Francis Ford Coppola accuses Variety of being "jealous and resentful of genius" in libel lawsuit

Francis Ford Coppola is taking legal action over the whole back-and-forth media debacle over his behavior on the Megalopolis set earlier this summer. On July 26, Variety published an article containing two videos that seemed to show the director “trying to kiss young female extras” while filming a scene in a nightclub. The article also quotes anonymous sources that seemed to confirm allegations of inappropriate behavior from the director, first put forth by a report from The Guardian published this past May.

Following the publication of the Variety report, sister-outlet Deadline published their own article on July 30 that quoted Rayna Menz, one of the extras shown with Coppola in the videos. According to her, the director “did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable.” She further said she was “disgusted” and “blindsided” by the publication of the videos. This led Variety to publish their own follow-up on August 2, containing allegations from Lauren Pagone, another extra in the video. Pagone said her encounter with Coppola left her “in shock,” and she “didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that.” 

Now, according to Deadline, Coppola is suing Variety Media LLC and journalists Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel for $15 million and further punitive and exemplary damages. The suit was filed in LA Superior Court on Tuesday.

According to documents reviewed by the trade, Coppola’s eight-page filing discusses damages caused by the alleged “false and defamatory statements” and “malice” shown towards Coppola by the publication in the original July 26 article. The opening of the filing reads:

Some people are creative. Very few people are creative geniuses. In the world of motion pictures, Plaintiff Francis Ford Coppola (“Coppola”) is a creative genius. Some people are jealous and resentful of genius. Those people therefore denigrate and tell knowing and reckless falsehoods about those of whom they are jealous. Here, Variety Media, LLC (“Variety”), its writers and editors, hiding behind supposedly anonymous sources, accused Coppola of manifest incompetence as a motion picture director, of unprofessional behavior on the set of his most recent production, Megalopolis, of setting up some type of scheme so that anyone on the set who had a complaint of harassment or otherwise had nowhere to lodge a complaint, and of hugging topless actresses on the set. Each of these accusations was false and knowingly so. They were made to harm Coppola’s reputation and cause him severe emotional distress. That harm has been caused.

Later, it also accuses Variety of knowing “that their sources were unreliable” because all cast and crew members working on Megalopolis were required to sign an NDA promising “to hold all such information in the strictest confidence and assure that the confidential information not be published.” Therefore, by leaking the videos, the statement suggests that the anonymous crew members “did not tell the truth when they signed the NDA.” “Nonetheless, Defendants relied on these supposed sources and, by doing so, acted with reckless disregard for whether the sources, this time, were telling the truth or not,” the filing continues.

Earlier this week, Pagone filed her own suit against Coppola and “others in Georgia” for civil battery, civil assault, and negligent failure to prevent sexual harassment, according to Deadline. Pagone’s suit is not mentioned in Coppola’s filing.

Speaking about the Guardian piece that contained the original allegations in an August interview with Rolling Stone, Coppola said the reporters “were looking for some sort of dirt” on him. “The young women I kissed on the cheek, in regards to the New Year’s scene, they were young women I knew,” he continued. “It’s all so ridiculous. Look at the timing of that article. It’s right before we’re about to premiere the film at Cannes. They’re just trying to damage the picture.”

In a statement to The A.V. Club, a representative for Variety said: “While we will not comment on active litigation, we stand by our reporters.”

Megalopolis premieres in theaters September 27.

This story has been updated to include a story from Variety.