Videos released last week purporting to show director Francis Ford Coppola “trying to kiss young female extras” on the set of his film Megalopolis are now being branded “misleading” by one of the extras who appears prominently in them.
On Friday, Variety He posted two short behind-the-scenes videos filmed while Coppola and his crew were shooting a club scene in Atlanta that appeared to show the director leaning in toward several actresses who were dancing.
But Raynz Menz, an actress who works as one of the film’s extras and was seen in one of the two videos, said in a statement posted Tuesday to her Instagram Stories that she was “disgusted” by the allegations that Coppola had behaved unprofessionally.
While talking to DeadlineMenz said the 85-year-old Oscar winner “did nothing to make me or anyone else on the set feel uncomfortable.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for Coppola for comment.
Videos released last week purporting to show director Francis Ford Coppola, 85, “trying to kiss young female extras” on the set of his film Megalopolis are now being called misleading by one of the extras prominently featured in them; photographed on May 17 in Cannes, France.
On Friday, Variety published two short behind-the-scenes videos filmed while Coppola and his crew were shooting a scene at a club in Atlanta that appeared to show the director leaning in toward several actresses who were dancing and allegedly kissing them.
In her Instagram statement, Menz wrote that the Variety story had a “misleading headline.”
“None of the claims about @francisfordcoppola are true; it was an honor to work with a legend like her,” he wrote. “This video was taken on a CLOSED set that prohibited the use of personal phones, specifically for the safety of all actors.
“I am disgusted by these allegations and hope everyone sees the truth for what it is,” Menz added.
In another, longer video showing Coppola, who was announced as the next recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month, interacting with several actresses, he appears to kiss at least one on the cheek, but it is unclear whether he kissed any other women, as he was seen from behind and at a significant distance.
Speaking to Deadline, Menz reiterated that she felt “sickened” and “shocked” by the release of the videos because the scene in question was supposedly on a “closed set,” where crew is kept to an absolute minimum and outside visitors are banned.
Closed sets are typically used in situations where actors are filming nude scenes, or sometimes for particularly emotional scenes that may be interrupted by people outside the set.
“For someone to film that is just ridiculous and very unprofessional,” Menz continued.
It is unclear whether the person or people who filmed the videos were allowed on the supposedly closed set and whether there was any prohibition on filming the shoot.
But Raynz Menz, an actress who works as one of the film’s extras and was seen in one of the two videos, said in a statement posted Tuesday to her Instagram Stories that she was “disgusted” by the allegations that Coppola had behaved unprofessionally.
Speaking to Deadline, Menz claimed the 85-year-old Oscar winner “did nothing to make me or anyone else on set feel uncomfortable.”
In addition to the Variety article, a Hollywood Reporter article claimed that the budget for his Adam Driver-starring epic film Megalopolis was increasing, but a source close to Coppola later told Variety that it had been completed “on budget” and “on time”; image from Megalopolis
“It’s disgusting because he was just talking about how wonderful his wife is,” Menz said, adding that Eleanor Coppola was on set most days. The videos were posted as Coppola was heading to a memorial service for Eleanor, who died in April at age 87; pictured in France in 2019
“It’s disgusting because he was just talking about how wonderful his wife is,” Menz said, referring to documentary filmmaker Eleanor Coppola, who died in April at age 87. “His wife was on set with us, almost every day. It’s disgusting to watch that video and the way they were trying to get a message across. Just disgusting.”
According to Deadline, the release of the set videos caused “a lot of pain” for Coppola, as the story was published while she was on her way to meet her children and family for a family memorial service dedicated to Eleanor.
She met Coppola while working on the set of her feature directorial debut, the low-budget horror film Dementia 13 (1963), and the two married that same year. She was best known for directing the classic documentary Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, which showed what went on behind the scenes of Coppola’s famously troubled production of Apocalypse Now.
Francis and Eleanor had three children: filmmakers Sofia and Roman Coppola, and their eldest son Gian-Carlo, who died in a tragic boating accident in 1986 aged just 22.
Griffin O’Neal, son of the late actor Ryan O’Neal, who at the time had starred in Coppola’s film Gardens Of Stone, later pleaded guilty to negligent operation of a boat and was cast in Coppola’s film.
Menz went on to say that allegations that Coppola had been unprofessional with his actresses were “all false.”
“I was actually the one who asked her to dance,” he said of the video she appeared in. “I asked her to dance, in front of everyone else.”
“That’s why it’s so funny that this story came out. He even said something like… even though it was over a year ago, it’s not a proper quote, but he said something like, ‘I’m a gentleman and I would never say no to a lady,'” she recalled. “And then we danced a waltz to club music.”
Menz said: “I was actually the one who asked her to dance. I asked her to dance, in front of everyone else”; Coppola photographed in 2022 in Hollywood
She called Coppola “nothing but a professional, a gentleman” and said he was “like a nice Italian grandfather, running around the set.”
“It was a lot of fun. He’s a kind and generous person,” Menz added.
The story also noted that Coppola’s epic Megalopolis was supposedly delivered “on time” and “on budget,” contrary to expectations. Hollywood Reporter story in which a production source claimed the budget was rising and raised questions about whether filming would have to be halted.
Coppola ended up putting up $120 million of his own money (much of which came from his eponymous wine business) to finance the film, and is also responsible for self-financing its promotion.
