Aubrey Plaza's Megalopolis character goes by the now-infamous name Wow Platinum, but where exactly did the instantly-memeable moniker come from?
After decades of work, Francis Ford Coppola's passion project is finally here and has been met with dismal reviews and a less-than-ideal box office return.
This comes despite its packed cast of A-list stars. One of these mega-talents is Aubrey Plaza, who is also embodying something of a mystery character in Marvel's Agatha All Along. Plaza plays the alluring TV personality Wow Platinum, who has been trying to climb the social ladder of New Rome.
Where Does Megalopolis' Wow Platinum Name Come From?
After confounding fans with a name like Wow Platinum in Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola addressed what inspired Aubrey Plaza's character in his latest film.
Coppola - best known for works like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now - took to X (formerly Twitter), via the official Megalopolis account to explain where he got the name for Aubrey Plaza's character in the movie.
According to the renowned filmmaker, the Wow Platinum name originates from a young woman he met who told him "her great grandmother was so beautiful that her name evolved as 'WOW.'"
He would then receive a picture of the elderly woman and thought the nickname was justified:
"I met a southern young lady who told me her great grandmother was so beautiful that her name evolved as 'WOW.' I asked if she had a picture of her. A while later I heard back from her and she attached a photo of a painting and when I looked at it I said, 'wow!'"
This was fitting for Plaza's Megalopolis character, as she is seen as one of the most beautiful people living in New Rome.
She is seen using that beauty for personal gain throughout Megalopolis,' wooing powerful men to accumulate power.
This plan culminates for her as she attempts to kill her elderly husband, Hamilton Crassus III (played by Jon Voight), who is in charge of all of New Rome's banks.
Wow ultimately fails though, as Voight's character shoots her in the heart with a crossbow and leaves her dead on the floor.
This comment from Coppola is just the latest in a string of addressing fans publicly about the movie.
He has also shared a list of projects that inspired the dystopian epic on the movie-centric social platform Letterboxd (including Eyes Wide Shut, Ben Hur, and Spartacus). He even addressed Wow Platnum's death scene, telling fans that he thought killing her off in that way "was funny" (via X):
"I thought it was funny, surprising them with a hidden arrow that way."
Megalopolis is now playing in theaters worldwide.
