'Megalopolis' trailer pulled over fake reviews

Film critics were falsely quoted panning Francis Ford Coppola's other films

Lionsgate has severed ties with Eddie Egan, the marketing consultant behind the controversial Megalopolis trailer that featured fabricated quotes from well-known film critics, Variety reported. The studio retracted the trailer on Wednesday following revelations that the negative quotes attributed to critics were false.

The trailer, which aimed to draw parallels between the critical reception of director Francis Ford Coppola's revered works and his latest project, Megalopolis, included quotes that critics never actually wrote. For example, the trailer falsely claimed that Pauline Kael criticised The Godfather as "diminished by its artsiness," despite her praise for the film. Similarly, Roger Ebert was inaccurately quoted as calling Bram Stoker's Dracula a "triumph of style over substance," even though his review was highly positive.

Other notable inaccuracies included a quote allegedly from Andrew Sarris, who was purportedly critical of The Godfather as "a sloppy, self-indulgent movie," a sentiment not reflected in his actual review. The trailer also falsely attributed the comment "an epic piece of trash" about Apocalypse Now to Rex Reed, who was critical but did not use such harsh language.

In addition, Variety's Owen Gleiberman was misquoted in the trailer. Gleiberman expressed frustration over the misuse of critics' words, stating, "Even if you're one of those people who don't like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths."

Sources close to the matter revealed that the misleading quotes were generated by AI tools rather than being direct fabrications by Egan. The error was an oversight in the vetting process, not an intentional attempt to deceive.

Egan, who has been working with Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate's film group chair, for over two decades, has yet to comment on the situation. Fogelson and Egan previously collaborated at Universal and STX before Egan's independent consulting career.

Lionsgate has issued a formal apology for the mishap. "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. We screwed up. We are sorry," the studio stated.

Despite the controversy, Megalopolis, a modern-day Roman epic starring Adam Driver, is set to hit theatres in September. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year and received mixed reviews.