Megalopolis is a reportedmess-alopolis, and it’s claiming another victim. The marketing consultant behind the latest trailer is no longer working with Lionsgate after attributing fake quotes to famous film critics. You can’t AI-generate this kind of movie madness, especially not a month before wide release. Below, dear reader, a tale of “Whoa …”
They don’t build statues of critics.
August 21, 2024, 7:49 a.m.: In the trailer for the director’s latest film, Megalopolis — a work that has indeed been criticized by critics — we open not with scenes from the movie being advertised, but with reminders that some people’s opinions look silly in hindsight and out of context. “True genius is often misunderstood,” a voice-over from Laurence Fishburne begins. Then, we’re treated to quotes from contemporaneous reviews of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Dracula. To add some extra salt, the critics themselves are named personally, though virtually all of them, save for Owen Gleiberman and Rex Reed, have since passed away and can no longer defend themselves. While these pull quotes aren’t exactly glowing, describing Dracula as “a beautiful mess” and “a triumph of style over substance” is not something I — a fan of that movie who is alive today in the context of all that came before me — can disagree with. Then, we finally get to shots of Megalopolis itself, which feels wholly unnecessary. Coppola has made his point. You’re either seeing his movie or you’re a total herb who doesn’t even know about cinema. The END!
Lionsgate has taken down the trailer, and issued an apology. In a statement provided to Vulture, a Lionsgate spokesperson said,“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis. 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.”
Lionsgate drops marketing consultant.
August 23, 2024: A movie as colossally chaotic as Megalopolis was always going to negatively affect some careers, but we didn’t think it would happen before it was properly released. Lionsgate will no longer work with Eddie Egan, the marketing consultant behind the trailer, according to Puck’s Matt Belloni. We asked ChatGPT to come up with a quote about his firing and it returned: “Effective immediately, you are terminated for fabricating false quotes from critics in the trailer, as this breaches our ethical standards and undermines the trust we build with our audience.” Wonder what the critics would have thought of that.
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