JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Why Lionsgate Pulled The Trailer For Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola’s Self-Funded Epic?
Trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis released on Wednesday, featuring Adam Driver. However, Lionsgate is recalling the trailer over some fabricated quotes from famous film critics.
Recently, Lionsgate found itself embroiled in an unexpected controversy when it decided to pull the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming epic, Megalopolis. The move came in response to aggressive backlash over fabricated quotes attributed to some of the industry's most respected film critics. This situation raises important questions about accuracy and integrity in promotional content for the moviegoing arts.
A spokesperson for Lionsgate owned up to the ordeal, explaining in a statement to Variety that, "Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for 'Megalopolis'. We offer our sincerest apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.".
The story was first reported by The Guardian, citing that the trailer, which was published only one day before being pulled, featured negative quotes cited to very famous movie critics speaking about Coppola's prior works of genius, like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Indeed, the narration went so far as to boast, "Genius is often misunderstood," as the fake quotes were displayed.
But such quotes were quickly called into question. Many of those quotes, Bilge Ebiri wrote in Vulture, never appeared in the original reviews. One from The New Yorker's Pauline Kael bashed The Godfather as being "diminished by its artsiness." It was completely made up. Her reviews were, in actuality, very praiseful. Meanwhile, The Village Voice's Andrew Sarris was quoted in the trailer as calling The Godfather "a sloppy, self-indulgent movie," which doesn't square with his actual review.
The problem was multiplied when it was found out that even when the tone of a review given by a critic was somewhat accurately represented, the exact words attributed to them were wrong. For instance, Daily News' Rex Reed did run some negative comments on Apocalypse Now but never used the words "an epic piece of trash" as claimed in the trailer. Moreover, as Variety reports, the ad's citation of a Chicago Sun-Times review by Roger Ebert-calling Bram Stoker's Dracula "a triumph of style over substance"-was actually from Ebert's 1989 review of Batman.
This will no doubt cast a shadow over the impending release of Megalopolis, the sci-fi epic that received a stellar reception in the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called the film "a bloated, boring and bafflingly shallow film."
Megalopolis takes place in a modern American city but is 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 spent USD 120 million, reportedly, for his comeback to feature filmmaking a decade ago. The film has been picked up by Lionsgate for U.S. distribution and has a theatrical release date of September 27.
While controversy concerning the trailer itself might be providing humbug, exactly how that will play into the actual cinematic reception once it finally comes out is yet to be seen.
ALSO READ: Cannes Film Festival 2024: Megalopolis To The Apprentice; 10 Palme d’Or Contenders To Watch Out For
Latest Articles
