Today, we are stopping time to discuss Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola's controversial passion project, which took him 40 years to make. The film was entirely self-financed for $120mn and has an all-star cast, including Adam Driver, Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, but it has fiercely divided viewers. Is this Coppola’s worst film, or are critics being too harsh? What is it actually about? And are we glad it was made? Lilah is joined by the FT's film critic Danny Leigh and independent film critic Nicolas Rapold to talk about the film's highs and lows.

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Want to stay in touch? Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, and email at lilahrap@ft.com. We’re grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Danny’s review of Megalopolis is here: https://on.ft.com/3YcfpSo

– Nicolas Rapold is on X @NicolasRapold. Follow him and his podcast The Last Thing I Saw, here: https://rapold.substack.com/

– Raph Abraham’s one-star review of Megalopolis, from the Cannes Film Festival, is here: https://on.ft.com/3ZUAulz

– Danny wants to see more three-star reviews. Here are his three-star reviews of The Substance and Will & Harper

– Nic is reading Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa

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Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In Megan Park’s new film ‘My Old Ass,’ a teenager named Elliott (Maisy Stella) meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) on a mushroom trip. The experience gives young Elliott perspective: her “old ass” tells her to wear her retainer, and be nice to her family before leaving for college. But it’s the older Elliott who gets the bigger lesson, on the stories we tell ourselves about the past. Today, Megan joins Lilah to discuss the concept of the film, and what it was like to work with a crew of mostly Gen Z actors.

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We love hearing from you! Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and email at lilahrap@ft.com.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we discuss the author Sally Rooney. Her new novel Intermezzo was published this week – causing queues outside bookstores, launch parties everywhere and a flurry of praise from critics. Does Intermezzo live up to the hype? Why has Rooney become the voice of the millennial generation? Lilah is joined by the FT’s deputy books editor Laura Battle and Griselda Murray-Brown, the FT Magazine commissioning editor and her former co-host of Culture Call.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap. We’re on X @lifeandartpod and on email at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple and Spotify. And please share this episode with your friends!

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is out now, published by Faber and Faber.

– The FT’s review of Intermezzo is here: https://on.ft.com/3XGoelV

– Griselda’s interview with Sally Rooney from 2018 is here, or you can search: ‘Life and Art bonus: Normal People author Sally Rooney’ wherever you listen.

– Gris is on X @griseldamb and Laura is on X @battlelaura

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Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart

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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.