Francis Ford Coppola asked Shia LaBeouf “who is the director” in a tense exchange on the Megalopolis set, which came via a clip from the new documentary Megadoc. Documentary filmmaker Mike Figgis was on set for the making of Coppola’s epic and divisive 2024 movie Megalopolis, and his finished film Megadoc is set to premiere on September 19.

In an exclusive clip shared by The Film Stage, Coppola and LaBeouf, who played the character Clodio Pulcher in Megalopolis, are discussing the blocking of a scene with Jon Voight. LaBeouf has ideas for how he thinks the scene should go, which ultimately leads to Coppola venting some frustration with the actor. Watch the clip directly below:

The most notable part comes around the 1:12 mark in the video, after LaBeouf goes over the action he thinks his character should take. Here’s an excerpt:

“Francis Ford Coppola: What are we inventing a whole set up for? Where did that come from? Who is the director who came in here and started to stage this scene?”

Shia LaBeouf: “You’re obviously the director.”

Coppola: “But I’m not having the chance to.”

LaBeouf goes on to say he wanted to present Coppola with options, but he’d do it how Coppola originally suggested.

What This Means For Megalopolis

Despite the movie’s poor critical reception and its underwhelming box office, Megalopolis was one of the most newsworthy movies of 2024. Whether it was the controversial Megalopolis trailer or the divisive reception to Coppola’s big swing, Megalopolis garnered plenty of headlines. The premiere of Megadoc is keeping the movie in the discussion.

It will be very interesting to watch how Coppola put together his vision – in the Megadoc trailer he says, “No one I’m working with realizes how weird a movie this really is.” As evidenced by the clip, there’s the potential for interesting on-set interaction as well.

Whether the documentary will change the perception of the movie at all remains to be seen, but it is always fascinating to watch a master filmmaker like Coppola at work.

Our Take On The Francis Ford Coppola, Shia LaBeouf Argument

While I would classify Coppola and LaBeouf’s exchange as an argument – it definitely seems like Coppola was getting a little perturbed by the time he asked LaBeouf who the director was – this was just another part of the filmmaking process.

LaBeouf is trying to present his ideas on how he feels the scene will feel natural for his character, while Coppola, who had been working on the movie for 40 years, obviously has his own way of how he believes it should be sH๏τ.

It was tense for a moment, and Voight makes an aside in the clip to “say a prayer,” but at the end of it all, Coppola and LaBeouf appear ready to move on with the scene without things blowing out of proportion.

Hopefully Megadoc will have more entertaining nuggets like this clip.