Variety urges dismissal of Francis Ford Coppola’s libel suit over story of troubled ‘Megalopolis’ set

LOS ANGELES (CN) — The Hollywood trade publication Variety asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Thursday to throw out a libel lawsuit filed by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola over a news story about the filming of his latest movie, “Megalopolis,” on First Amendment grounds.

Superior Court Judge Christopher Lui did not issue a ruling, saying he “wanted to give some thought to this.”

The now-85-year-old Coppola is one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation, having directed “The Godfather” films and “Apocalypse Now.” He is also legendarily headstrong and spendthrift. He reportedly shelled out more than $120 million of his own money to finance his most recent movie, “Megalopolis,” about an iconoclastic architect in an alternate version of New York City called “New Rome.” The movie was a critical and commercial disaster, befuddling critics and earning back less than $15 million.

In May, the British newspaper The Guardian published a lengthy story about Coppola’s “40-year battle” to complete the film, including a few sordid tales from the production. In one instance, according to the story, “Coppola came on to the set and tried to kiss some of the topless and scantily clad female extras. He apparently claimed he was ’trying to get them in the mood.’” Two months later, the trade publication Variety published an article confirming the kissing incident. The online version of the story included two embedded videos of Coppola kissing clothed women on the cheek.

Coppola sued Variety for libel in September, demanding at least $15 million.

“Some people are creative,” the filmmaker says in his short 8-page complaint, filed in LA Superior Court. “Very few people are creative geniuses. In the world of motion pictures, plaintiff Francis Ford Coppola is a creative genius. Some people are jealous and resentful of genius.”

He especially takes issue with Variety’s assertion that the director was “often inadvertently inserting himself into the shot and ruining it,” Coppola claims, adding, “The average reader would understand that Coppola was so aged and infirm that he no longer knew how to direct a motion picture professionally or efficiently.”

In a written declaration filed later with the court, Coppola acknowledged shooting several complex scenes with multiple cameras, and himself being in some of the shots. But, he added, “Those appearances most certainly did not ‘ruin’ the shots. Over the years, I have often used what others consider ‘mistakes’ in filming to achieve success artistically. Indeed, in my film ‘Apocalypse Now,’ there is a scene in which I appear directing some of the ongoing action. That was not a ‘mistake,’ and it did not ‘ruin’ the scene. It became iconic.”

As to the allegation of kissing topless extras, Coppola said, in a later declaration: “At no time on the set of ‘Megalopolis’ did I ever hug or kiss an actress who was topless.” The videos clearly show Coppola kissing at least two clothed women on the cheek.

Variety filed an anti-SLAPP motion, a legal maneuver to quickly dismiss lawsuits aimed at limiting free speech or public participation.

“Rather than address the discomfort these circumstances may have caused some of the female performers, plaintiff has sued Variety and two of its journalists, proclaiming that anyone who dares to question his conduct is simply ‘jealous and resentful of genius,’” Variety said in its motion. “This is exactly the type of abusive lawsuit targeting constitutionally protected speech that California’s SLAPP statute is designed to weed out at the earliest possible stage.

“The facts related in the article are uncontroverted, and its even-handed account of what happened during the filming is not reasonably susceptible to plaintiff’s strained interpretation.”

In his opposition to the anti-SLAPP motion, Coppola included written declarations from himself and Eric Jager, an English professor at UCLA who is also an expert in medieval literature and the author of a nonfiction history book “The Last Duel,” which was made into a movie. Jager wrote, “the Variety article conveys to the average reader that Francis Ford Coppola is so old or infirm that he is incompetent as a director to film a scene in a major motion picture, to the point that he fails to recognize the difference between film and real life.”

On Thursday, Variety attorney Dan Laidman, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, argued that the Variety story had reported “indisputable facts,” and that Coppola couldn’t sue over conclusions that the reader might draw.

Coppola’s attorney Robert Chapman, a partner at Sauer & Wagner, argued that “defamatory meaning has to be based on what the average reader understands it to be.” Since Coppola had submitted evidence about what an average reader’s interpretation of the article might be — that is, Jager’s declaration — and Variety hadn’t, the anti-SLAPP motion should be denied.

That legal conclusion, Laidman said, is “simply incorrect.” He also pointed out that Jager is an expert in medieval literature and not in what an average reader thinks.

The judge took the argument under submission.

Follow @hillelaron