exactly were nudie cuties? 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:05.399 They were these short films that showed nudity, 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:08.100 but they were careful to avoid any explicit sexual 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.680 acts. Sort of a loophole genre at the time. So 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:12.819 he was working at the absolute fringe of cinema, 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:15.379 just trying to cobble together a paycheck. Precisely. 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:18.639 His first solo script in this genre was The Peeper, 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:22.000 a short comedy about a voyeur. He even hired 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.120 a Playboy bunny, Marley Renfro, for it. But here's 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.620 the interesting paradox. Even when he's making 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:30.399 low -budget softcore, Coppola can't turn off 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.600 his artistic impulse. His attempt to add what 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:36.560 were described as cartoonish aspects to The Peeper 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.540 actually alienated potential buyers. He was too 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:42.379 much of an auteur, even for the skinflix market. 00:06:42.459 --> 00:06:45.000 That's amazing. It really is. They found it too 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.980 stylized and not, quote, exciting enough to screen 00:06:47.980 --> 00:06:50.920 in adult theaters. It speaks volumes about his 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.019 persistent, almost defiant vision. That film 00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:56.199 was so unsuccessful commercially that it had 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.300 to be combined with another shelved erotic western 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:01.360 to create the 1962 softcore comedy. Tonight, 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:03.639 for sure. He was literally working as a cinematic 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:06.160 scavenger. Absolutely. He was splicing together 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:07.939 disparate projects just to earn a few hundred 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.819 dollars. He also re -edited a German film, Mediva 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:13.220 Finde Sunderen. He added his own footage, brought 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:15.220 in some British models, and released it as The 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:17.579 Bellboy and the Playgirls. He was learning every 00:07:17.579 --> 00:07:19.939 trick of the trade just to survive. This sounds 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:21.899 like the perfect apprenticeship for the ultimate 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:25.949 independent producer. Roger Corman. It was. Corman's 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:28.689 operation was the definitive university for young, 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:31.149 hungry directors, and Coppola certainly entered 00:07:31.149 --> 00:07:33.589 the program. He was hired as Corman's assistant, 00:07:33.769 --> 00:07:37.670 and his duties were often just surreal. His first 00:07:37.670 --> 00:07:40.670 major task was to dub and re -edit a Soviet sci 00:07:40.670 --> 00:07:44.050 -fi film, Nebozovyat. And what did he turn it 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:46.879 into? Coppola transformed it. He had new scenes, 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:49.600 violence and sex, and released it as the monster 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:53.459 movie Battle Beyond the Sun in 1962. Corman was 00:07:53.459 --> 00:07:55.379 apparently very impressed by his resourcefulness 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:57.899 and speed. Corman must have seen that essential 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.279 scrappiness in him, that willingness to do whatever 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:03.259 it takes. He did, and Corman soon convinced Coppola 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:05.459 to use some leftover funds from a previous production 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:08.000 to make his first feature film. And that, of 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.319 course, was Dementia 13. A low -budget horror 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:13.000 flick written in one night, filmed in nine days. 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:17.439 The Corman special. Yes. Dementia 13 from 1963. 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:20.579 Coppola wrote a draft that incorporated elements 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:23.939 of Hitchcock's Psycho in a single night. It was 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:26.319 shot in just nine days on a shoestring budget 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:29.600 of $40 ,000. That film recouped its expenses, 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:32.139 and critically, it was during this rapid high 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:34.899 -pressure shoot that he met Eleanor Jessie Neal. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:37.600 His future wife. Who he would marry and who would, 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:40.679 years later, document the monumental chaos of 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:43.149 his most ambitious film. The hustle of those 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:46.169 early 60s, driven entirely by financial necessity, 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:48.809 gave him his professional start, his artistic 00:08:48.809 --> 00:08:51.450 muscle, and his life partner. And the irony is 00:08:51.450 --> 00:08:53.389 that the moment he stabilized financially, he 00:08:53.389 --> 00:08:55.029 immediately tried to challenge the established 00:08:55.029 --> 00:08:58.309 system. By 1969, he had won the Samuel Goldwyn 00:08:58.309 --> 00:09:00.889 Award for screenwriting, and he co -founded American 00:09:00.889 --> 00:09:03.950 Zoetrope in a San Francisco warehouse. That founding 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:06.070 is so crucial to understanding the next decade. 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:08.870 Zoetrope is built on the idea of being a deviant 00:09:08.870 --> 00:09:11.350 studio. A deviant studio? What did that actually 00:09:11.350 --> 00:09:13.889 mean in the new Hollywood era? It meant creating 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:16.549 an alternative infrastructure, a place run by 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:19.929 filmmakers, for filmmakers, dedicated to challenging 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:22.360 the industrial model. They wanted complete auteur 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:24.139 control, they wanted to experiment, and they 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:26.639 wanted a complete bypass of the risk -averse, 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.539 bureaucratic Hollywood studios. That rebellious 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:32.659 spirit, that seeking of complete control, really 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.299 set the stage for the most famous and most stressful 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:38.620 decade of his career. The 1970s represent a run 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:41.720 of artistic genius that is almost unparalleled 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:44.580 in cinema history. But the genius was born out 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:47.100 of conflict and desperation, starting with a 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:50.299 film he was almost fired from, Patton. He co 00:09:50.299 --> 00:09:52.539 -wrote the script for Patton in 1970, starting 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:55.720 way back in 1963, and that won him his first 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.639 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. But 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.700 the sources note there was huge resistance to 00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:03.259 his vision for it. Absolutely. Coppola's script 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:05.500 was considered far too stylized for a traditional 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:08.220 war epic, and the studio shelved it. He was effectively 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:11.100 fired. The specific point of contention was that 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:13.580 bizarre, brilliant opening scene. The speech. 00:10:15.049 --> 00:10:17.950 General Patton giving a fierce, intense military 00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:20.610 pep talk against that massive looming American 00:10:20.610 --> 00:10:23.470 flag. The studio wanted a more straightforward, 00:10:23.830 --> 00:10:26.830 conventional opening. Why did the studio consider 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:29.830 that stylized introduction so risky? What were 00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:32.470 they afraid of? Because it was deeply psychological. 00:10:32.850 --> 00:10:35.549 It was immediately asking the audience to question 00:10:35.549 --> 00:10:38.250 the nature of heroism, nationalism, and performance. 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.120 It wasn't just introducing the character in a 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:43.820 combat scenario. It was theatrical and it was 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:46.720 non -traditional. And that scared them. So what 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.539 saved the script? The star, George C. Scott. 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:52.080 He remembered reading Coppola's version years 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:54.259 earlier. And he insisted on it. He insisted. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:56.980 He said he would only take the title role if 00:10:56.980 --> 00:10:59.440 Coppola's stylized script was used. That saved 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:01.200 Coppola's version. Though he still had to make 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:03.139 some compromises, like replacing the word fucking 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:05.620 with the slightly less vulgar fornicating to 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:08.389 avoid an immediate R rating. But that opening 00:11:08.389 --> 00:11:11.129 monologue became iconic, and it delivered Coppola 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:14.529 his first Oscar. It did. And that Oscar -winning 00:11:14.529 --> 00:11:17.769 momentum leads us directly to the saga that both 00:11:17.769 --> 00:11:20.909 saved his deviant studio and nearly destroyed 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:23.750 him, The Godfather. And it's often forgotten 00:11:23.750 --> 00:11:25.629 that Coppola initially turned the film down. 00:11:25.870 --> 00:11:28.549 Multiple times, right? Multiple times. He found 00:11:28.549 --> 00:11:30.970 Mario Puzo's novels sleazy and sensationalist. 00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:33.730 He called it pretty cheap stuff. The only reason 00:11:33.730 --> 00:11:36.409 he took the job was the threat of financial ruin. 00:11:36.889 --> 00:11:38.929 And this is a critical point for you, the learner. 00:11:39.169 --> 00:11:41.710 The Godfather was an obligation, not a passion 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:45.009 project at the start. What was the specific pressure 00:11:45.009 --> 00:11:47.690 he was under? Why was he so desperate? American 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:51.409 zoetrope owed Warner Bros. a monumental amount 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:54.809 of money, over $400 ,000. It was for massive 00:11:54.809 --> 00:11:57.309 budget overruns on George Lucas's first feature, 00:11:57.509 --> 00:12:00.470 THX 11138, which Coppola had produced. So he 00:12:00.470 --> 00:12:03.370 was on the hook for Lucas's film. Deeply. Coppola 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:05.190 was desperate. He signed on for The Godfather 00:12:05.190 --> 00:12:08.309 in September 1970, agreeing to a relatively modest 00:12:08.309 --> 00:12:12.309 salary of $125 ,000 plus 6 % of the gross rentals. 00:12:12.389 --> 00:12:14.690 And he did it purely to settle his debts and 00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:17.029 keep Zoetrope afloat. And the production was 00:12:17.029 --> 00:12:19.190 immediately a fight for survival, where he was 00:12:19.190 --> 00:12:21.669 constantly on the verge of getting fired. Constantly. 00:12:21.809 --> 00:12:24.610 He later admitted that while making it, the film 00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:28.330 was very unappreciated. Paramount. The studio 00:12:28.330 --> 00:12:31.429 didn't like his measured, almost painterly style 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:34.529 of shooting, and they actively hated his casting 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:37.330 choices. Especially Marlon Brando for Vito Corleone. 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:40.379 Oh, they despised it. They wanted a known quantity 00:12:40.379 --> 00:12:43.840 like Ernest Borgnine or, bizarrely, the TV star 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.799 Danny Thomas. Wait, so the studio only allowed 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.159 Brando to be cast if he put up a financial bond? 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:52.059 That's an insane level of professional distrust. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:54.659 How common was that level of humiliation for 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:57.120 a star of his caliber? It was almost unheard 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.519 of. For an actor of Brando's stature, especially 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:01.980 one who had basically defined the previous generation 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:04.620 of acting, to be subjected to such punitive terms? 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:07.679 It was shocking. Paramount forced him to agree 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:09.679 to three highly restrictive conditions. What 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:12.519 were they? First, accepting much less money than 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.220 his previous films. Second, performing a screen 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:18.039 test, which was highly demeaning for him. And 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.500 third, putting up a bond guaranteeing he would 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:22.940 not cause any delays in production, as he was 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:25.799 notorious for doing on other sets. So how did 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.700 Coppola win that fight? It came down to the screen 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:31.440 test. Brando did it, and he was mesmerizing. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:34.440 Coppola won the battle, but it shows the degree 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.789 to which he had to fight the system. just to 00:13:36.789 --> 00:13:39.110 realize his vision. The ultimate success then 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:42.370 wasn't just artistic. It was an act of pure tenacity 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:45.049 against the corporate machine. And that elevation 00:13:45.049 --> 00:13:48.669 of the material secured its legacy. It did. Coppola 00:13:48.669 --> 00:13:51.289 transcended the genre. He found a much deeper 00:13:51.289 --> 00:13:53.850 theme in Puzo's novel. He shifted the material 00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:56.870 from just a sensational crime novel to a family 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:00.470 saga and significantly a metaphor for capitalism 00:14:00.470 --> 00:14:03.159 in America. Let's unpack that for a moment. How 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:05.600 does the Corleone family operate as a capitalist 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:07.720 metaphor rather than just a group of gangsters? 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:10.460 Well, if you look closely, the Corleone organization 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:13.919 functions exactly like a ruthless vertical corporation. 00:14:14.299 --> 00:14:17.279 They deal in debt people, owe them favors, which 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:20.039 are then leveraged for future gain. That's capital. 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:23.139 They engage in market expansion, moving into 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:25.059 Nevada and ultimately trying to go legitimate. 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:28.039 Their succession plan is focused on finding the 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.570 most ruthlessly efficient leader. who turns out 00:14:30.570 --> 00:14:33.309 to be Michael, to protect the firm's assets. 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:36.309 And the violence. The violence is simply a highly 00:14:36.309 --> 00:14:38.850 effective, though illegal, mechanism for dealing 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:41.549 with hostile takeovers, contract disputes, and 00:14:41.549 --> 00:14:43.929 maintaining market share. It's an American success 00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:45.809 story, just one that's operating outside the 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:47.470 letter of the law. That makes perfect sense. 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:49.789 The critical reaction certainly reflected this 00:14:49.789 --> 00:14:52.090 elevation. Absolutely. The great critic Pauline 00:14:52.090 --> 00:14:54.529 Kael wrote that while the Puzo's novel was trash, 00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:56.769 Coppola had lent the narrative true dignity. 00:14:57.210 --> 00:14:59.610 She praised his tenaciously intelligent direction 00:14:59.610 --> 00:15:02.970 and the film's heroic scale. The results were 00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:05.750 immediate. The Godfather set box office records, 00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:08.809 it won Best Picture, and it earned Coppola and 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:11.870 Puzo the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. It 00:15:11.870 --> 00:15:14.370 was instantly hailed as a masterpiece. And just 00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:16.470 two years later, he pulls off a hat trick that 00:15:16.470 --> 00:15:19.389 is arguably unmatched in cinematic history. He 00:15:19.389 --> 00:15:21.909 releases two masterpieces, one of which is a 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.870 sequel, in the same year. Let's start with the 00:15:24.870 --> 00:15:27.799 smaller, more paranoid film. The Conversation. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:31.179 The Conversation, 1974, further cemented his 00:15:31.179 --> 00:15:33.580 reputation as an auteur concerned with complex 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:36.259 psychological themes. It was heavily influenced 00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:40.279 by Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blow Up. 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:42.980 But what made it a major cultural touchstone 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:46.320 was this chilling, uncanny timing. The Watergate 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.090 Coincidence. Precisely. The film featured surveillance 00:15:49.090 --> 00:15:51.590 and wiretapping equipment that was highly similar 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:53.309 to what the Nixon administration used in the 00:15:53.309 --> 00:15:55.610 Watergate scandal, which was dominating headlines 00:15:55.610 --> 00:15:58.110 at the time. So audiences interpreted it as a 00:15:58.110 --> 00:16:00.370 searing political commentary on what was happening 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:02.830 right then. Right. And Coppola maintained that 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:05.090 the script had been completed way back in the 00:16:05.090 --> 00:16:08.049 mid -1960s, long before Watergate was even a 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:11.370 thing. But the film's relevance was terrifyingly 00:16:11.370 --> 00:16:14.309 immediate. It tapped into the zeitgeist of paranoia 00:16:14.309 --> 00:16:16.889 and government overreach. And consequently, it 00:16:16.889 --> 00:16:20.230 won the Palme d 'Or at Cannes in 1974. To have 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:22.669 a Palme d 'Or winner and a film that would go 00:16:22.669 --> 00:16:24.330 on to win Best Picture release simultaneously 00:16:24.330 --> 00:16:28.429 is just... It's staggering productive genius. 00:16:28.870 --> 00:16:30.809 And that Best Picture winner was The Godfather 00:16:30.809 --> 00:16:34.110 Part II. Making sequels wasn't a standard numbered 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:37.110 Hollywood business model yet. This was a massive 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:39.330 commercial and structural risk. It was a huge 00:16:39.330 --> 00:16:42.230 gamble. Coppola was influenced by the epic two 00:16:42.230 --> 00:16:44.809 -part structure of Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the 00:16:44.809 --> 00:16:47.190 Terrible. And he decided to create a film that 00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:49.789 was simultaneously a prequel showing the rise 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:52.289 of young Vito Corleone played by De Niro. And 00:16:52.289 --> 00:16:54.509 a sequel showing the decay and spiritual fall 00:16:54.509 --> 00:16:57.149 of Michael Corleone with Pacino. Exactly. And 00:16:57.149 --> 00:16:59.090 he claims part two was the first major motion 00:16:59.090 --> 00:17:01.879 picture to use part two in its title. Paramount 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:03.799 was horrified. They were afraid that audiences 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:05.819 would think they were just seeing leftover footage 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:08.059 and would avoid the theaters. But instead, it 00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:10.319 became the benchmark for all sequels that followed. 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.039 And critically, many deemed it superior to the 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.700 original. Pauline Kael described the film as 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:18.920 thematically richer, more shadowed, more full. 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:22.319 It won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.799 Director for Coppola, and Best Adapted Screenplay. 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:27.500 And crucially, Robert De Niro's win for best 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.779 supporting actor made him and Brando the only 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:32.180 actors to win Oscars for playing the same character. 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:35.779 By 1974, Coppola was arguably the most creatively 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:38.940 powerful director on the planet. So if 1974 was 00:17:38.940 --> 00:17:41.640 the peak of his power, that leads directly to 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:44.619 the sheer agonizing scale of his next mega risk, 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.730 Apocalypse Now. The epic that defined the high 00:17:48.730 --> 00:17:51.650 cost of unchecked ambition, Apocalypse Now 1979, 00:17:52.250 --> 00:17:54.789 was an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of 00:17:54.789 --> 00:17:57.630 Darkness reset during the Vietnam War. The production 00:17:57.630 --> 00:18:00.170 in the Philippines was notoriously lengthy. It 00:18:00.170 --> 00:18:03.230 took 238 days of shooting and incredibly strenuous. 00:18:03.250 --> 00:18:05.430 It quickly earned the nickname Apocalypse When. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.259 among the crew the anecdotes from that set are 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:10.339 just the stuff of legend you can feel the chaos 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:12.779 just reading the source material the sheer physical 00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:16.000 and psychological toll was immense they faced 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.900 typhoons that destroyed massive expensive sets 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.660 martin sheen suffered a serious heart attack 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:25.130 mid -shoot he was only in his 30s yeah And the 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:27.589 lead actor, Marlon Brando, arrives significantly 00:18:27.589 --> 00:18:30.450 overweight and completely unprepared, forcing 00:18:30.450 --> 00:18:34.150 massive script rewrites. And in perhaps the most 00:18:34.150 --> 00:18:37.049 surreal twist, the Philippine military extras, 00:18:37.329 --> 00:18:39.829 along with the helicopters they supplied, would 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:41.769 frequently leave in the middle of scenes to go 00:18:41.769 --> 00:18:44.250 fight actual rebels in the jungle. You can't 00:18:44.250 --> 00:18:46.529 make that up. It sounds like the production itself 00:18:46.529 --> 00:18:49.130 mirrored the madness of the war the film was 00:18:49.130 --> 00:18:51.950 depicting. It absolutely did. That's why Coppola's 00:18:51.950 --> 00:18:53.970 famous quote from that era remains so resonant. 00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:56.369 He said, we were in the jungle, there were too 00:18:56.369 --> 00:18:58.450 many of us, we had access to too much money, 00:18:58.490 --> 00:19:00.509 too much equipment, and little by little we went 00:19:00.509 --> 00:19:03.230 insane. He was documenting his own descent into 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:05.549 creative madness while trying to capture the 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:08.329 madness of war. Despite all of that, or maybe 00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:10.910 because of that agony, the film was a massive 00:19:10.910 --> 00:19:13.289 creative achievement, particularly in sound design. 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.299 It was revolutionary. It shared the Palme d 'Or 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:19.839 at Cannes in 1979, making Coppola one of only 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:23.240 10 filmmakers to win the award twice. But technically, 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:26.460 it pushed so many boundaries. Walter Murch was 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:28.539 the first person ever to receive a screen credit 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:31.160 as a sound designer for his groundbreaking work 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:34.380 on the film. He created that immersive, terrifying 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:36.880 sonic landscape that makes you feel physically 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.579 present in the war zone. Roger Ebert's contemporary 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:43.130 view is an excellent connection point here. He 00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:45.029 argued that the film achieves greatness because 00:19:45.029 --> 00:19:47.670 it expresses the agony and joy of making cinema. 00:19:47.829 --> 00:19:50.170 It sounds like Coppola took all his lessons from 00:19:50.170 --> 00:19:52.710 the 60s hustling and the 70s fighting and put 00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:55.410 all that energy into one giant terrifying work 00:19:55.410 --> 00:19:57.990 that almost consumed him entirely. I think that's 00:19:57.990 --> 00:20:00.190 right. And if we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:20:00.329 --> 00:20:03.470 the 1970s proved that Coppola's vision was strong 00:20:03.470 --> 00:20:06.490 enough to create masterpieces. But the way he 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:09.170 chose to produce them independently with massive 00:20:09.170 --> 00:20:11.509 creative control and often facing off against 00:20:11.509 --> 00:20:14.809 studios was financially unsustainable. The cost 00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:16.470 of that creative freedom would soon demand a 00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:18.750 catastrophic payment. The source material clearly 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:21.089 states that Apocalypse now marked the end of 00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:24.289 Coppola's golden phase. The transition into the 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:27.970 1980s was instantaneous and utterly brutal. And 00:20:27.970 --> 00:20:31.089 it was largely defined by one colossal box office 00:20:31.089 --> 00:20:34.329 flop. One from the heart. The film, often referred 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:37.890 to as the $26 million mistake, won from the heart. 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:41.910 From 1982, was an incredibly ambitious Las Vegas 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:45.069 -set musical fantasy. Coppola used it to pioneer 00:20:45.069 --> 00:20:47.329 new techniques, particularly in video editing, 00:20:47.470 --> 00:20:49.730 pushing the boundaries of what was possible in 00:20:49.730 --> 00:20:52.269 post -production in the early 80s. He was trying 00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:54.049 to implement the efficiency and control he'd 00:20:54.049 --> 00:20:55.910 always sought, but this time using technology. 00:20:56.490 --> 00:20:59.250 But the audience simply didn't respond. How disastrous 00:20:59.250 --> 00:21:01.109 were the numbers? Catastrophically disastrous. 00:21:01.390 --> 00:21:03.990 Against its $26 million budget, which was huge 00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:05.950 for an independent fantasy musical at the time, 00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:09.710 it only grossed $636 ,000 domestically. Oh, that's 00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:12.690 a wipeout. A complete wipeout. And that failure 00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:15.329 created a financial chasm that Coppola would 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:18.410 spend the entire decade trying to fill. The immediate 00:21:18.410 --> 00:21:21.369 consequence a year later was that he was forced 00:21:21.369 --> 00:21:24.630 to sell the sprawling 23 -acre Zoetrope studio 00:21:24.630 --> 00:21:28.960 in 1983. He then spent the rest of the 80s working 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:32.460 nonstop, taking on any project he could to pay 00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:34.799 off the immense debts accumulated from this single, 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:37.740 ill -fated passion project. That's a staggering 00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:40.400 fall. The master of control loses the independent 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.299 infrastructure he built because of a technical 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:44.380 experiment. It is. And the need for immediate, 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:47.599 stable income dominated his early 80s strategy. 00:21:48.089 --> 00:21:51.210 He found a surprisingly lucrative path by adapting 00:21:51.210 --> 00:21:53.549 S .E. Hinton novels, inspired by suggestions 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:55.490 from middle school students who were devoted 00:21:55.490 --> 00:21:57.730 to the source material. This resulted in The 00:21:57.730 --> 00:22:00.309 Outsiders in 1983. The Outsiders was a commercially 00:22:00.309 --> 00:22:02.670 successful launchpad for an insane amount of 00:22:02.670 --> 00:22:04.910 young talent. The cast list is a who's who of 00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:07.549 80s and 90s stardom. You've got Matt Dillon, 00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:10.509 Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob 00:22:10.509 --> 00:22:13.009 Lowe, and Emilio Estevez. The Brat Pack. Basically, 00:22:13.190 --> 00:22:15.710 the founding members. It was a decent commercial 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:19.380 success. grossing about $25 .7 million against 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:22.420 a $10 million budget. And he kept it a family 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:25.960 affair. His father, Carmine Coppola, composed 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:28.819 and conducted the score. It was a stable hit 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:31.279 he desperately needed. But immediately afterward, 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:34.599 he doubled down on his artistic impulse, shooting 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:37.180 Rumblefish simultaneously, almost as a palate 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:40.640 cleanser for the soul. Rumblefish, 1983, was 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:44.079 Coppola indulging in pure cinematic art. He shot 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.079 it in stark black and white as an homage to German 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:50.140 expressionism. It focused on two brothers, one 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.980 a revered former gang leader and the other trying 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:55.359 to live up to his older brother's legend. It 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.180 was critically acclaimed, highly stylized, and 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:00.279 it bombed commercially. Of course it did. It 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:02.400 earned just $2 .5 million against a $10 million 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.819 budget. And this is the duality of his career 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:08.049 and microcosm. One commercially viable project 00:23:08.049 --> 00:23:10.549 immediately followed by a financially crippling 00:23:10.549 --> 00:23:12.690 passion project. And the financial hemorrhaging 00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:15.210 continued with the Cotton Club. Yes, the Cotton 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:19.029 Club in 1984. This was another massive box office 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:22.329 failure. It only grossed about $26 million, failing 00:23:22.329 --> 00:23:25.450 miserably to recoup the massive $48 million that 00:23:25.450 --> 00:23:27.529 had been privately invested in the production. 00:23:27.970 --> 00:23:30.630 The early 80s were essentially a decade -long 00:23:30.630 --> 00:23:33.309 financial emergency for him, requiring constant, 00:23:33.390 --> 00:23:36.279 frantic work just to stay afloat. And amidst 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:38.880 all this financial strain, the devastating personal 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:41.440 tragedy of the decade occurred during the production 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.960 of Gardens of Stone in 1987. His eldest son, 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:47.819 Jane Carlo, died in a speedboating accident at 00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:50.759 the age of 22. The loss was immense, and the 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:54.119 film itself, Gardens of Stone, was largely overshadowed 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:56.539 by Coppola's personal grief, proving to be both 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:59.279 a critical and commercial failure. The emotional 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:01.920 and financial lows were intersecting so powerfully 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:04.690 during this period. The decade did finally provide 00:24:04.690 --> 00:24:07.349 one clear commercial respite, a small success 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:09.369 to show he hadn't entirely lost his commercial 00:24:09.369 --> 00:24:12.710 touch. That was Peggy Sue. Got married in 1986. 00:24:13.390 --> 00:24:15.910 It was a fun comedy starring Kathleen Turner, 00:24:16.130 --> 00:24:18.910 who received an Oscar nomination, and his nephew, 00:24:19.049 --> 00:24:22.440 Nicolas Cage. It was his first clear box office 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:24.980 success since The Outsiders, and it offered a 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.640 momentary reprieve from the relentless debt payments. 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:30.059 The decade closes with a whimper, though, with 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:32.279 his segment in the anthology film New York Stories 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.680 in 1989. He directed Life Without Zoe, which 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.200 he co -wrote with his daughter Sophia. This segment 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:40.319 was generally panned by critics, sometimes described 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.640 as the portion that actively reduced the overall 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:45.660 quality of the anthology. A critic from The Washington 00:24:45.660 --> 00:24:47.880 Post even called it a mystifying embarrassment. 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:51.200 This whole cycle, from great success to immense 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:54.279 debt, to artistic experiment to critical lambasting, 00:24:54.420 --> 00:24:56.900 it all came to a head when Zoetrope Studios officially 00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:00.279 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990. So he 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:03.019 exits the 1980s financially ruined, but he survived 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:05.700 by sheer volume of work. He directed seven films 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:07.519 in one decade, almost none of which were his 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:09.680 true passion projects, just work for hire to 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:12.319 settle the books. And the first act of the 1990s 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:14.500 was a direct consequence of that bankruptcy. 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.970 When Zoetrope filed for Chapter 11 in 1990, The 00:25:18.970 --> 00:25:21.490 compulsion to make The Godfather Part III was 00:25:21.490 --> 00:25:24.910 entirely financial. He admitted it. He was compelled 00:25:24.910 --> 00:25:27.049 to do it because of the dire financial situation 00:25:27.049 --> 00:25:30.529 caused by the monumental failure of One from 00:25:30.529 --> 00:25:33.109 the Heart. He always seemed to resent that obligation, 00:25:33.430 --> 00:25:35.630 even down to the title of the film. He absolutely 00:25:35.630 --> 00:25:37.950 preferred the title The Death of Michael Corleone. 00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:40.730 But Paramount rejected it because they prioritize 00:25:40.730 --> 00:25:44.470 brand recognition over artistic finality. And 00:25:44.470 --> 00:25:45.869 while it didn't achieve the critical heights 00:25:45.869 --> 00:25:48.710 of the first two, and it faced significant criticism, 00:25:48.730 --> 00:25:50.849 particularly regarding the casting of his daughter, 00:25:50.970 --> 00:25:54.089 Sophia, in the key role of Mary Corleone, it 00:25:54.089 --> 00:25:56.210 was precisely the lifeline he needed. It was 00:25:56.210 --> 00:25:58.509 a hit. It was a solid commercial success. It 00:25:58.509 --> 00:26:01.490 earned $136 million against a $54 million budget, 00:26:01.690 --> 00:26:04.210 and it earned seven Academy Award nominations, 00:26:04.430 --> 00:26:07.029 including Best Director and Best Picture, which 00:26:07.029 --> 00:26:09.490 confirmed its status as a worthy, if imperfect, 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:12.039 coda. And decades later, he returned to that 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:14.200 original vision, seeking vindication for it. 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.779 Yes. For the film's 30th anniversary in 2020, 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:21.180 he released a new cut titled Mario Puzo's The 00:26:21.180 --> 00:26:24.200 Godfather, Coda, The Death of Michael Corleone. 00:26:24.569 --> 00:26:26.849 And Coppola emphatically stated that this new 00:26:26.849 --> 00:26:29.029 version vindicates the film's place among the 00:26:29.029 --> 00:26:31.950 trilogy and significantly vindicates his daughter 00:26:31.950 --> 00:26:34.670 Sophia's performance by reordering scenes and 00:26:34.670 --> 00:26:37.470 clarifying character motivations. It shows his 00:26:37.470 --> 00:26:39.930 enduring need not just to fix a film, but to 00:26:39.930 --> 00:26:41.910 reclaim control over the narrative surrounding 00:26:41.910 --> 00:26:44.730 it. That need for vindication carried him into 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:48.029 another massive commercial hit, showing his unparalleled 00:26:48.029 --> 00:26:51.210 visual mastery in the horror genre, Bram Stoker's 00:26:51.210 --> 00:26:55.109 Dracula. Dracula in 1992 was a visual feast and 00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:59.069 a massive worldwide smash. It grossed $215 million 00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:02.009 against a $40 million budget. It was the ninth 00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:04.250 highest grossing film globally that year. It 00:27:04.250 --> 00:27:06.329 proved he could pivot genres successfully again, 00:27:06.450 --> 00:27:09.049 and it won three Oscars for costume design, makeup, 00:27:09.190 --> 00:27:11.630 and sound editing. But the genre jumps weren't 00:27:11.630 --> 00:27:13.910 universally successful, which leads us to one 00:27:13.910 --> 00:27:16.309 of his most controversial projects, Jack. Jack, 00:27:16.410 --> 00:27:19.329 1996, starring Robin Williams, was critically 00:27:19.329 --> 00:27:22.640 panned. The film... about a boy who sells age 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:25.019 four times faster than normal, suffered from 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:28.359 a jarring contrast between broad comedy and tragic 00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:32.480 melodrama. It also failed commercially. Yet Coppola 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:34.960 defended it. What was his defense? He argued 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:36.920 his motivation was simply wanting to work with 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:39.440 his friend Robin Williams, who had insisted Coppola 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:41.140 direct the film if he was going to star in it. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:44.000 For Coppola, even work for hire had to be personal. 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:46.519 He wrapped up the decade with a final critically 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:50.059 acclaimed film before his major shift, The Rainmaker. 00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:53.940 The Rainmaker, 1997, a legal drama based on the 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:56.900 John Grisham novel, was highly praised. Grisham 00:27:56.900 --> 00:27:59.039 himself called it the best adaptation of any 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:01.819 of my books. And Roger Ebert specifically praised 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:04.599 Coppola for keeping the focus on the little people 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:07.000 in the story, showcasing his ability to handle 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:09.259 commercial material with deep character grounding. 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:11.680 But after The Rainmaker, his relationship with 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:13.920 the mainstream film industry dramatically shifted. 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:16.160 He wasn't just directing less, he stopped being 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.559 a professional director entirely. This is a crucial 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:21.500 turning point. Kobola stated he preferred to 00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:24.880 act more like a student. He chose to self -finance 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:28.599 very small, low -budget movies purely to experiment 00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:30.759 with the form and learn what making movies really 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:33.119 was without the immense pressure of commercial 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:35.990 success or studio interference. What was the 00:28:35.990 --> 00:28:38.829 primary reason for this drastic step away from 00:28:38.829 --> 00:28:41.289 the mainstream factory system? He felt the commercial 00:28:41.289 --> 00:28:43.890 film industry had fundamentally changed. He said 00:28:43.890 --> 00:28:46.470 it had gone into the superhero business, a system 00:28:46.470 --> 00:28:48.750 dominated by pre -existing intellectual property 00:28:48.750 --> 00:28:51.690 and massive budgets aimed at franchising. And 00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:54.410 he was simply no longer interested enough to 00:28:54.410 --> 00:28:56.349 put in the extraordinary effort of film takes 00:28:56.349 --> 00:28:59.609 in that environment. This led to his highly experimental, 00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:02.170 self -financed films like Youth Without Youth, 00:29:02.490 --> 00:29:06.440 Tetro, and Twixt. This era, post -2000, is also 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.240 defined by his intense desire to literally rewrite 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:11.400 his own history through relentless recutting 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:13.980 and restoration of his back catalog. This is 00:29:13.980 --> 00:29:16.519 the ultimate pursuit of creative control and 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:19.519 vindication. He wasn't just fixing technical 00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:22.380 flaws. He was retroactively fighting the studio 00:29:22.380 --> 00:29:24.759 system and the commercial pressures that initially 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:27.960 compromised his vision. He released Apocalypse 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:32.019 Now Redux in 2001, restoring 49 minutes, including 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:34.779 the famous French plantation scene. And then 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:37.519 later he released the final cut in 2019, removing 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:39.799 20 minutes from Redux and restoring the film 00:29:39.799 --> 00:29:42.460 from the original negative. And the story of 00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:44.720 the Cotton Club Encore restoration perfectly 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:47.240 encapsulates this need for absolute personal 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:50.000 vindication, regardless of the cost. It's a remarkable 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:53.019 anecdote. He found an old Betamax tape of his 00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:55.480 original cut and was so determined to restore 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:58.000 his vision that he personally spent $500 ,000 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:00.569 of his own money to restore it. To create the 00:30:00.569 --> 00:30:03.390 Cotton Club Encore in 2019, he had to overcome 00:30:03.390 --> 00:30:05.769 immense technical hurdles, music rights issues, 00:30:05.849 --> 00:30:08.410 and the fact that MGM had zero interest in the 00:30:08.410 --> 00:30:10.750 project. He essentially financed the correction 00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:13.769 of a financial flop from the 80s purely to satisfy 00:30:13.769 --> 00:30:15.730 his artistic integrity. And he even went back 00:30:15.730 --> 00:30:17.869 to his very first feature. That's right. Even 00:30:17.869 --> 00:30:20.970 Dementia 13, that nine -day wonder from 1963, 00:30:21.410 --> 00:30:25.069 was restored in 2021. And it was restored specifically 00:30:25.069 --> 00:30:27.849 to remove footage that producer Roger Corman 00:30:27.849 --> 00:30:30.710 had added years earlier to try and make it more 00:30:30.710 --> 00:30:33.549 commercial. This shows that his battle for control 00:30:33.549 --> 00:30:36.190 spans his entire career, from the cheapest horror 00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:38.730 movie to the biggest war epic. And all of that 00:30:38.730 --> 00:30:40.849 self -financing and personal capital leads us 00:30:40.849 --> 00:30:43.930 to his ultimate current project, Megalopolis. 00:30:44.089 --> 00:30:46.690 This is the ultimate manifestation of his financial 00:30:46.690 --> 00:30:49.190 independence. Megalopolis is a passion project 00:30:49.190 --> 00:30:52.569 he has nurtured for decades. He even paused it 00:30:52.569 --> 00:30:55.029 after the 9 -11 attacks because the story about 00:30:55.029 --> 00:30:56.970 the aftermath and reconstruction of New York 00:30:56.970 --> 00:30:59.750 City after a mega disaster was deemed too sensitive. 00:30:59.990 --> 00:31:02.349 Now, it is entirely self -financed, reportedly 00:31:02.349 --> 00:31:04.950 costing him over $100 million of his own money. 00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:07.150 That's incredible. It's described as an epic 00:31:07.150 --> 00:31:10.049 on a grand scale, starring Adam Driver, Forrest 00:31:10.049 --> 00:31:12.450 Whitaker, Aubrey Plaza, and various members of 00:31:12.450 --> 00:31:14.529 the Coppola family. It premiered in competition 00:31:14.529 --> 00:31:17.490 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The fact that 00:31:17.490 --> 00:31:19.849 a single director can bypass the entire studio 00:31:19.849 --> 00:31:22.309 system and write a nine figure check for his 00:31:22.309 --> 00:31:25.730 own highly experimental epic speaks to an unprecedented 00:31:25.730 --> 00:31:29.130 degree of financial independence. And the mechanism 00:31:29.130 --> 00:31:32.130 that enables this final stage of his career is 00:31:32.130 --> 00:31:34.710 the massive commercial empire he built completely 00:31:34.710 --> 00:31:37.289 outside of Hollywood. What's so fascinating here 00:31:37.289 --> 00:31:39.490 is how the Coppola name evolved from a signature 00:31:39.490 --> 00:31:42.769 of cinematic genius into a highly lucrative lifestyle 00:31:42.769 --> 00:31:45.910 brand. a brand capable of generating the kind 00:31:45.910 --> 00:31:48.410 of capital necessary to bypass the very studio 00:31:48.410 --> 00:31:51.369 gates he once fought to tear down. Let's start 00:31:51.369 --> 00:31:53.430 with the dynasty itself. The Coppola family is 00:31:53.430 --> 00:31:56.950 arguably the closest America has to a multi -generational 00:31:56.950 --> 00:31:59.549 Oscar -winning artistic dynasty. The artistic 00:31:59.549 --> 00:32:02.630 lineage is astonishingly rich. His wife, Eleanor 00:32:02.630 --> 00:32:05.390 O 'Neill, was a crucial creative partner, a writer 00:32:05.390 --> 00:32:07.589 and documentary filmmaker who co -directed Hearts 00:32:07.589 --> 00:32:10.839 of Darkness. A filmmaker's apocalypse. A film 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:13.240 documenting the very agony of apocalypse now. 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:15.539 And she was with him until her death in 2024. 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:17.940 And the next generation is even more prolific. 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:19.839 Their children are all deep in the industry. 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:23.480 Rowan is a screenwriter and director. Sofia is 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:25.500 a celebrated director who won an Oscar for Best 00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:28.680 Original Screenplay in 2003 for Lost in Translation. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.799 And his late son Giancarlo was also a filmmaker, 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:35.220 whose daughter, Gia Coppola, continues the tradition 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:37.759 as a director. Then you have the nephews. Well, 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:40.380 his sister, Talia Shire, was an actress nominated 00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:43.279 for an Oscar for The Godfather Part II. And his 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:46.000 famous nephews include the actors Nicolas Cage, 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:48.140 who changed his name to distance himself from 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:50.279 the family initially, and Jason Schwartzman, 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:52.819 as well as Robert Schwartzman, an actor and musician. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.319 The deep roots of talent and collaboration run 00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:59.170 through that entire extended family. The umbrella 00:32:59.170 --> 00:33:01.410 organization for this artistic output remains 00:33:01.410 --> 00:33:04.289 American Zoetrope, which has evolved greatly 00:33:04.289 --> 00:33:06.589 from that initial San Francisco warehouse. It 00:33:06.589 --> 00:33:10.069 has. Zoetrope, founded in 1969, was the seed 00:33:10.069 --> 00:33:13.390 of that deviant studio. Today, it runs the Zoetrope 00:33:13.390 --> 00:33:15.970 Virtual Studio, which is essentially an online 00:33:15.970 --> 00:33:18.170 creative hub for members bringing together departments 00:33:18.170 --> 00:33:20.670 for writers, directors, and producers, and supporting 00:33:20.670 --> 00:33:22.710 other creative endeavors like their short story 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:25.150 vending machine project. But Zoetrope's history 00:33:25.150 --> 00:33:27.970 is also riddled with high -stakes legal battles, 00:33:28.210 --> 00:33:30.549 showing that Coppola never stopped fighting the 00:33:30.549 --> 00:33:32.869 establishment, even in court. That's why the 00:33:32.869 --> 00:33:35.009 legal disputes are so important for you, the 00:33:35.009 --> 00:33:37.569 learner. They highlight his persistent struggle 00:33:37.569 --> 00:33:40.369 against the system's contractual norms. There 00:33:40.369 --> 00:33:43.069 were two intense, highly public disputes with 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:45.809 Warner Bros. The first involved the Pinocchio 00:33:45.809 --> 00:33:49.250 Project. Coppola sued Warner Bros. In the late 00:33:49.250 --> 00:33:52.450 1990s, alleging they sabotaged his intended version 00:33:52.450 --> 00:33:54.769 after a compensation disagreement led him to 00:33:54.769 --> 00:33:57.410 approach Columbia Pictures instead. What was 00:33:57.410 --> 00:33:59.789 the result of that initial litigation? An incredible 00:33:59.789 --> 00:34:03.009 initial victory. A jury initially awarded him 00:34:03.009 --> 00:34:06.369 $20 million and a week later, an additional $60 00:34:06.369 --> 00:34:09.630 million in punitive damages. An astonishing $80 00:34:09.630 --> 00:34:12.429 million in total. It was seen as a major blow 00:34:12.429 --> 00:34:15.329 against studio power. However, the victory was 00:34:15.329 --> 00:34:17.389 short -lived. It was later overturned, wasn't 00:34:17.389 --> 00:34:20.980 it? Yes. The judge reversed the $60 million punitive 00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:23.639 damages award. And after subsequent appeals by 00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:25.679 both sides, the California Court of Appeals eventually 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:28.300 ruled against Coppola on both counts in 2001. 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:30.960 It effectively ended the litigation with a loss. 00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:33.840 It shows that even when he seemingly wins, the 00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:35.519 fight against the establishment is never truly 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:38.260 over. And the second major dispute involved the 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:41.000 late Carl Sagan. That's an incredible intersection 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:43.860 of science and cinema history. It is. Coppola 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:45.780 filed a lawsuit against Carl Sagan and Warner 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:49.280 Bros. in 1996, claiming that Sagan's novel Contact 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:52.139 later made into a major film was based on a story 00:34:52.139 --> 00:34:55.360 the pair developed back in 1975 for a TV special 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:58.179 idea called First Contact. The core of the claim 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:00.480 was a development agreement that stipulated Coppola 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:02.619 and Sagan would split proceeds from any novel 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:05.340 Sagan wrote. based on that concept that seems 00:35:05.340 --> 00:35:07.780 like a clear -cut contractual issue what happened 00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:11.440 The case was dismissed in 1998, primarily because 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:13.539 the court ruled that Coppola had waited too long 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:16.039 to file suit, essentially arguing he slept on 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:19.039 his rights. These constant legal skirmishes underscore 00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:21.460 his willingness to spend immense time and resources 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:24.579 challenging every perceived contractual slight 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:28.360 or sabotage by the major studios. So if the Zoetrope 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:30.820 lawsuits often ended in losses, where is the 00:35:30.820 --> 00:35:32.920 real financial power coming from? It's the land, 00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:35.460 the grapes, and the lifestyle brand. The Francis 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:37.659 Ford Coppola Presents lifestyle brand is the 00:35:37.659 --> 00:35:40.219 financial anchor. It markets everything from 00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:43.179 films, videos, resorts, cafes, and a literary 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:47.079 magazine called Zoetrope. All story. Crucially, 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:49.380 he sells pasta sauces under the name Mamorella 00:35:49.380 --> 00:35:52.179 Foods. But the winemaking venture is the foundation. 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:55.099 That winemaking began in Napa Valley using the 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:57.579 proceeds from The Godfather, the direct link 00:35:57.579 --> 00:36:00.019 between his biggest artistic success and his 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:02.559 enduring commercial power. A literal investment 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:06.440 of artistic triumph into tangible assets. He 00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:09.559 started in 1975, initially producing wine under 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:13.380 the Newbaum Coppola label. In 1995, he purchased 00:36:13.380 --> 00:36:16.280 the historic Inglenook Winery Chateau, one of 00:36:16.280 --> 00:36:19.139 Napa's most iconic properties. And here's a fascinating 00:36:19.139 --> 00:36:23.179 detail for you. In 2011, he acquired the historic 00:36:23.179 --> 00:36:26.469 Inglenook trademark. He famously stated he paid 00:36:26.469 --> 00:36:28.969 more for the trademark, the name itself, the 00:36:28.969 --> 00:36:31.550 heritage, than he did for the entire estate property. 00:36:31.809 --> 00:36:33.230 That tells you everything about his valuation 00:36:33.230 --> 00:36:35.849 system. The history, the authenticity, and the 00:36:35.849 --> 00:36:37.929 brand identity are worth more than the physical 00:36:37.929 --> 00:36:40.150 assets. Exactly. The Ingle Nook grapes today 00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:42.550 are organically grown, adhering to a high standard 00:36:42.550 --> 00:36:45.610 of quality. He also had the massive, family -friendly 00:36:45.610 --> 00:36:48.329 Francis Ford Coppola Winery between Healdsburg 00:36:48.329 --> 00:36:50.780 and Geyserville. This facility was built with 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.360 a specific vision influenced by the idea of the 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:55.579 Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, complete with swimming 00:36:55.579 --> 00:36:57.960 pools, boss courts, and a restaurant named Rustic. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:00.139 And that winery essentially became a museum of 00:37:00.139 --> 00:37:02.300 his career, right? It was a treasure trove for 00:37:02.300 --> 00:37:04.989 fans. It displayed several of his Oscars and 00:37:04.989 --> 00:37:07.429 movie memorabilia, including Vito Corleone's 00:37:07.429 --> 00:37:10.989 desk from The Godfather and a restored 1948 Tucker 00:37:10.989 --> 00:37:14.190 sedan from his film Tucker, The Man in His Dream. 00:37:14.449 --> 00:37:16.909 He successfully leveraged his celebrity into 00:37:16.909 --> 00:37:18.969 a massive tourism and commercial enterprise, 00:37:19.230 --> 00:37:22.090 which he then sold in 2021 to Delicato Family 00:37:22.090 --> 00:37:25.269 Wines, giving him immense liquidity. He also 00:37:25.269 --> 00:37:27.960 owns Domaine de Brûlis in Oregon. Beyond the 00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:30.280 grapes, he is heavily invested in global hospitality, 00:37:30.659 --> 00:37:33.420 using the Coppola name for luxury resorts. Under 00:37:33.420 --> 00:37:35.940 his company, Coppola's Hideaway, he owns resorts 00:37:35.940 --> 00:37:38.440 globally. Plunkano Lodge and the Turtle Inn in 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:41.699 Belize, La Lancia in Guatemala, Jardin Escondido 00:37:41.699 --> 00:37:44.500 in Argentina, and the beautiful Palazzo Margherita 00:37:44.500 --> 00:37:46.519 in Bernalda, Italy, the ancestral home of his 00:37:46.519 --> 00:37:48.860 paternal grandparents. He is selling a lifestyle, 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:51.789 one imbued with history and cinema. And we can't 00:37:51.789 --> 00:37:53.969 forget the San Francisco roots where it all began 00:37:53.969 --> 00:37:56.449 with Zoetrope. He still owns Cafe Zoetrope in 00:37:56.449 --> 00:37:58.650 the Sentinel Building in San Francisco, which 00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:00.869 served traditional Italian cuisine and wine from 00:38:00.869 --> 00:38:03.630 his vineyards. And for 14 years, he co -owned 00:38:03.630 --> 00:38:05.449 the Rubicon restaurant with his friends Robin 00:38:05.449 --> 00:38:07.849 Williams and Robert De Niro, which closed in 00:38:07.849 --> 00:38:11.309 2008. Finally, in a nod to modern diversification, 00:38:11.530 --> 00:38:15.489 he even entered a completely new market. cannabis. 00:38:15.849 --> 00:38:18.670 In 2018, he launched a cannabis brand called 00:38:18.670 --> 00:38:21.210 the Growers Series. It was packaged in a mock 00:38:21.210 --> 00:38:23.670 black tin wine bottle resembling his wine brand, 00:38:23.869 --> 00:38:27.690 offering three strains, a sativa, indica, and 00:38:27.690 --> 00:38:30.670 hybrid. This entire diverse commercial structure 00:38:30.670 --> 00:38:33.650 from resorts to pasta sauces to cannabis is the 00:38:33.650 --> 00:38:36.449 highly effective non -studio financial engine 00:38:36.449 --> 00:38:39.190 that funds his student director experimental 00:38:39.190 --> 00:38:41.969 film projects like the $100 million megalopolis. 00:38:42.190 --> 00:38:44.210 What's fascinating here is the sheer audacity 00:38:44.210 --> 00:38:46.590 of Francis Ford Coppola's overall career model. 00:38:46.769 --> 00:38:49.530 He took the initial necessary mainstream success 00:38:49.530 --> 00:38:52.050 of films like The Godfather and immediately used 00:38:52.050 --> 00:38:54.230 those funds not to bankroll more Hollywood films, 00:38:54.309 --> 00:38:56.409 but to acquire land and start his independent 00:38:56.409 --> 00:39:00.000 diversified commercial. ventures. Exactly. He 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:03.179 uses the secure, steady profits from wine, resorts, 00:39:03.179 --> 00:39:06.139 and his lifestyle brand to fuel highly personal, 00:39:06.280 --> 00:39:08.719 sometimes eccentric, often financially risky 00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:11.519 independent film experiments. He is the very 00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:13.880 definition of a director who constantly questions 00:39:13.880 --> 00:39:16.920 assumptions about how films should be made and, 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:19.239 most importantly, how they should be financed. 00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:21.639 He's maintained a fiercely independent stance 00:39:21.639 --> 00:39:23.699 against the studio factory system that initially 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:26.380 tried to fire him. The scale of his success and 00:39:26.380 --> 00:39:29.389 his failure is truly epic. Think about that journey 00:39:29.389 --> 00:39:32.550 from being bedridden with polio, forced to dream 00:39:32.550 --> 00:39:35.289 up puppet shows, hustling by writing nudie cuties 00:39:35.289 --> 00:39:37.710 for ten dollars a week, only to launch himself 00:39:37.710 --> 00:39:39.949 into one of the most creatively potent decades 00:39:39.949 --> 00:39:42.750 in film history and then to lose his massive 00:39:42.750 --> 00:39:45.730 studio because of a single financial flop. He 00:39:45.730 --> 00:39:48.130 survived immense debt, intense legal battles 00:39:48.130 --> 00:39:50.949 and profound personal tragedy, only to rise again 00:39:50.949 --> 00:39:53.449 as his own private financier, proving that when 00:39:53.449 --> 00:39:55.530 his vision is at stake, he will find the money 00:39:55.530 --> 00:39:57.889 no matter where it comes from. And this raises 00:39:57.889 --> 00:40:00.210 an important question, especially now that he 00:40:00.210 --> 00:40:03.329 has self -funded his $120 million passion project, 00:40:03.530 --> 00:40:06.389 Megalopolis, a film he literally could not make 00:40:06.389 --> 00:40:09.190 without his commercial empire. His friend, George 00:40:09.190 --> 00:40:12.170 Lucas, once introduced him by saying, what Francis 00:40:12.170 --> 00:40:15.969 does creatively is jump off cliffs. Considering 00:40:15.969 --> 00:40:18.849 he used godfather money to buy land and has now 00:40:18.849 --> 00:40:20.889 used his winery and commercial empire profits 00:40:20.889 --> 00:40:23.969 to fully fund his latest massive epic, this raises 00:40:23.969 --> 00:40:26.369 an important question for you, the learner. When 00:40:26.369 --> 00:40:28.650 you're Francis Ford Coppola, owning the land, 00:40:28.789 --> 00:40:30.190 the means of production, and the distribution, 00:40:30.510 --> 00:40:32.730 what, if anything, is still a cliff jump?