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Francis Ford Coppola extra 'kissed by director', 85, on Megalopolis set breaks her silence after shock videos emerged
An extra allegedly kissed by director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of Megalopolis has broken her silence after shocking videos emerged.
Last week, Variety published two short behind-the-scenes videos shot while Coppola, 85, and his crew were filming a club scene in Atlanta that appeared to show the director leaning in to multiple actresses who were dancing.
One of the women in the video - Lauren Pagone - who appeared in multiple scenes in Megalopolis as an extra, says she was dancing during a live take of the club scene when Coppola allegedly approached her, pulled her towards him and hugged and kissed her.
She told Variety: 'I was in shock. I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off-guard. And I can tell you he came around a couple times.'
Pagone said she decided to come forward when another extra seen in one of the two videos, Rayna Menz told Deadline the Oscar winner 'did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable.
An extra allegedly kissed by director Francis Ford Coppola on the set of Megalopolis has broken her silence after shocking videos emerged; Coppola seen in May in Cannes
One of the women in the video - Lauren Pagone - who appeared in multiple scenes in Megalopolis as an extra, says she was dancing during a live take of the club scene when Coppola allegedly approached her, pulled her towards him and hugged and kissed her
Last week, Variety published two short behind-the-scenes videos shot while Coppola and his crew were filming a club scene in Atlanta that appeared to show the director leaning in to multiple actress who were dancing and allegedly kissing them
She said: 'I don’t appreciate anybody speaking for me. I would never speak for that actress. I’ve kept my mouth shut. I’ve kept quiet.
'But it’s frustrating that she’s putting out there, "Hey, it was great for everyone" when she doesn’t know what other people were feeling. You can’t speak for anyone but yourself. My experience was different.'
Menz did not respond to an email from Variety requesting additional comment.
Pagone - who has worked on shows including Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown and Apple TV+’s City on Fire said on every other project she had done, an intimacy coordinator was on hand during any scenes in which there was nudity.
According to a call sheet reviewed by the publication - several actresses were cleared to go topless for the nightclub sequence. Pagone was not nude and wore a top with a plunging neckline.
Megalopolis intimacy coordinator Samantha McDonald previously told Variety that neither she nor fellow intimacy coordinator Ashley Anderson were on set for the nightclub scene, filmed on Feb. 14, 2023, at Atlanta’s Tabernacle concert hall.
Another member of the cast claimed to Variety in recent days that they had seen Coppola kissing 'multiple women' during a different scene involving a New Year’s Eve celebration.
It was claimed before filming started Coppola told the extras that he 'wanted them to act as they would at a typical holiday party and kiss each other at the end of the countdown' and added that he might jump in and kiss a few people himself.'
She told Variety : ' I was in shock. I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off-guard. And I can tell you he came around a couple times.'; pictured May 17 in Cannes, France
Pagone said she decided to come forward when another extra seen in one of the two videos, Rayna Menz told Deadline the Oscar winner 'did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable
It was alleged that after calling cut, Coppola 'got up, stopped multiple women as they passed him and kissed them on the cheek.'
The insider added: 'The women that I saw being kissed did not see him coming. He just basically grabbed them and planted the kiss on them without any kind of consent. They all kind of laughed it off for a moment and then I could tell that they were just surprised.'
The crew member that shot the video that Variety initially posted and who was on set during almost all of the shoot confirmed that Coppola kissed female extras during the New Year’s Eve sequence - and added it was one of 'several instances' in which he had kissed extras.
The cast member added their experience on set was 'super weird and uncomfortable' and probably their 'worst experience on a set ever'.
Sources told the publication because Coppola financed the $120 million epic himself, there was no-one to complain to about his alleged behavior.
The crew member also alleged that Coppola kept 'leaping up to hug and kiss several women, often inadvertently inserting himself into the shot and ruining it'.
They claimed that after multiple takes, Coppola got on a microphone and announced to everyone in the room: 'Sorry, if I come up to you and kiss you. Just know it’s solely for my pleasure.'
Dailymail.com has contacted representatives for Francis Ford Coppola for comment.
This comes days after Menz wrote that Variety's story had a 'misleading headline' in an Instagram statement.
'None of the claims about @francisfordcoppola are true; it was an honor to work with such a legend,' she wrote. 'This video was taken on a CLOSED set that prohibited self phones [sic] specifically for the safety of all actors.
'I am disgusted by these allegations & hope everybody will see the truth for what it is,' Menz added.
Menz, said in a statement posted Tuesday to her Instagram Stories that she was 'disgusted' by allegations that Coppola had behaved unprofessionally
While speaking to Deadline , Menz claimed that the 85-year-old Oscar winner 'did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable'
In addition to the Variety piece, a Hollywood Reporter piece claimed that the budget on his Adam Driver–starring epic Megalopolis was ballooning, but a source close to Coppola later told Variety that it came in 'on budget' and 'on time'; still from Megalopolis
In another longer video showing Coppola — who was announced as an upcoming Kennedy Center Honors recipient earlier this month — interacting with multiple actresses, he appears to kiss at least on on the cheek, but it's unclear if he kissed other women, as he was seen from behind and at a significant distance.
While speaking to Deadline, Menz reiterated that she 'felt disgusted' and was 'blindsided' by the publication of the videos because the scene in question allegedly had a 'closed set,' in which the crew is reduced to the absolute minimum and outside visitors are barred.
Closed sets are typically used in situations in which actors are filming nude scenes, or sometimes for particularly emotional scenes that may be disrupted by extraneous people on set.
'That someone had video of that is just ridiculous and super unprofessional,' Menz continued.
It's unclear if the person or persons who shot the videos were allowed to be on the allegedly closed set, and if there were any prohibitions against filming the shoot.
'It’s gross because he only ever spoke about how wonderful his wife is,' Menz said, adding that Eleanor Coppola was on set most days. The videos were published as Coppola was heading to a memorial service for Eleanor, who died in April at 87; pictured in France in 2019
'It’s gross because he only ever spoke about how wonderful his wife is,' Menz said, referring to the documentarian and filmmaker Eleanor Coppola, who died in April at age 87. 'His wife was on set with us, most days. It feels gross, seeing that video and they way they were trying to convey a message. Just gross.'
According to Deadline, the release of the on-set videos caused 'much pain' for Coppola, as the story was published as he was en route to meet up with his children and relatives for a family memorial service dedicated to Eleanor.
She met Coppola while working on the set of his feature directorial debut, the low-budget horror film Dementia 13 (1963), and the two married later that year. She was best known for directing the classic documentary Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, which took a behind-the-scenes look at Coppola's famously troubled production of Apocalypse Now.
Francis and Eleanor had three children: the filmmakers Sofia and Roman Coppola, and their oldest son Gian-Carlo, who was killed in a tragic boat accident in 1986 at only 22.
Griffin O'Neal, the son of the late actor Ryan O'Neal, who had been cast in Coppola's film Gardens Of Stone at the time, later pleaded guilty to negligent operation of a boat and was recast in Coppola's film.
Menz continued, claiming that allegations that Coppola had been unprofessional with his female actors were 'all false.'
'In fact, I was the one who asked him to dance,' she said of the video featuring her. 'I asked him to dance, in front of everybody else.
'That’s why it’s so funny that this story came out. He even said, something along the lines of — mind you it was over a year ago so this is 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 waltzed, to club music.'
Menz said, 'In fact, I was the one who asked him to dance. I asked him to dance, in front of everybody else'; Coppola pictured in 2022 in Hollywood
She called Coppola 'nothing but professional, a gentleman,' and said 'he was like this cute Italian grandfather, running around the set.'
'It was just so much fun. He’s a nice generous person,' Menz added.
The story also noted that Coppola's epic Megalopolis allegedly came in 'on time' and 'on budget,' contrary to a Hollywood Reporter story in which a production source claimed the budget was ballooning and raised questions about whether filming would have to be halted.
Coppola eventually put in $120 million of his own money — much of which came from his eponymous wine business — to finance the film, and he is also responsible for self-funding its promotion.