Francis Ford Coppola Attacks 'Jealous' Variety Reporters In Suit Over Exposé Into On-Set Behavior
Francis Ford Coppola’s legal team has launched a fierce attack against Variety after an investigation published by the magazine accused him of engaging in inappropriate behavior during the making of his upcoming sci-fi epic, “Megalopolis.”
Representatives for Coppola filed a fiery eight-page libel lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, demanding $15 million plus punitive damages over a report published by Variety back in July.
The article at the heart of the suit alleges the Oscar-winner inappropriately hugged and kissed extras while shooting a party scene for “Megalopolis,” which stars actors Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza and Shia LaBeouf. The article describes Coppola acting with “impunity on set.”
Coppola has publicly refuted the claims. In the Variety article, two on-the-record statements from his team are quoted, both of which deny any unprofessional behavior by Coppola during the making of “Megalopolis.”
Coppola’s libel lawsuit contends that defendants Variety Media LLC and journalists Brent Lang and Tatiana Siege published “false and defamatory statements” about the filmmaker because they were “jealous and resentful,” according to documents obtained by Deadline.
“In the world of motion pictures, [Coppola] is a creative genius,” the suit reads. “Some people are jealous and resentful of genius. Those people therefore denigrate and tell knowing and reckless falsehoods about those of whom they are jealous.”
The filing goes on to attack Variety and its reporters for “hiding behind” anonymous sources in the piece. And it disputes Variety’s claim that there were no “traditional checks and balances in place” during the production of “Megalopolis,” due to the fact that Coppola personally financed all of the film’s $120 million budget.
“Each of these accusations was false and knowingly so,” the suit reads. “They were made to harm Coppola’s reputation and cause him severe emotional distress. That harm has been caused.”
Coppola’s court filing comes two days after “Megalopolis” extra Lauren Pagone, who was quoted in an August follow-up story from Variety, filed suit against the filmmaker, his production company and two casting agencies in a Georgia court.
In that lawsuit, which was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pagone alleges Coppola kissed her cheek and touched multiple parts of her body without her consent while shooting the party scene.
In her account for Variety, Pagone described being “in shock” after her interaction with Coppola.
“I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that,” she told the outlet. “I was caught off guard. And I can tell you he came around a couple times.”
After reports of Coppola’s lawsuit emerged on Thursday, Variety released a brief statement, telling HuffPost, “While we will not comment on active litigation, we stand by our reporters.”
HuffPost did not hear back from Coppola’s legal team when contacted with questions regarding both lawsuits.
