LOS ANGELES, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Renowned American

director Francis Ford Coppola believes his harshly criticized

science fiction film "Megalopolis" offers audiences a unique

narrative vastly different from what they are accustomed to

seeing.

"We're so used to seeing movies that are like other movies

because they're financed that way," Coppola told Reuters during

a Zoom interview while he was at the Toronto International Film

Festival, where the film was also screened.

"It's [movies like other movies] always something that's

already proven that it will make money. It's like a potato chip

that you know is habit forming and 'Megalopolis' is new," he

added.

After debuting this year at the Cannes Film Festival,

Coppola's $120 million self-funded project is going to be shared

with broader audiences when it arrives to U.S. movie theaters on

Friday.

While the film will be distributed by Lionsgate,

Coppola maintains ownership of the movie.

Adam Driver stars as Cesar Catilina, an architect-scientist

who wants to better a fictional version of New York City called

New Rome, pitting him against Mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by

Giancarlo Esposito, who prizes authority and institutions over

change.

Catilina falls in love with the mayor's daughter, Julia,

played by "Game of Thrones"' Nathalie Emmanuel, as she helps him

work towards his vision and re-ignites his power to stop time.

When asked if "Megalopolis" is an allegory for his

film-making journey, the 85-year-old director said, "All of my

films are."

"When I was young and made 'The Godfather,'" I had to be

like Michael [Michael Corleone] because I had no power and I had

to be very Machiavellian. When I made 'Apocalypse Now,' I was in

an absurd situation with helicopters and millions of dollars

every week that I was paying for, so I had to become a

megalomaniac like Kurtz [Colonel Kurtz]. You know, I have always

become the characters in my movies just to survive," he added.

While the press response to the movie has been poor with a

low score of 51% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes,

Driver believes "Megalopolis" is a film that needs more than one

viewing to be truly absorbed.

"I think it does have legs and I think it is something that

you want to return to and can return to and mine something else

out of it," Driver said. "And it, you know, has a place in

people's minds as being one of a kind, which I don't think a lot

of films can say that, you know."