Welcome to Megalopolis?

Megalopolis is a movie I was dreading since it hit my radar screen. It was a 40-year passion project from Francis Ford Coppola, and you don’t get a blank cheque to make whatever you want unless you’ve gained a reputation. But even amidst that, the production kept me uneasy. And now that it’s debuted to mixed reception, even with a standing ovation at Cannes, my concerns feel validated. I’m unsure how to react.

I shouldn’t overplay how much of a nightmare the production of this movie was. One of the cast members had sexual assault allegations well before shooting had started. Another cast member hadn’t been in a movie of note for over a decade, as well as gained the ire of many for his political views. And then there was Coppola. For a man of such high reputation, many people outside of the actors called him inappropriate and childish.

Now, many high-profile movies were made by gross individuals. Some of my favourite films are soiled by that. But in a post-Me Too age, where abuse and predation have surfaced everywhere, you’d think someone like Coppola would dial it down a bit. Especially since people consider him in high regard. But I guess we make exceptions for the “Film Brats”. And as someone with a Me Too story, this upsets me.

I could be over-projecting, as I haven’t seen Megalopolis. For all I know, I could end up liking it! Yet the stories I’ve read and heard don’t sit well. Especially since Coppola appears to have driven away anyone who wasn’t the main cast with his antics. That doesn’t exactly make me happy.

Some of you might be wondering how this is if Cannes gave it a standing ovation. For one, that isn’t so impressive when you look at what they gravitate to. And two, so what? Remember, Cannes gave a standing ovation to Roman Polanski for his movie on Alfred Dreyfuss. Yes, Dreyfuss’s story’s worthy of being told. But no, Polanski’s the wrong person for that given his own history of criminal behaviour. Cannes might have “prestige”, but they’re not gospel.

It's especially true considering the controversies Cannes has been entangled with. The festival has had indecent exposures, obscene gestures and fights break out, not to mention their sexist dress attire. Most-noteworthy is that some of their screenings lacked warnings for scenes of brutality and rape, leading to an infamous walkout in 2003. With this in mind, I’d take Cannes praising something with a grain of salt. It’s healthier that way.

Additionally, some passion projects…don’t pan out. It’s unfortunate, and I can’t claim to be an expert on why, but it’s a reality. Not every passion project is good, and doubly-so when in production for decades. We can’t expect The Tale of the Princess Kaguya-level work each time, even with a veteran. That shouldn’t stop people from pursuing their dreams, but it happens. Megalopolis is one of the passion projects that didn’t work, and I’m sorry it didn’t. At least, I’d be sorrier if the production and director’s behaviour hadn’t been a nightmare...

I don’t mean to kill the vibe. I want passion projects to succeed, namely because the people making them care. I’m also not averse to passion projects. I’ve liked plenty of movies from new and beloved directors who’ve poured their heart and soul into them. Megalopolis is also the kind of venture that, as a writer and fellow artist, I want to endorse. But when the experience doesn’t sound fun, the production’s riddled with issues, the director’s a creep, multiple cast members have scandals and the reviews are less-than-stellar, well…what does that leave me to be excited about? I genuinely want to know!

I also acknowledge that my attitude has evolved in the almost-9 years I’ve been writing on The Whitly-Verse. Initially, I’d have used “separate the art from the artist” to still enjoy movies without thinking of the ramifications. Not only was I not ready to acknowledge my childhood trauma, but I had some growing up to do. Because, truthfully, it’s impossible to completely distance the artist from their work. And when you can directly influence the trajectory of bad behaviour in Hollywood by not supporting it, I think you should try. Even when one of Hollywood’s greatest is involved.

It's equally possible that I might be saying this because the movie’s been harshly reviewed, or because I have no real attachments to Coppola. After all, I’ve enjoyed the Avatar films, which were directed by someone with a short temper and a massive ego. But while I understand this inconsistency, I never said I loved the movies themselves. Nor do I love James Cameron’s filmography, even the entries I’m “allowed to enjoy”. Remember that.

While it’s personal, I’m not eager to watch Megalopolis. That doesn’t mean I should stop you from watching it, I’m not your parent, but I’d like my decision to be respected. I’m human, and I have my emotional limitations. And in this case, there’s too much I’d be risking mentally by supporting the film. Even when Francis Ford Coppola’s the director.

Wish I May...

Let’s talk Wish.

The last time I discussed this movie, I mentioned the following:

“I’m worried because Wish’s reception validates a prediction I made when Elemental was in theatres: experimental animation’s the new frontier, but how long will it take before it’s a disappointment? The answer’s ‘not long’. It troubles me because the style’s relatively-new, and because it shows that something can’t be exciting based on its art-style alone. And while the latter should’ve been obvious, there’s a real fear Disney might learn the wrong lessons.”

Having watched the movie, my concerns are validated, yet also intertwined with some concerns. There are minor complaints I can make-it’s rushed, Asha has too many friends, the credits skip key movies when recapping Disney’s filmography-but none compare to two major ones and a concern I have with Disney overall. So let’s discuss them. Ready? Here goes.

The first problem is glaring: the writing sucks. Specifically, the songs suck. Wish desperately wants to coast on the success of Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose work with Disney has earned several Oscar nominations via Moana and Encanto. The movie wants to match his rapping and long-winded verses, but because he’s not the lyricist…it fails spectacularly. There’ve also been suggestions this movie was written by AI, something I try not ascribing to, but might be possible given what Marvel did with Secret Invasion. Considering the redundancy of many verses, as well as the timing of the release, it’s not unreasonable.

Still, while the songs themselves aren’t impressive, the compositions are. Even the villain song, “This is the Thanks I Get?!”, is fun, if not unconventional. But the most-impressive number, lyrically and musically, is “This Wish”. Redundancies aside, Ariana DeBose and the lyricists cared deeply, or they wouldn’t have used it for the marketing. It shows that even if AI was involved, a human hand guided it.

Another issue with this movie is the response to one detail. Magnifico, Wish’s antagonist, has been defended as “being right”. To that, I wonder if film literacy’s dead. Like Abuela Madrigal in Encanto, sympathetic isn’t the same as correct. In Magnifico’s case, he’s not even sympathetic, as he’s a victim of underwriting. The movie clearly wanted to allude to John Lasseter’s tenure at Disney while hearkening back to classic Disney villains, and it doesn’t work. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, especially when many of the plot beats feel rushed.

Also, how is Magnifico “right”? Because he felt that he had to safeguard corruptible dreams? Who decides that? And even if that’s true, which it’s not, that doesn’t excuse his controlling nature. He’s even coercive to his wife! Do people not understand manipulators?!

Yet my biggest issue isn’t even the fault of the movie, but rather how it’s impacted Disney: this was a new art-style meant to celebrate Disney’s 100 year anniversary. It was supposed to honour the studio’s legacy. And once it came out…it was met with a lukewarm response. So Disney panicked, “course correcting” with sequels. We’re seeing that with the lineup for the next few years.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying they’ll be bad. Not only am I excited for the sequel to Moana to debut this year, I also think the worlds of Frozen and Zootopia have infinite potential. For all I know, these sequels might be amazing! But that they’re prioritized over original stories is worrisome. Doubly-so that they’re not innovative like Wish.

I’ve championed photorealistic CGI animation before, despite its limitations, but I want animation to not be creatively stagnant. I want it to push boundaries in new and exciting ways, which Wish was attempting. It didn’t succeed, but it was an attempt. Like with Chicken Little, Disney needed to try first. It needed room to fail, and that’s not happening here.

If Disney, a corporation with infinite resources, is afraid to learn from failure, what does that say about the animation industry? Are movies like Nimona and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem one-off responses to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, ones meant to underperform and fizzle out? Will we never break free from the standard set by Pixar in 1995? Is Disney making a feature film like “Paperman” never going to happen again?

It's not even like this movie was atrocious. Disney’s made far worse in the 70’s and 80’s, perhaps even in the early-2000’s. But they were allowed to. And they learned from them, as opposed to doubling-down on safer, more-established alternatives. That’s less a failure of Disney of yore than of Disney of now, which worries me. Because other animation studios are paying attention and taking notes.

Maybe I’m overreacting, and this is a small hiccup in the bigger picture. Maybe Disney has actual, original films in the pipeline that are as innovative as Wish, except well-written and with soul. It could even be that these sequels were inevitable, I don’t know. But that doesn’t make the reactions to Wish less of a problem. Because if this is how we respond to risk-taking, what does that say? After all, isn’t the ultimate deciding factor our feedback, both vocally and financially?

Think about it.

The Omega Factor

The Clones are more interesting than the Jedi.

This was my sentiment post-Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Even with their occasional moments to shine in the Tartakovsky miniseries and Prequels, there were millions of them, and they acted and thought like human beings. It made sense that they’d have unique personalities, something I’m glad was elaborated on. Little did I know, however, that Clone Force 99 wouldn’t only become my favourite unit, but also warrant a spin-off series. That’s exactly what Star Wars: The Bad Batch was.

There are many ways to discuss my thoughts on this show: it’s a worthy successor to Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a nice tie-in to Star Wars Rebels. It’s more focused than both shows. Crosshair’s my favourite member of Clone Force 99. The final scene’s bittersweet in an uplifting way, a full-180 from Star Wars: The Clone Wars’s ending. Instead, I’ll zone-in on something I’d have never expected until suggested by the show: is Omega Force sensitive?

It's strange at first glance that the child character would be a Force wielder; after all, not only is she a full-on clone variant of Jango Fett, but Clones had never been canonically-Force sensitive prior. Still, like Asajj Ventress mentions, there are millions of Clones, so it’s not impossible. Omega even has a high M-count, so the show hinted at it before the curtain was pulled back. But is Omega, the preteen who’s the heart and soul for her gruffer brothers, capable of Force sensitivity? And would that make her a Jedi? It’s left open-ended.

Personally, I’d be down with this. Novelty of a Clone wielding a lightsaber aside, Ahsoka confirmed that Sabine Wren is Force sensitive in its Season 1 finale. And Omega’s revelation isn’t as forced as Sabine’s, having time to breathe while not smacking you in the face. Plus, Omega’s around the right age to be a Padawan, even if the exact number isn’t stated. So why not?

Omega being a Jedi would be a really neat concept. It’d also raise questions that’d expand the franchise in clever ways. For example, how does a Clone become Force sensitive? If the Sith influence Midichlorians to create life, was Omega’s Force sensitivity the result of Darth Sidious manipulating Jango Fett’s DNA? Did he plan for Omega to be his Plan B should Anakin not fall to The Dark Side? And did all the Kaminoans know, or only Nala Se?

None of these questions are answered, but, unlike Snoke’s existence, they don’t need to be. Star Wars is science-fantasy, and it’s also an enhanced D&D campaign. So much retconning occurs as lore’s retroactively grafted onto pre-existing lore that a Clone being Force sensitive isn’t that strange. Nor is it out of place given what The Force is capable of. Either way, I welcome Omega being Force sensitive. Like Grogu and Din Djarin, it’d be new territory for a franchise that’s risk-averse.

It also opens up superficial possibilities: would Omega have a blue lightsaber, a green lightsaber, or a purple lightsaber? Would she wield two lightsabers, or one? Would her robes be the standard grey and brown, or a different colour? Would she even wear robes? And how would she wield a lightsaber?

Going further, would Omega gain a Padawan of her own? Would it be one of the Force sensitive children she was locked up with on Tantiss? How quickly would she progress? And would she join Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi Academy, or go solo? There’s so much to work with since she was created for this show, thereby lacking the plot armour of Rex or Ahsoka. Most-importantly, it’d be great to see a newcomer become a Jedi naturally, like how Luke did in the original films.

I’m excited by a female Clone being Force sensitive. Ever since The EU was retconned by Disney, Star Wars fans have clamoured for that gaping hole to be filled. Force sensitive Clones was one idea that appeared to not survive the purge. Having it brought back, assuming Disney goes through with it, would be a step in the right direction. It’d also be cool.

I’m not one to shy away from being a contrarian amongst Star Wars fans. I liked the Disney Star Wars movies, and I thought The Prequels were enjoyable. I also thought Luke defeating Darktroopers in The Mandalorian singlehandedly added nothing to his character. And Andor bored me because of its pacing. Omega being Force sensitive is something I can get behind without attracting too much negative attention. I could be wrong, Star Wars fans are notoriously toxic, but I’ll chance it. I have nothing to lose.

In the end, there’s potential with Omega should she prove Force sensitive. She’s already well-loved, being the Grogu of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and she’s capable even without The Force. It’d also clear up why she was a valuable asset to The Empire, as Palpatine had been kidnapping Force sensitive children to train as assassins. If anything, making Omega non-Force sensitive, in contrast to Sabine, would be a complete cop-out. But I’ve been let down before…