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Jodie Comer Named Best Actress at UK’s WhatOnStage Awards

Jodie Comer poses for photographers at the premiere of the film "The Last Duel" in London, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. (AP)
Jodie Comer poses for photographers at the premiere of the film "The Last Duel" in London, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. (AP)
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Jodie Comer Named Best Actress at UK’s WhatOnStage Awards

Jodie Comer poses for photographers at the premiere of the film "The Last Duel" in London, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. (AP)
Jodie Comer poses for photographers at the premiere of the film "The Last Duel" in London, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. (AP)

“Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer was named best actor at London’s WhatsOnStage awards, where female performers dominated acting categories.

Comer won for her performance as a lawyer dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault in one-person show “Prima Facie,” which is due to open on Broadway in April.

At Sunday’s awards Gwyneth Keyworth was named best supporting performer in a play for the role of Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

A revival of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theater scored acting prizes for Courtney Bowman, as best performer in a musical, and Lauren Drew as best supporting performer.

Lucy Jones won the prize for best takeover of a role, for “Wicked.” The sole male acting winner was Joe Locke, who won best professional debut for “The Trials.”

“Bonnie & Clyde the Musical,” a decade-old Broadway flop revived to acclaim in London’s West End, was named best new musical. An edgy, stripped down production of “Oklahoma!” that came to London after a hit run in New York was named best musical revival.

The night’s biggest winner was “My Neighbor Totoro,” an adaption of a classic Studio Ghibli animated film, which took five prizes including best direction for Phelim McDermott.

The awards, now in their 23rd year, are sponsored by theater website WhatsOnStage.com and are decided by public vote.

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Francis Ford Coppola Thinks 'Megalopolis' Outweighs Ordinary Film Ideas

Francis Ford Coppola attends the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (AP)
Francis Ford Coppola attends the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (AP)
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Francis Ford Coppola Thinks 'Megalopolis' Outweighs Ordinary Film Ideas

Francis Ford Coppola attends the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (AP)
Francis Ford Coppola attends the premiere of "Megalopolis" on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. (AP)

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 US 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."