New DeLillo 2003?

[Richard Romeo]

(come on Mr. P, put down that margarita and get to work!  ;)

have to admit this sounds interesting

according to Daily Variety, May 22, 2002:

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA, who has toiled for years on "Megalopolis," his 
ambitious, long-delayed film about an urban renewal project in New York, was 
surprised to learn it could bump up against "Cosmopolis," a new novel about 
New York by Don DeLillo.

The novels have very different protagonists. "Cosmopolis," under contract to 
Scribner, is a surreal account of a Dana Giacchetto-like financier who's 
staked his company's fortunes on a disastrous bet on the currency exchange. 
Story takes place over the course of one day as he crosses from the East 
Side to West Side of Manhattan in a tricked-out limo, encountering various 
women and violent anti-capitalist protesters while being stalked by a former 
employee. Gersh is shopping the novel to filmmakers.

"Megalopolis" centers on the city officials involved in rebuilding New York 
after a disastrous incident.

But Coppola told Daily Variety the term "Cosmopolis" --- which refers to 
Alexander the Great's effort to unite the East and West and the rise of a 
vast impersonal city ruled by bureaucracy --- resonates with his own 
project.

"He's fiddling around with some of the same things I'm fiddling around 
with," he said.

"Megalopolis," budgeted at roughly $ 65 million, has met with a long series 
of setbacks. It went into pre-production last summer with a handful of 
celebrity readings and some 30 minutes of second-unit footage, but was put 
on hold after Sept. 11. Coppola said pre-production will begin again in the 
fall.

DeLillo has had his share of setbacks in Hollywood.

His celebrated 1997 novel "Underworld" was optioned by Scott Rudin, but the 
option lapsed. It's now under option to producer-director Robert Greenwald, 
who's in discussions to turn it into a limited series.

"White Noise," which may be his best-known novel, is being developed at 
Disney by Barry Sonnenfeld.

But to date, none of his novels has successfully made the transition to the 
screen.

Perhaps "Megalopolis" and "Cosmopolis" would both pick up steam if Coppola 
optioned DeLillo's book and merged the two projects?


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