In his first ever podcast interview, Francis Ford Coppola joins Ryan to talk about how Marcus Aurelius, Stoicism, and Epicureanism have impacted his life, both personally and professionally. Francis reflects on his legacy and why it was so important to complete his latest movie, Megalopolis (out September 27), after he began developing it in the early 1980’s. Francis almost abandoned it multiple times and ultimately ended up self-financing the project.

Megalopolis is a sci-fi drama Roman Epic fable based on Cicero and the Catiline Conspiracy set in an imagined Modern America that stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Grace VanderWaal, Nathalie Emmanuel, Chloe Fineman, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, and more.

As Francis says, “You can't go to New York without realizing it is covered with Roman buildings. So, my intent was to write a Roman epic set in a contemporary New York that copied Ancient Rome."

Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest movie directors of all time. His movies include The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and his latest project, Megalopolis is in theaters on September 27, 2024!

Check out the trailer for Megalopolis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6mvHZU0fc

Follow Francis on Instagram @francisfordcoppola and go see Megalopolis in theaters on September 27!

Books Mentioned:

The Storm Before The Storm by Mike Duncan

Creation by Gore Vidal

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt

Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt

Tyrant by Stephen Greenblatt

A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin

Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Papyrus by Deckle Edge

The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

The Harder They Fall by Budd Schulberg

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman

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Ryan McDonough

Podcasts