Francis Ford Coppola, 85, accused of trying 'to kiss topless and scantily clad female extras' on set of his forthcoming film Megalopolis

Francis Ford Coppola has been accused of trying 'to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras' who worked on his forthcoming film Megalopolis.

A report published Tuesday by The Guardian detailed the conduct of the Oscar-winning director, 85, amid the making of the motion picture, quoting multiple insiders who 'felt that Coppola could be "old school" in his behavior around women.'

Eyewitnesses told the outlet that during production of a scene at a club that the famed filmmaker 'came on to the set and tried to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras.'

The Detroit-born director, who made The Godfather trilogy as well as Apocalypse Now (which also had a famously-chaotic production), is slated to premiere the film at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

Darren Demetre, a producer on the motion picture, explained to the outlet that Coppola had been trying to set a tone for the room with his actions during production of the club scene.

Francis Ford Coppola, 85, has been accused of trying 'to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras' who worked on his forthcoming film Megalopolis. Pictured in 2022 in LA

'There were two days when we shot a celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene where Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players,' Demetre said.

Demetre said that the filmmaker's hugging and kissing of performers 'was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere, which was so important to the film.'

Demetre, who said he was 'one of the first assistant directors and an executive producer' of Megalopolis, added that he 'was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behavior during the course of the project.'

Demetre said that Coppola was successful in his execution in all aspects of making the motion picture, which features Adam Driver at the head of an ensemble cast.

'Francis successfully produced and directed an enormous independent film, making all the difficult decisions to ensure it was delivered on time and on budget, while remaining true to his creative vision,' he said.

The report from The Guardian indicated that multiple crew members were dissatisfied with their experiences on the set of the motion picture, which saw significant turnover in its visual effects and art teams.

'This sounds crazy to say,' a crew member said, 'but there were times when we were all standing around going: "Has this guy ever made a movie before?"'

Another crew member said of the mood on set: 'We were all aware that we were participating in what might be a really sad finish to his career.'

Coppola was pictured in July of 2008 with fellow filmmakers Oliver Stone, Brett Ratner and James Toback in LA. Ratner and Toback have not directed any films since they faced allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017 amid the rise of the #MeToo movement 

Coppola - who some insiders described as '"old school" in his behavior around women' - was pictured with Rosanna Arquette and James Toback at the event 

Coppola's new movie features Adam Driver at the head of an ensemble cast 

A crew member said that the creative process on the motion picture was frustrating and inefficient amid Coppola’s disorganization and insistence on overseeing all aspects of the production 

A crew member said that the creative process on the motion picture was frustrating and inefficient amid Coppola’s disorganization and insistence on overseeing all aspects of the production.

'He would often show up in the mornings before these big sequences and because no plan had been put in place, and because he wouldn’t allow his collaborators to put a plan in place, he would often just sit in his trailer for hours on end, wouldn’t talk to anybody, was often smoking marijuana,' the crew member said. 

The crew member said that 'hours and hours would go by without anything being filmed. And the crew and the cast would all stand around and wait.

'And then he’d come out and whip up something that didn’t make sense, and that didn’t follow anything anybody had spoken about or anything that was on the page, and we’d all just go along with it, trying to make the best out of it.'

The confused crew on a daily basis would 'walk away shaking our heads wondering what we’d just spent the last 12 hours doing,' the crew member said. 

Amid the making of the movie, Coppola was also dealing with the illness of his wife Eleanor Coppola, who died at the age of 87 last month. Eleanor had been present on the set of the movie 'until her illness prevented her from being there,' a spokesperson told The Guardian.