Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Trailer Controversy Over Fabricated Critic Quotes

Controversy Surrounds Trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis”

A new trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s highly anticipated film “Megalopolis” has been pulled by its distributor, Lionsgate, following backlash over the use of fabricated negative quotes from renowned film critics. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the decision on Wednesday.

The trailer, which was released in the morning, included fictitious critiques attributed to iconic critics such as Pauline Kael of The New Yorker, Vincent Canby of The New York Times, and Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times. These quotes appeared to deride Coppola’s previous masterpieces, including “The Godfather,” “Apocalypse Now,” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” However, as critic Bilge Ebiri first reported in Vulture, the quotes in question were completely fabricated.

After gaining more than 1.3 million views in just one day, the trailer was swiftly removed from YouTube. In a statement, Lionsgate expressed regret over the incident, stating, “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis.’ We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved, as well as to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We take full responsibility for this mistake and are truly sorry.”

“Megalopolis,” which Coppola self-financed, is slated to hit theaters on September 27. Initially, the project struggled to find a distributor until Lionsgate stepped in. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a mixed reception, currently holding a 53 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes among critics. The intention behind the trailer seemed to be to highlight how critical reviews can sometimes misjudge the brilliance of Coppola’s works.

Among the misleading quotes, Kael was cited as saying that “The Godfather” was “diminished by its artsiness,” despite having praised the film in her actual review. Similarly, while Canby criticized “Apocalypse Now” as an “intellectual muddle,” he never described it as “hollow at the core,” as the trailer misleadingly suggested.

• The trailer also featured spurious quotes from:
• Andrew Sarris in The Village Voice
• Stanley Kauffmann in The New Republic
• Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly
• Rex Reed in The New York Observer and The New York Daily News
• John Simon of National Review

Concerns have been raised about how these fabricated quotes were generated. Speculation on social media suggested that artificial intelligence tools might have been employed, prompting users to experiment with AI platforms like ChatGPT to create similar outcomes. However, Lionsgate has declined to comment on whether AI technology was utilized in the trailer’s production.

This incident is not the first controversy to surround “Megalopolis.” In May, a report from The Guardian cited anonymous sources alleging that Coppola had attempted to kiss female extras during the filming of a nightclub scene. Executive co-producer Darren Demetre claimed he was unaware of any harassment complaints during production, while Coppola himself later stated, “I’m not touchy-feely. I’m too shy.”