"He came around a couple times"— 'Megalopolis' extra kissed by Francis Ford Coppola recounts alleged on-set misconduct

An extra from Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis set, later revealed to be Lauren Pagone, recently opened up about the "shock" she had after the 85-year-old director allegedly kissed her during a scene.

In an interview with Variety on August 1, Pagone described the incident, in which Coppola allegedly kissed and hugged her without permission, during the production of a nightclub scene.

During the same interview, she said:

“I was in shock. I didn’t expect him to kiss and hug me like that. I was caught off guard. And I can tell you he came around a couple times.”

The interview is published a week after the release of certain videos by Variety, allegedly showing filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola kissing female extras when they were filming Megalopolis.

The publisher reported that Pagone was dancing during a nightclub scene, which was being recorded live, when Francis Ford Coppola allegedly came up to her and then he gave her a hug and a kiss.

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Lauren Pagone claimed that Francis Ford Coppola made her feel uncomfortable

Lauren Pagone brought allegations against the director (Image via Daniele Venturelli/ / Getty Images)

The woman whom Francis Ford Coppola allgedly kissed and hugged on the set of his upcoming movie is Lauren Pagone, who has come forward to confirm her identity. Following another extra, Rayna Menz, who came forward and shared that she was one of the women seen in the video published by the Variety, while also denying any claims of misconduct by the director.

In the interview with Variety, published on August 2, Pagone revealed that she was one of the women in the videos, and claimed that while she was dancing during a live take of a nightclub scene when Coppola allegedly behaved that way.

However, Pagone's report directly contradicts with the claims made by Rayna Menz, another extra, who had previously appeared on Deadline to defend Coppola and assert that no wrongdoing had taken place.

Menz stated to the magazine that Coppola "did nothing to make me feel uncomfortable, or anyone on set for that matter."

She further said that the only thing that shocked and surprised her was that Variety had released the videos in the first place, considering that Coppola was "absolutely professional."

The fact that Menz would speak for the whole cast and crew of the movie infuriated Pagone. Stating the same, Pagone said:

“I don’t appreciate anybody speaking for me. I would never speak for that actress. I’ve kept my mouth shut. I’ve kept quiet. But it’s frustrating that she’s putting out there, ‘Hey, it was great for everyone’ when she doesn’t know what other people were feeling. You can’t speak for anyone but yourself. My experience was different.”

However, Pagone's claims were supported by another cast member, who wished to remain unnamed, told Variety that Francis Ford Coppola had kissed "multiple women" in the same nightclub scene.

The insider claimed to be "surprised" and "uncomfortable" by Coppola's behavior, calling the entire set experience "super weird."

The cast member went on to say that just before filming another scene that involved a New Year's Eve celebration, Coppola allegedly instructed the extras to pretend to be at a holiday celebration and to share a kiss as the countdown came to a conclusion.

Francis Ford Coppola then allegedly kissed some female extras during the filming, according to the crew member who shot the original video that Variety shared and who spent the entire shoot on the set. She added that it was just one of several times the director had kissed background performers.

Reports of the director's misconducts first surfaced in May 2024 following a report by The Guardian. Coppola, however, denied these allegations in an interview with The New York Times. He shared:

"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."

But as more people come forward with similar stories, the charges against him are becoming more popular, raising questions about the working conditions on his movie set.