Recently, Lionsgate found itself embroiled in an unexpected controversy when it decided to remove the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming epic, Megalopolis. The move was made in response to aggressive backlash over fabricated quotes from some of the industry’s most respected film critics. The situation raises important questions about accuracy and integrity in promotional material for the art of moviegoing.
A Lionsgate spokesperson acknowledged the incident in a statement provided to Variety, saying, “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis.’ We sincerely apologize to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our screening process. We made a mistake. We’re sorry.”
The story was first reported by The Guardian, which said that the trailer, which was published just a day before being removed, featured negative quotes from very famous film critics talking about Coppola’s previous great films, such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. In fact, the statement went so far as to claim, “Genius is often misunderstood,” as the fake quotes were displayed.
But such quotes were quickly questioned. Bilge Ebiri wrote in Vulture that many of those quotes never appeared in the original reviews. The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael criticized The Godfather, saying that “its artistry has diminished.” This was entirely fabricated. Their reviews were, in fact, very laudatory. Meanwhile, The Village Voice’s Andrew Sarris was quoted in the trailer calling The Godfather “a sloppy, self-indulgent movie,” which does not match his actual review.
The problem was compounded when it was discovered that while the tone of a review given by a critic was somewhat correctly presented, the exact words they quoted were incorrect. For example, Rex Reed of the Daily News had some negative comments on Apocalypse Now, but never used the words “an epic trash” as claimed in the trailer. Furthermore, as Variety reports, the Chicago Sun-Times review by Roger Ebert quoted in the ad – which called Bram Stoker’s Dracula a “triumph of style over content” – was actually taken from Ebert’s 1989 review of Batman.
This will no doubt cast a shadow over the upcoming release of Megalopolis, the sci-fi epic that received a cool reception at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called the film “a bloated, boring and shockingly shallow movie”.
Megalopolis takes place in a modern American city, but it’s an epic adventure based on themes from ancient Rome. Its cast is as mega as its name and stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Kathryn Hunter and Dustin Hoffman. Coppola reportedly spent $120 million on his return to feature filmmaking a decade ago. The film has been picked up by Lionsgate for US distribution and has a theatrical release date of September 27.
While the controversy surrounding the trailer itself might be nonsense, what kind of cinematic impact it will have when it finally comes out remains to be seen.
Also read: Cannes Film Festival 2024: Megalopolis to The Apprentice; 10 Palme d’Or contenders to watch out for
