Fake Quotes In Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Were AI-Generated: Report

Just days after the “Megalopolis” trailer was taken down for misusing and outright fabricating purported critics’ comments, it was reported that the faux quotes were generated using artificial intelligence (AI).

The official trailer for the Francis Ford Coppola film was released on Wednesday morning. Later that day, Lionsgate pulled it and issued a formal apology. 

“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis,’” a Lionsgate spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.

Sources confirmed to Deadline that “Megalopolis” cut ties with marketing consultant Eddie Egan after it was reported that AI was responsible for the misattributed and fabricated quotes.

The Deadline source also addressed claims that the whole scandal was a secret publicity stunt to get the “Megalopolis” title in more headlines, which that person denied. The insider said the quotes were added in error and not properly checked before being made public.

Lionsgate has not issued a public statement on severing ties with Egan. 

Per his LinkedIn profile, Egan spent most of his Hollywood career serving in executive roles at Universal Pictures, where he was named President of Marketing in 2007. He headed major Hollywood marketing campaigns, including Eminem’s “8 Mile” (2002), Disney’s “Into the Woods” (2014), Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-nominated “Bridge of Spies” (2015), and the hit comedy “Bad Moms” (2016).

The now-deleted “Megalopolis” trailer highlighted negative quotes about Coppola’s films that were either made up or falsely attributed as an attempt to show the divisiveness of his work. This seemed to be an effort to counteract the mixed reactions “Megalopolis” received at the Cannes Film Festival, where it debuted earlier this year.

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI

One such faux quote was attributed to Variety reviewer Owen Gleiberman, who was said to have described “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” as a “beautiful mess” in 1992 when it was released. Critic Roger Ebert was said to have described “Dracula” as being “a triumph of style over substance,” which actually came from a review he wrote about “Batman” (1989).

Reviewer Pauline Kael was quoted as saying “The Godfather” was “diminished by its artsiness,” but that line never appeared in her original review.