‘Megalopolis' Trailer Fabricated Movie-Critic Quotes

You just can’t make this up.

I was amused by today’s trailer of “Megalopolis” which tried to twist around the negative reviews it received at Cannes by painting Francis Ford Coppola as this misunderstood artist, way ahead of his time.

It rarely happens that film marketing uses negative reviews to its advantage. I can only think of other time, when the ads for David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” used Siskel & Ebert’s “Two Thumbs Down” as a way to promote the film.

The “Megalopolis” trailer went back in time to give us examples of critics hating on Coppola’s earlier classic. There were quotes by Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert, Vincent Canby, Andrew Sarris and Rex Reed — the panned films were “The Godfather,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Dracula.”

Except it looks like these critics never said any of those things. Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri is now calling out the “Megalopolis” marketing team for their fabricated quotes. For example, he points out that Kael actually loved “The Godfather” and never said it was “diminished by its artsiness.”

Meanwhile, Sarris, who didn’t like “The Godfather,” never called it “a sloppy, self-indulgent movie” in his review. Canby did not say that “Apocalypse Now” was “hollow at the core.” He was, however, mixed about the film. Same with Reed, his quote in the trailer doesn’t appear in his “Apocalypse Now” review.

Then there’s Ebert’s supposed pan of 1992’s “Dracula.” The “Megalopolis” trailer claims Ebert, who gave the film a positive 3-star review, stated that it was “a triumph of style over substance.” In fact, some online are claiming the quote might have been stolen from Ebert’s review of 1989’s “Batman.”

Whoever cut the “Megalopolis” trailer most likely fabricated every single one of the attributed quotes in that trailer. Was it done on purpose, in a kind of a satirical jab at Coppola’s turbulent history with film criticism? Possibly. But at this point, given the chaos that already surrounds “Megalopolis,” all I can do is laugh in amusement.