Francis Ford Coppola, widely regarded as one of the best directors of all time, has been named worst director at the 2025 Razzie Awards for his work on Megalopolis. "Even a cinematic maestro occasionally musters up a misfire," stated the Razzies referring to The Godfather and Apocalypse Now filmmaker.
Called the ugly cousin to the Oscars, the Razzies names and shames the worst films and performances of a particular year.
Coppola's passion-project Megalopolis took a long time to make, and it courted controversy after the film's distributor Lionsgate withdrew its trailer because it contained misquoted critiques of of his earlier films. Lionsgate apologised for the gaffe back then, and Coppola called it a "mistake" and an "accident." The filmmaker has also embraced the Razzie award he got for the epic film. Taking to Instagram, he said he is "thrilled to accept the Razzie award in so many important categories for" the film "and for the distinctive honor of being nominated as the worst director, worst screenplay, and worst picture at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!"
For clarification, the Razzie award for 2024's worst film, actress (Dakota Johnson), and screenplay went to Madame Web.
In his post, Coppola also stated, "In this wreck of a world today, where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling, I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now."
Speaking of 50 years, it has been almost that long since Coppola won a Best Director Oscar for The Godfather Part II.
The filmmaker also thanked his Megalopolis team and reminded everyone that "box-office is only about money, and like war, stupidity and politics has no true place in our future."
Coppola is also set to be conferred with the AFI Lifetime Achievement award later this year.