Lionsgate apologizes for use of fabricated quotes in 'Megalopolis' trailer: 'We screwed up'
Lionsgate has pulled the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" after it was revealed it used fabricated reviews from real critics regarding the filmmaker's former movies.
On Wednesday, the entertainment company apologized and said it recalled the trailer for the upcoming film starring Adam Driver, saying in a statement shared with ABC Audio, "We screwed up."
"Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis," Lionsgate said in a statement shared with ABC Audio. "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 are sorry," Lionsgate added.
Before it was taken down, the trailer began with a voice-over from co-star Laurence Fishburne who intoned, "True genius is often misunderstood."
It then showed bad reviews allegedly earned from Coppola's Oscar-winning epic "The Godfather," claiming the late Village Voice's Andrew Sarris called it "A sloppy, self-indulgent movie."
Coppola's 1979 classic "Apocalypse Now" was also trashed by name, as was 1992's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," the latter purportedly panned by both the late Roger Ebert and veteran reviewer Owen Gleiberman.
Variety discovered that Ebert's alleged diss of that film -- "a triumph of style over substance" -- was lifted from his review of Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster, "Batman."
Unlike Ebert, Gleiberman is still alive, and he's none too happy, telling Variety in a report, "Even if you're one of those people who don't like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths," he said, noting "the whole 'Megalopolis' trailer is built on a false narrative."
He continued, "Critics loved 'The Godfather.' And though 'Apocalypse Now' was divisive, it received a lot of crucial critical support."
"As far as me calling 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' 'A beautiful mess,' I only wish I'd said that!" he added. "Regarding that film, it now sounds kind."
According to a synopsis for the upcoming film, which was also written by Coppola, "Megalopolis" is "a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America."
"The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare," the synopsis continues.
"Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor's daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves," the synopsis adds.
Along with Driver, the star-studded cast for the film includes Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney and Dustin Hoffman.
In May, "Megalopolis" was among the many films that debuted at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
"Megalopolis" will arrive in theaters on Sept. 27.
