¡°When we leap into the unknown, we prove that we¡¯re free.¡± So goes a line of dialogue in Francis Ford Coppola¡¯s new film ¡°Megalopolis,¡± which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month. After the tumultuous debut, Coppola told the press it¡¯s a line that resonates with him personally. ¡°That¡¯s me making this film,¡± the filmmaker, who self-financed the movie, explained. ¡°To all of the studio big shots, I proved that I¡¯m free, and they¡¯re not. Because they don¡¯t dare leap into the unknown. And I do. That¡¯s the only way to prove that you¡¯re free.¡±

It¡¯s a glorious proclamation, a mic drop, to an industry that he helped build and that subsequently abandoned him. He hedged his victory lap, however, with a caveat: ¡°I don¡¯t recommend it.¡± But as Hollywood becomes more risk-averse and abandons creativity in hopes of scoring what it believes will be guaranteed hits, more filmmakers just might have to.

Megalopolis has been a decades-long passion project for Coppola, who first conceived of the film back in the 1980s. It¡¯s an audacious mash-up of science fiction fantasy and Roman empire-inspired speculative fiction, combining wide-eyed optimism and unapologetic sexual hedonism. He¡¯s been attempting to raise funds and mount the production since at least 1997. He ultimately had to forgo the common luxury of financing by a major studio or even outside investors, spending $120 million of his own money (a war chest provided primarily by his wildly successful winery).