Conversations with Coppola
on work, life, and the concept of a better world
When a message sent by "Francis Ford Coppola" arrived in her inbox in December 2023, Juliet Schor was skeptical. Though the widely recognized social economist was well accustomed to connecting with notable individuals, iconic figures in American cinema didn't drop her a line every day.
Upon opening it, the Boston College professor was surprised to read that the multiple Academy Award winner (who introduced himself as "a movie director") hoped to ask her a few questions related to themes depicted in his then-forthcoming film Megalopolis.
"A line at the bottom of the message asked me not to give out his email address or add it to a mailing list, so I thought 'Maybe this is for real,'" she said.
They arranged to speak the next day.
Decades in development, Megalopolis is written and directed by Coppola, who is internationally acclaimed for his Oscar-winning Apocalypse Now and Godfather films as well as a lengthy list of other memorable works. Billed as a Roman epic set in a futuristic New York City, with a cast including Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Jon Voigt, and Dustin Hoffman, Megalopolis draws parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and the future of the United States, while considering thorny issues related to humanity and the possibility of a better society.
But the film had yet to be released at the time of Coppola's message, so Schor—whose research focuses on consumer society and culture, working life, environmental degradation, and alternative, sustainable economies and societies—was at that point unsure as to exactly what the filmmaker might be seeking. (A clue arrived on December 20, the date of their first conversation, when a neighbor stopped by with the news that Coppola had mentioned Schor's book The Overspent American in an Instagram post.)
Schor describes their initial phone exchange as "amazing. He was asking questions about where scholars stood on various issues related to the film, but also talked about his movies and his life. I felt privileged to be having [the conversation]," she said. "I really enjoyed it."
In particular, she recalls, he mentioned that "one of his fervent hopes for the film was that it would become one that people watched at New Year's, which is the setting for its final scene. He said he'd like to see New Year's conversations center less on resolutions to diet or exercise and more on what kind of world this is, and is it the best possible world we can have?"
Schor agreed that it would be great if the film sparked those kinds of conversations, and the two stayed in touch from time to time about books and other topics in the months before Megalopolis was released the following September.
Juliet Schor and Francis Ford Coppola on stage at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. (Dawn Kingston)
It was when she wrote to congratulate him on being honored by the Kennedy Center in December of 2024, she said, that he mentioned that there would be a screening event for Megalopolis in Los Angeles on New Year's Day, and would she like to be part of it?
She agreed, and ultimately led a post-screening discussion with him at American Cinematheque, then attended a lunch hosted by one of his old friends. ("He's such a humane person," she said. "He's so genuine and kind, and open. He's just a great person.")
Later, when the term "megalopolis" appeared in a New York Times puzzle, she sent him a note, and learned in his reply that he had done a showing in London and was planning others.
"So I asked, what about Boston? And minutes later, I started getting emails from people about setting up a screening."
Coppola suggested the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, and also that they reprise their post-film conversation at the showing. Slated for April 28, 2025, the event sold out in nine minutes, prompting the addition of a second showing and discussion on the following day.
Though reviews for Megalopolis have been mixed, audiences at the events love it, and always go wild for him, Schor said. She herself has now seen the film several times, drawing something new from each viewing. "The movie has a big utopian dimension," she said. "The lead character is a dreamer, has a vision for a different kind of city."
She also can now discern where the film intersects with her own work, prompting that first, unexpected email. "A big part of what he's trying to say is that we, human beings, have incredible capacity for good," she said. "We have genius, we have empathy. We have the possibility of really positive social connections with each other. He believes that very strongly.
"And I think that's underlying a lot of my work," she said. "The idea that we can do better."