Whitney Cummings Recalls Humiliating Megalopolis Audition for Francis Ford Coppola
Whitney Cummings Recalls “Humiliating” Audition for Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’
Comedian Whitney Cummings recently opened up about a bizarre and “humiliating” audition experience for francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic, Megalopolis.
Speaking on the good For You podcast,Cummings described the audition as a “core trauma,” detailing an unconventional process that left her feeling disoriented and embarrassed.
Cummings, known for her sharp wit and comedic timing, had meticulously prepared for the audition, spending days memorizing lines. However, upon arriving, she was met with an unsettling silence.”everyone is so quiet,” she recalled. “There’s no vibe of, ‘We’re at an audition. Hey, what’s up? Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you.'”
Instead of performing the prepared scene,Coppola,the legendary director behind classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now,opted for improvisation. He threw unexpected prompts at Cummings, asking her to deliver lines in various accents, including bidding farewell to her son going off to war with an English accent and confronting her husband with an Australian accent.
“As I did the show Punk’d, I was like, if I’m being punked, this is actually genius,” Cummings joked, recalling her initial confusion.
As the improvisation continued, Cummings felt increasingly detached. “I started glazing over,” she admitted. “And then he was, like, ‘That was great.’ I don’t know where I went. I just completely disassociated.”
cummings expressed her bewilderment at Coppola’s improvisational approach, stating, “why am I acting with him? He’s, like, ‘It’s going to be me and we’re going to improvise the scene.’ I’m, like, ‘But you don’t [improvise].’ Has anyone ever told you the truth as Apocalypse Now? Right? Has anyone told you the truth? No.”
By the end of the audition,Cummings was left feeling deeply embarrassed. coppola, she said, presented her with a signed copy of his new book and a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola wine, as if she had attended a book signing.
“It was just so humiliating — that’s the only [word] — and so confounding in that moment,” Cummings concluded.
Megalopolis,despite its star-studded cast including Adam Driver,Giancarlo Esposito,and Aubrey Plaza,has struggled at the box office,grossing just over $13 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $120 million.
You can watch Cummings recount her unusual audition experience in the video below.
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Whitney Cummings’ “humiliating” ‘Megalopolis’ Audition: A Comedic Tragedy?
los Angeles, CA - Comedian Whitney Cummings recently shared a bizarre and “humiliating” audition story on the Good For You podcast, detailing her experience vying for a role in Francis Ford coppola’s enterprising sci-fi epic, Megalopolis.
Cummings recounted arriving at the audition to an unsettling silence,starkly contrasting the typical energetic atmosphere she’d encountered at other castings. Instead of the prepared scene, coppola, the legendary director behind classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, opted for improvisation.
He threw Cummings a series of unexpected prompts, asking her to deliver lines in various accents, from bidding farewell to her son heading off to war with an English accent, to confronting her husband with an Australian accent.
Confused but attempting to roll with the unusual approach, Cummings joked, “As I did the show Punk’d, I was like, if I’m being punked, this is actually genius.”
However, the improvisation session left Cummings feeling increasingly detached, admitting she ”started glazing over” until Coppola declared, “That was great!”
Cummings expressed bewilderment at Coppola’s improvisational approach, stating, “Why am I acting with him? He’s, like, ‘It’s going to be me and we’re going to improvise the scene.’ I’m, like, ‘But you don’t [improvise].’ Has anyone ever told you the truth as Apocalypse Now?”
By the end of the audition, Cummings felt deeply embarrassed. Coppola presented her with a signed copy of his new book and a bottle of francis Ford Coppola wine, as if she had just attended a book signing.
“It was just so humiliating — that’s the only [word] — and so confounding in that moment,” Cummings concluded.
Megalopolis, despite its star-studded cast including Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Aubrey Plaza, has faced difficulty at the box office, grossing just over $13 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $120 million.