LOS ANGELES (AP) — Francis Ford Coppola has sued Selection, saying {that a} July story that mentioned he ran an unprofessional set with impunity and touching and tried to kiss feminine extras throughout the manufacturing of his movie “Megalopolis” was false and libelous.

The go well with, which seeks not less than $15 million from the leisure commerce publication, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court docket on Wednesday, two weeks earlier than the director’s long-dreamed-of and self-financed epic is to be launched in U.S. theaters.

The go well with calls the director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” a “inventive genius” and says others are “jealous” and due to this fact inform “realizing and reckless falsehoods.”

It says Selection’s “writers and editors, hiding behind supposedly nameless sources, accused Coppola of manifest incompetence as a movement image director, of unprofessional conduct on the set of his most up-to-date manufacturing, Megalopolis, of organising some sort of scheme in order that anybody on the set who had a criticism of harassment or in any other case had nowhere to lodge a criticism, and of hugging topless actresses on the set. Every of those accusations was false.”

The lawsuit additionally names the story’s reporters, Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel, as defendants.

It repeatedly says Selection was both knowingly publicizing falsehoods or exhibiting reckless disregard for the reality, echoing an ordinary for libel established by the U.S. Supreme Court docket.

A Selection spokesperson, Jeffrey Schneider, informed The Related Press, “Whereas we is not going to touch upon lively litigation, we stand by our reporters.”

The July 26 story used nameless experiences and movies from crew members of the taking pictures for “Megalopolis” of a nightclub scene in an Atlanta live performance corridor in February, 2023. The story mentioned Coppola tried to kiss younger feminine extras and “appeared to behave with impunity” on the set. It mentioned the movie’s monetary preparations meant “there have been not one of the conventional checks and balances in place.”

In a single video, Coppola, carrying a white go well with, walks by way of a dancing crowd, stopping to apparently lean in to a number of younger ladies to hug them, kiss them on the cheek or whisper to them. One other video reveals him leaning into a lady who pulls away and shakes her head.

The entire ladies have tops on, and the Selection story mentions “topless” extras solely in reference to an unique report on the allegations within the Guardian.

In a subsequent story a few week later, which is talked about solely parenthetically in Coppola’s lawsuit, one of many ladies, Lauren Pagone, spoke to Selection and agreed to be recognized, saying Coppola left her “in shock” when he touched, hugged and kissed her with out her consent.

Pagone mentioned she got here ahead as a result of one other of the extras, Rayna Menz, mentioned in Selection’s sister publication Deadline that Coppola did nothing to make her or anybody else on the set uncomfortable.

The AP doesn’t sometimes identify individuals who say they’ve been sexually abused except they arrive ahead publicly as Pagone has.

Requested concerning the touching and kissing allegations by The AP earlier than the lawsuit was filed, Coppola mentioned, “I don’t even need to (speak about it). It’s a waste of time.”

Later in the identical interview, with out being requested concerning the topic once more, Coppola mentioned “I’m very respectful of girls. I at all times have been. My mom taught me — she was somewhat nuts — she mentioned, ‘Francis if you happen to ever make a go at a lady, which means you disrespect her.’ So I by no means did.”

The lawsuit takes explicit problem with an assertion within the Selection story that Coppola inadvertently obtained right into a shot and ruined it. The go well with says Coppola was effectively conscious that some digital camera angles would come with him, and that he was supposed to seem within the scene anyway.

“The common reader would perceive that Coppola was so aged and infirm that he not knew direct a movement image,” the go well with says.

“Megalopolis” is a Roman epic set in a futuristic New York starring Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel. Coppola offered off items of his appreciable wine empire to largely finance it himself.

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AP Movie Author Jake Coyle contributed to this report.