His talent created Apocalypse Now, the Godfather movies and now Megalopolis – but does he consume marijuana?
He is a legend in the film industry and directed Apocalypse Now and the Godfather. He burst on onto the scene in the 1960s and 70s and brought in a new generation of movies. Known as one of the greatest directors of all time, he also went on to make a name in the wine industry. Displayed at one of the wineries are some of his five Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Palmes d’Or, and his British Academy Film Award (BAFTA). With all the creativity and pressure, does Francis Ford Coppola consume weed?
The 60s and 70s were when weed came out of the closet and from New York to LA creatives, artists, celebrities and every day people tried a little. “Turn on, tune in, drop out” was the counterculture-era phrase popularized by Timothy Leary in 1966. The talented director was able to reflect the past and embrace the new with his film. It was one of his early successes, Apocalypse Now, which marijuana burst into the open. There are great clips of Dennis Hopper stoned on set.
Megalopolis could be the last major project film for the director, and it has taken him 40 years to get it made. His unique approach is again make headlines with the team sharing he has spent hours on end smoking plenty of cannabis while everybody waited.
“I never took any drugs in my life at all except for some grass,” Coppola said. “I found that the effect that the grass would have on me is interesting. One, it would make me extremely focused, so if I was trying to evaluate a script or write a script, I wasn’t thinking of all the things where my feelings were hurt about this or I was worried about that.”
He added, “I’m sure grass affects different people in different ways. For me, I tended to be very focused. If I smoked a joint, I couldn’t fall asleep. I’d want to work. And often, I stayed up all night trying to rewrite a script.”
A savoy businessman, he turns his passion into money. His love of wine had made him money with two wineries, his love of beauty and travel has brought him a luxury hotels and his love of cannabis has brought him into the industry. Coppola launched Sana Company in partnership with Humboldt Brothers in 2018 and released the brand known as The Grower’s Series.