The controversy surrounding the latest Megalopolis trailer, which featured fake critic quotes, has resulted in Lionsgate firing the marketing consultant behind it.
A Variety report on Friday (August 23) claims that the quotes were the result of the work of Eddie Egan, a marketing consultant. Sources tell Variety that it was neither Lionsgate nor Egan’s intention to fabricate the quotes, but that it was simply “an error in properly vetting and fact-checking”.
Variety also demonstrates in its report that not only are the quotes fake, but that they are likely AI generated. They mention that – by prompting AI platform ChatGPT to provide negative criticism about director Francis Ford Coppola’s past work – similar quotes to the ones in the trailer were provided.
In the trailer, one such quote was attributed to revered film critic Pauline Kael that claims she felt The Godfather was “diminished by its artsiness”. Both Variety and Vulture‘s Bilge Ebiri point out that Kael’s Godfather review does not contain that line – and that she actually loved the film.
After being called out for the misleading quotes, Lionsgate pulled the trailer and issued an apology.
“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,” it said. “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process.”
Owen Gleiberman of Variety, who is also incorrectly cited in the trailer, said of the fabricated quotes: “Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths. Then again, the trivial scandal of all this is that the whole Megalopolis trailer is built on a false narrative.”
Critics who did see Megalopolis at its Cannes premiere last May emerged with mixed responses – The Ringer’s Manuela Lazic wrote that the film “ultimately amounts to a banal vanity project”, while GQ’s Iana Murray called it “ludicrous and awe-inspiring”. While it received a seven-minute standing ovation from the audience, some of its members were also reportedly booing.
The film stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, a genius architect with the power to control time. After an accident destroys a decaying metropolis called New Rome, Cesar aims to rebuild it as a sustainable utopia, while facing opposition from corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito).
Releasing in cinemas on September 27, the film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza and Shia Labeouf among others.
In NME’s two-star review of Megalopolis, Lou Thomas wrote: “The whole piece is so uneven, that at times it’s akin to watching a toddler being given free rein as an interior decorator. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you always should.”
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