Update: Lionsgate, the film’s distributor, announced that it was pulling the trailer after discovering that it contained fabricated quotes from film critics. “Lionsgate is revoking our trailer for Big city“, the studio said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize to the critics involved, as well as to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope, for this inexcusable error in our review process. We messed up. We are sorry.”
Francis Ford Coppola has released the new official trailer for Big cityhis upcoming sci-fi epic is set to hit theaters and IMAX on September 27, 2024. And the legendary filmmaker has hit back at the film’s critics.
A passionate project that took decades to create and was largely funded by Coppola Big city itself (the film’s budget is reportedly around $120 million). The film features an ensemble cast that includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, DB Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman.
Big city is described as “a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The city of New Rome must change, leading to conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who wants to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opponent, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains loyal to a regressive status quo and upholds greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties and forces her to explore what she believes humanity truly deserves.”
Given the somewhat convoluted plot and the mixed reviews following its premiere in Cannes in May, there was some uncertainty as to whether Big city would be able to secure a theatrical release in the US. However, Coppola found a willing partner in Lionsgate, which distributed a number of his films over the years, including Apocalypse Now – Final Cut, The conversation, The cotton Club Encore, Tucker: The man and his DreamAnd One Out of the heart: RepetitionAs part of the agreement, Lionsgate will also distribute Big city across all home entertainment platforms.
In the newly released trailer, Coppola attacks the criticism the film has received so far. The preview begins with a narrator saying, “True genius is often misunderstood.” It then shows a montage of previous negative reviews of Coppola’s films, including The Godfather, Apocalypse nowAnd Bram Stoker’s Dracula“A filmmaker was always ahead of his time,” adds the narrator.
Update: According to Vulture, the quotes from film critics featured in the trailer are Big city seem to be made up as they are not mentioned in the original reviews.
Big city is Coppola’s first directorial work in 13 years.
