Lionsgate recalled its new trailer for Francis Ford Coppola鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� Wednesday amid revelations that critics' quotes were fabricated.
鈥淟ionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,鈥� a Lionsgate spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. 鈥淲e offer our sincere 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.鈥�
The trailer, released earlier Wednesday, included quotes from critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert of other Coppola films that did not actually appear in their reviews. The intent, it seems, was to highlight the critical divisiveness of now-classics like 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� and 鈥淎pocalypse Now,鈥� leaning into some of the more negative reactions to 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥� the self-financed $120 million epic opening in September.
The trailer attributed a quote to Kael that 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� was 鈥渄iminished by its artsiness.鈥� But Kael loved 鈥淭he Godfather,鈥� and this phrase was not used in her March 1972 review of the film for The New Yorker. Ebert also did not write that Coppola鈥檚 鈥淏ram Stoker鈥檚 Dracula鈥� was 鈥渁 triumph of style over substance.鈥� Quotes from Rex Reed and Vincent Canby, about 鈥淎pocalypse Now,鈥� did not appear in their reviews either.
鈥淢egalopolis鈥� has been decades in the making, and it received many mixed reviews upon its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It has also come under scrutiny of late for alleged misconduct on set, after videos leaked of Coppola hugging and kissing extras during a club scene. Representatives have not responded to the AP鈥檚 requests for comment about the videos.
The film is set to have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month before .
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
