Recently it has come out that Coppola has inappropriately touched and kissed extras without their consent on the set of his latest film. This is obviously reason enough not to support the film, but if you know anything about Coppola’s history with abusers, this should come as no surprise.

In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola’s protégé, Victor Salva, sexually assaulted a child actor, a 12 year-old named Nathan Forrest Winters, on the set of a film that Coppola produced.

Coppola defended and protected Salva, hooked him up with expensive lawyers, resulting in a reduced prison sentence of only 15 months, most of which was spent in a cushy rehabilitation center for sex criminals. Coppola remained friends with Salva and visited him in jail. After his release, Salva returned to Hollywood with the help of Coppola, who would continue to produce several of his films.

After Salva’s arrest, Winters was forced to complete ADR on the film he was abused on, in Coppola’s own home. Coppola, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Hollywood, threatened to sue 12 year-old Winters for breach of contract for trying to leave the project. Coppola told Winters he’d never work in Hollywood again, and he didn’t.

In 2006, Coppola said,

“You have to remember, while this was a tragedy, that the difference in age between Victor and the boy was very small — Victor was practically a child himself.”

Salva was 29 at the time while Winters was 12. In fact, Salva had been grooming and sexually abusing Winters from the age of 6.

To hear Winters tell his story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M9ATFAYsEk

  • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    28·
    2 months ago

    (CW: sexual assault, sexual coercion, creepy predator shit in general)

    spoiler

    Anonymous crew members described Coppola’s on-set conduct as unprofessional. On February 14, 2023, a “celebratory Studio 54-esque club scene” was filmed at the Tabernacle, a concert hall in Atlanta, for which 150–200 extras were assembled, with some being cleared for “topless nudity” or to be “scantily clad”.[74] Crew members alleged that, during the shoot, Coppola pulled women to sit on his lap and kissed female extras to “get them in the mood”. In response, executive producer Darren Demetre said, “Francis walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players. It was his way to help inspire and establish the club atmosphere … I was never aware of any complaints of harassment or ill behaviour during the course of the project.”[13] When asked about the accusations, Coppola said, “My mother told me that if you make an advance toward a woman, it means you disrespect her, and the girls I had crushes on, I certainly didn’t disrespect them.” He also referred to a photo of a girl he kissed on the cheek that her father had taken, adding, “I knew her when she was nine. I’m not touchy-feely. I’m too shy.”[75]

    Videos of the encounters at the Tabernacle surfaced in July 2024; sources told Variety that Coppola often inadvertently inserted himself into frame while interacting with extras and announced on a microphone after multiple takes, “Sorry, if I come up to you and kiss you. Just know it’s solely for my pleasure.” Another source mentioned the absence of a human resources department. Intimacy coordinators were not on set when the scene was shot and bystanders were reportedly told by senior crew members that they were not authorized to share recordings of the encounters due to non-disclosure agreements.[74] Days later, extras in the videos spoke out. Rayna Menz denounced the accusations against Coppola of inappropriate behavior, stating, “He did nothing to make me or for that matter anyone on set feel uncomfortable.”[76] Meanwhile, Lauren Pagone told Variety, “I was in shock. I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off guard,” and expressed frustration with Menz’ statement: “You can’t speak for anyone but yourself. My experience was different.” Another crew member alleged that Coppola kissed multiple women after calling “cut” for a different scene involving a New Year’s Eve party that ended with kisses: “The women that I saw being kissed did not see him coming. He just basically grabbed them and planted the kiss on them without any kind of consent.”[77] In response, Coppola said, “The young women I kissed on the cheek, in regards to the New Year’s scene, they were young women I knew”.[37]

    On September 9, Pagone filed a lawsuit against Coppola, his production company, and two casting agencies for civil assault, civil battery, and negligent failure to prevent sexual harassment.[78][79] She alleged that during the filming of the club scene on February 14, Coppola kissed her cheek, touched multiple parts of her body without her consent, including her back and waist, made sexual comments about her appearance, and encouraged her to “sit on his lap and call him ‘uncle’.”[78][80] Coppola initially placed a cease-and-desist letter against Variety requesting a retraction of their July 26 article that featured videos of the encounters and described his behavior as unprofessional. After Variety published further articles regarding his alleged misconduct, he filed a libel lawsuit against them and journalists Brent Lang and Tatiana Siegel on September 10, seeking $15 million and further punitive and exemplary damages.[79][80] In the lawsuit, Coppola challenged the videos’ credibility and denied claims that the production did not have a human resources department and that he often inadvertently inserted himself into frame, describing any such instances of the crew being in frame as “anticipated and unavoidable”.[81]