Lionsgate has pulled its trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed masterpiece Big city after it was revealed that the film contained fabricated quotes from film critics.
The trailer was released on Wednesday and featured quotes from some of the industry’s most renowned critics who have been critical of Coppola’s previous films.
Pauline Kael from The New Yorker described The Godfather as “detracted by its artistry” in a review, according to the trailer, while Andrew Sarris of Village Voice called it a “sloppy, self-indulgent film”.
Bilge Ebiri from Vulture, However, it was soon pointed out that most of these lines did not appear in the original reviews.
The trailer also claimed that Roger Ebert had Bram Stoker’s Dracula as “a triumph of style over substance.” The line actually comes from Ebert’s 1989 review of the film Batman and does not appear in his review of Dracula.
In fact, Ebert seemed to like the film. “The film is an exercise in feverish excess, and that alone is why I liked it.”
Similarly Daily news Critic Rex Reed didn’t particularly like it Apocalypse nowhe never called it an “epic piece of garbage.”
Lionsgate was called out for the misleading quotes and pulled the trailer.
“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Big city“, it said. “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’re sorry.”
Owen Gleiberman from diversity was also seen in the trailer.
“Even if you are one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths,” said the critic. “On the other hand, the trivial scandal of all this is that the whole thing Big city The trailer is based on a false narrative.”
Ebiri questioned the decision to market the film using fabricated quotes, even though some of Coppola’s films, which eventually became classics, were disliked by some critics.
“Yes, Coppola has built a career on films that confuse some critics and audiences when they are first released, but ultimately turn out to be visionary works of art,” he said. “And yes, Big city will be a film that divides.”
“Challenging critics may be an exciting and cathartic marketing tactic, but I suspect Megalopolis will need critics when it actually comes out. And making up fake quotes from our heroes is probably not the best way to get us on your side.”
The Independent has asked Lionsgate for comment.
Big city premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews. It is scheduled to be released in September.
The IndependentGeoffrey Macnab gave Big city three stars and describes it as “deeply flawed and very eccentric”.
In the film, Adam Driver plays Cesar, an artist and inventor who dreams of a utopian metropolis and is in conflict with the city’s mayor, played by Giancarlo Esposito. The film also stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman.
In a recent analysis of Coppola’s work, Macnab noted the director’s difficulties in finding financing for his latest work, which spanned decades in production.
“It was as if Hollywood executives wanted revenge for all the past occasions when Coppola had criticized their way of doing business or when he had taken their money and produced a box office flop, like the romantic musical One from the heart (1981) or his car designer biopic Tucker: The man and his dream (1988).“
Coppola has been accused of inappropriate behavior on set, including reportedly “pulling women onto his lap” and “attempting to kiss some of the topless or scantily clad female extras.” Coppola has denied the allegations.
“My mother told me that if you make advances to a woman, you are disrespectful to her. And I certainly didn’t disrespect the girls I had a crush on,” he said. “I’m not sentimental. I’m too shy.”
