They say no publicity is bad publicity, but the sheer amount of negative press that legendary director Francis Ford Coppola’s science fiction epic generated Big citycould put this theory to the test ahead of its release!

There had already been reports of unrest behind the scenes during production of the $120 million-plus film, and following the decidedly mixed reception to its Cannes premiere, more reports emerged of Coppola’s disturbing behavior on set.

Among other things, the director is said to have sat in his trailer for hours smoking weed while the cast and crew waited to shoot. He was also accused of pulling scantily clad or naked female extras onto his lap and attempting to kiss them to “get them in the mood” (recent BTS footage seems to confirm this).

A final trailer was recently released, highlighting negative reviews that were later revealed to have been generated by AI (the teaser was pulled shortly afterward).

Now Coppola continues to cause controversy thanks to his comments in an interview with Rolling Stone.

“I didn’t want us to be branded as a bright Hollywood production that just lectures the audience,” said the filmmaker. “The cast is made up of people who were deposed at some point. There were people who were extremely conservative and others who were extremely progressive politically. But we all worked together on a film. I thought that was interesting.”

Coppola refers, among other things, to Transformers Star Shia LaBeouf, who was accused by his ex-girlfriend of the cruel and sustained attack and later admitted it, and The Crow Star FKA branches.

“Shia (LaBeouf) really enjoyed it,” added Coppola. “I had no experience working with him before, but he deliberately creates extreme tension between himself and the director. He reminds me of Dennis Hopper, who did something similar, and then they said, ‘Just do something,’ and then they do something brilliant.”

Big city currently stands at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes with 68 reviews. The film is set to hit US theaters on September 27. Are you planning on watching it? Let us know in the comments section below.

“An accident destroys a New York City-like metropolis that is already in decline. Caesar, an idealist, wants to rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia, while the corrupt mayor Frank Cicero has other plans. Caught between the opposing men and their visions is Frank’s prominent daughter Julia. Tired of the attention and power she was born with, Julia searches for the meaning of her life.”

Big city Starring Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman and DB Sweeney.