In a highly unusual move, Lionsgate is pulling the new trailer for Megalopolis, which was revealed early this morning.
Megalopolis – Official Trailer (2024) Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza
The decision was made after controversy over quotes from critics in the trailer. Vulture and other media outlets discovered that these quotes were fabricated.
“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,” a studio spokesperson said. “We sincerely apologize to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our screening process. We screwed up. We’re sorry.”
The quotes in the Megalopolis trailer highlight previous "critiques" of Coppola's now-iconic works, such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, by noted critics such as Pauline Kael of The New Yorker and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice. Regarding The Godfather, for example, Kael is quoted as calling the film "diminished by its artistry," while Sarris calls it a "sloppy, self-absorbed film."
