Director Francis Ford Coppola doesn’t just want to make movies. He wants to change them. This was true in 1969 when he co-founded Zoetrope Studios with George Lucas, and it remains true today at age 85.

We begin with the historical context of his modern-day Roman epic fable Megalopolis (9:40 ), his decades-long process developing the film (12:18 ), and the inspiration he’s taken from Georges Méliès (22:25 ) and Jacques Tati (24:59 ). Then, Coppola reflects on the origin of how he became ‘Francis Ford Coppola’ (29:27 ), the irrepressible spirit he forged in childhood (32:34 ), and where he sees himself in films like The Godfather (38:29 ), Apocalypse Now (41:48 ), and Gardens of Stone (42:17 ).

On the back-half, we unpack the parallels between the titular city of Megalopolis and Zoetrope Studios (50:19 ), his capacity to keep dreaming, even in the face of financial ruin (53:46 ), where he believes America is headed in 2025 (54:29 ), and the lasting memory of his late wife, Eleanor (1:03:25 ).

Watch this conversation on YouTube.

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.