Francis Ford Coppola Addresses Megalopolis Fake Quote Trailer: ‘It Was a Mistake’

Francis Ford Coppola says that the Megalopolis trailer featuring fake quotes from critics was “a mistake.”

In August, Lionsgate released a trailer for Megalopolis, which is directed by Coppola, featuring several quotes from famous movie critics. The quotes featured negative comments about some of Coppola’s past work, such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and more.

It was quickly revealed that these quotes were fabricated and the trailer has since been removed. Lionsgate apologized for the incident, as a spokesperson told Variety, “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.”

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Coppola was asked for his take on the situation.

What did Francis Ford Coppola say about the Megalopolis trailer?

“Well, I know that there were bad reviews,” he said. “I’m the one that said that there were bad reviews. But, I don’t know. It was a mistake, an accident. I’m not sure what happened.”

Lionsgate has since released a new version of the Megalopolis trailer without the fake quotes, which can be viewed below:

“The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare,” the film’s synopsis reads. “Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”

The movie also stars Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, Talia Shire, and more.

Megalopolis opens in United States theaters on September 27, 2024, from Lionsgate.