Overview:
A new documentary titled Megadoc pulls back the curtain on Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious 2024 sci-fi epic Megalopolis. Featuring candid interviews with Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Coppola, and others, the film highlights LaBeouf’s personal struggles, his clash and eventual reconciliation with Voight, and Coppola’s unconventional approach to filmmaking.
When Francis Ford Coppola set out to create his self-financed 2024 science fiction epic Megalopolis, he not only brought together a star-studded cast. He also created space for old wounds to heal.
In Megadoc—a behind-the-scenes documentary hitting theaters September 19—Shia LaBeouf reflects on how his personal struggles intertwined with the production. This included a long-brewing rift with fellow actor Jon Voight.
LaBeouf quotes
“I had basically f—ed my whole life up,” LaBeouf admits in the documentary, recounting his state of mind when filming began in 2022. At the time, he was working through a recovery program after public controversies and legal troubles. One of his steps required making amends with Voight. LaBeouf describes Voight as both a mentor and a father figure from their early collaborations on Holes (2003) and Transformers (2007).
But that relationship had collapsed years earlier. “We had a big fight on the phone, where I told him I was going to come to his house and we’re going to fistfight. And I hung up the phone and didn’t talk to him for years,” LaBeouf recalls.
Voight
The turning point came when Voight extended an olive branch, ultimately helping bring LaBeouf into Coppola’s long-gestating project. “He says, ‘I hope you’ll come with us,’ ” says LaBeouf. “And I’m thinking, ‘I love you, but you’re delusional.’ I was beyond persona non grata, I was nuclear.”
Megadoc juxtaposes these raw interviews with rehearsal footage, including emotional theater exercises. One scene shows LaBeouf, in character as Clodio Pulcher, telling Voight’s Hamilton Crassus III, “I love you very much.” Coppola, now 86, encouraged the cast to embrace improvisation and workshop-style methods. This created a deeply collaborative environment.
Megalopolis
The ensemble of Megalopolis was nothing short of impressive. It featured Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman, and Coppola’s sister Talia Shire alongside LaBeouf and Voight.
With Megadoc, audiences gain an intimate look at both the artistic risks and personal reconciliations. These shaped one of cinema’s most daring productions in recent years.
Sources:
- Forbes – Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis
- Deadline – Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight in Megadoc
- Variety – Coppola’s Megalopolis Production
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