In a highly unusual move, Lionsgate is pulling its new trailer for Megalopolis , unveiled early this morning. The decision comes following controversy over critic quotes featured in the trailer, which digging by Vulture and other outlets revealed to be fabricated. “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis ,” said a spokesperson for the studio.
“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 quotes featured in the Megalopolis trailer highlight previous ‘criticisms’ of Coppola’s now-iconic works, such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now , by such famed critics as The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael and Village Voice’s Andrew Sarris. With reference to The Godfather , for instance, Kael is quoted as calling the film “diminished by its artsiness,” with Sarris referring to it as a “sloppy self-indulgent movie.” The messaging here seemed to be that while Coppola’s Megalopolis was polarizing from the outset, dividing critics in its premiere at Cannes, the film will ultimately stand the test of time as a classic, much like so many of Coppola’s past works have.
While it’s not clear how a slew of erroneous critic quotes wound up in the new trailer, other critics cited included Roger Ebert, Vincent Canby, John Simon, Stanley Kauffmann, and Rex Reed. The trailer debacle hasn’t been the only controve.