Arizona Tribune - Coppola 'thrilled' by worst director Razzie for 'Megalopolis'

The legendary filmmaker behind "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" poured his own money into last year's passion project "Megalopolis," which divided critics, drawing scorn from several.

But Coppola, 85, has always made light of the many barbs aimed at his ambitious and idealistic late-career epic, and his game response to the satirical Razzie Award was no different.

Coppola said he was "thrilled" to accept the dubious accolade, "at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!"

"In this wreck of a world today, where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling, I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now," he wrote on social media.

Coppola has said he spent $120 million of his own money to make "Megalopolis", selling a stake in his California vineyard.

Its much-hyped world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May left the industry confounded.

In a plot that is hard to summarize, Adam Driver stars as a seemingly magical architect whose efforts to rebuild a decaying city into a futuristic utopia are thwarted by its resentful mayor (Giancarlo Esposito).

The movie boasts a stellar cast including Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf and Dustin Hoffman.

Critics' responses ranged from "a true modern masterwork" to a "catastrophe."

Voted for by some 1,200 members of an irreverent group that any film fan can join, the Razzies -- or Golden Raspberries -- were created as an antidote to the movie industry's self-obsessed series of glitzy award shows.

This year's other Razzie "winners" included Dakota Johnson as worst actress for her much-mocked superhero spin-off "Madame Web," which was also named the worst picture of the year and worst screenplay.

Jerry Seinfeld was named worst actor for "Unfrosted," a somewhat surreal original story for Pop-Tarts pastries.

Joaquin Phoenix -- who won best actor at the Oscars in the first "Joker" film -- was jointly awarded worst screen combo with Lady Gaga for its flop follow-up "Joker: Folie a Deux."

G.P.Martin--AT