It should be noted she was not obsessively combing eBay for insane fan memorabilia.
And of course theres a gift shop.
And not all of that talk has been kind.
Aubrey PlazaJosh Telles for Deadline
Then there were the muted reactions to its one-and-only industry screening back in March.
So, willMegalopolis,likeApocalypse Now, rise up in a blaze of glory at the festival?
What does Plaza make of all the swirling gossip and speculation?
I thought it was kind of funny, she says.
I would defend Francis all day long, but he doesnt need my defense.
Drum up some more attention for the movie.
I think it ends up, in my mind, all working for the movie.
She also cites the mythology surrounding Coppolas work.
People want that, especially with him, with all the stories aboutApocalypse Now.
They want it to be a disaster, they want some big epic… whatever.
Hes got such a magical way of directing and inspiring actors.
you could feel it when you watch his movies and I felt it when I worked with him.
It was everything that I had hoped for.
Every movie that he makes, there is a passion behind it.
It feels like there is a reason for it.
Its pure in an artistic sense.
Even though hes obviously commercially successful through the years, it never seems like its about that.
Its just that he wants to tell stories and he wants to play with actors.
So, its my favorite stuff.
Plaza promptly read it and emailed back.
I believe the way I described it was, This is a beautiful nightmare.
But he was like, A nightmare?
This movie is a love letter to humanity.
This is going to give hope to society and humanity, its not a nightmare.
And I said, No, no, no.
I didnt mean it like itisa nightmare.
But it feels impressionistic in that way.
It feels like its a dream.
The whole thing feels very, very dreamlike, and scary.
Once she was cast, Plaza dug into her character of Wow.
Power is very important to her, and she will stop at nothing to get it.
Wow also needed to appear extremely magnetic and seductive.
The name Wow Platinum seemingly required matching platinum hair.
Which is very funny because Im a dark brown-haired girl, Plaza says.
But yes, I bleached my hair blonde for Francis and Milena.
For anybody else, never again.
But for them, I did it.
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Wow is also something of an outsider a characteristic Plaza has often gravitated towards.
My character was the biggest outcast.
I am totally an imposter in every sense.
But I have such an insane ambition that it just overwhelms that feeling that I dont belong.
And inIngrid Goes West, Plaza is a deranged codependent, stalking Elizabeth Olsens immaculate influencer character.
In every case, Plazas character is on the outside looking in.
Shes the one doing or saying the wrong thing, the awkward thing.
So why does she feel compelled to look under every sharp rock; to point to the extremely uncomfortable?
It makes people feel seen.
I felt that way when I didEmily the CriminalandIngrid Goes Westtoo.
Personally, I relate to those characters in the way that I think a lot of people do.
Growing up in Delaware, Plaza had zero industry connections.
So, I think theres always been a sense of feeling out of place in that way.
Im sure so many people feel that way, she says.
I always felt like something was different about me.
I think Ive always had this sense of strangeness, or feeling like Im an alien or something.
But I think also, that feeling has helped me always connect with other people that feel that way.
So, thinking about it now, maybe that shaped me in a really big way.
I think thats a really big part of Franciss approach, Plaza says.
We were writing scenes and giving them to the script supervisor.
And then she would give them to Francis and sometimes he would like it and put it in.
But every day he wanted to play.
He ran it like it was a theater camp.
There were games all day, and we were in character the whole time.
I loved working with him.
I felt that we were on the same page instantly.
He likes to surprise you.
And I love to work with an actor that can do both at the same time.
And theres a really amazing confidence about someone that can be both.
Its everything I like about a scene partner.
I thought it was b-roll!
That documentary is going to be really something to watch.
Just think about the roster of personalities.
Plaza staying constantly in character probably helped Figgis somewhat.
I was just speaking in tongues, she says.
I was out of my mind, Ill be honest.
And I will demand that legally.
And there it is, that deadpan schtick Plaza was famously branded with post-Parks and Recreation.
Back onMegalopolis, the in-character, in-deep approach felt necessary, Plaza points out.
Its a pretty relentless approach of shooting those movies [with Coppola].
Its an intense set when you know that Francis is behind the monitor and its your turn.
Of course, there were moments that were just insane.
All told, Plaza was shooting in Atlanta for eight months.
Fortunately, both projects shot on the same lot, but the double-duty led to some shenanigans.
It was absolutely insane behavior.
When she finally left Wow behind in Atlanta, Plaza felt her lingering ghost.
She was wildly confident and not scared of anything.
But the other side of that was the strain of becoming someone so opposite to her actual self.
But, despite that anxiety and insecurity, Plaza has felt a generational pull toward performing.
There are people in my family that were very, very inspirational to me.
My Uncle Chico, who passed away, was an artist.
He ran a salsa dancing studio in Philadelphia, and he made films.
He had no money, and he would sell everything he had to make a short film.
He was just really that kind of person.
And my great-grandmother was a flamenco dancer.
And those inspirational figures extended beyond family, too.
She was a very big inspiration to me.
Rosie ODonnell is someone that I really admired as a young person.
I read her biography and I felt very inspired by her.
And I felt like, well, if they can do that, I can do it too.
And then theres John Waters.
His filmSerial Momis one Plaza cites as deeply affecting.
She takes big chances, Waters says of Plaza via email.
She can be scary OR charming OR beautiful OR criminal on screen and often all four.
My kind of star the real thing!
Its an absolute dream come true, Plaza says.
His movies meant a lot to me growing up.
Really, they changed my life.
And so even just knowing him and being his friend is enough for me.
Despite rumors thatLiarmouthis struggling with financing, Plaza says, We are gearing up to shoot.
Its not in flux.
We were hoping to shoot, I would say, in the spring 2025.
And its an epic script.
So far, one day in, Plaza describes the job as just wild.
Shes striking while the iron is hot she says, and her schedule is packed.
And Dan Levy and I had a blast.
I had no idea how weak my core was until I tried to pole dance.
It was a kind of run-and-gun situation, but I did get upside down.
She also plans to produce more projects.
I believed in that movie so much that I said, Well start.
Were not shutting down.
Were going to start tomorrow, and I will find the money.
Directing is on the table, too.
And I do want to direct.
Im very, very much going to do that.
So how did working with Coppola influence or inspire her for the future?
All of my instincts about directing and about making movies, I felt, were validated.
All the things that are important to me, I felt like were important to Francis.
I dont mean it like that.
I just mean I felt so inspired by him.
Because he loved being on set and he loves the process of making it and playing.
But there was a real sense of collaboration and experimentation.
And then all of a sudden, the scene would change.
And then all of a sudden, he would have another idea.
And then all of a sudden, were shooting in a different location we didnt even plan to shoot.
So, I will definitely remember those moments.
For me, movies are a spiritual experience.
And I think people that are so controlling about it, sometimes they lose that quality.
Whatever the end product is, hell never lose that quality.
Older Elliott warns younger Elliott (Maisy Stella) not to fall in love.
I dont have any regrets about anything like that, she says.
But then came one more.
It was Sofia Coppola.
I dont know her and Im a huge fan of hers, Plaza says.
She stopped and said, I just saw my fathers film.
And I was so scared, waiting to hear any kind of reaction.
She said, What you did in that movie was very impressive.
She used the word impressive in a way that I was like, Oh, my god.
I dont know what shes talking about, but Ill take it.
Now, on the eve of her very first Cannes, Plaza reflects upon it all.
Its ridiculous, she says.
Id like to be the owner of a WNBA team in Philadelphia, she says.
Womens sports are the future.
