Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola addressed the “fake review” controversy involving the trailer for his upcoming film, Megalopolis, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Previously, a now-removed trailer attempted to spin the criticism Megalopolis received at the Cannes Film Festival by stating that earlier reviewers had also derided his iconic films, including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. However, the quotes attributed to actual critics were fabricated, allegedly generated by AI, leading to the marketing firm responsible for the campaign being let go by Lionsgate, which also issued an apology.
Coppola insisted that he was not involved in the misleading promotion. “You know, it was a mistake, an accident,” he remarked, adding, “I’m not sure what happened.”
The director’s comments raised questions about his statement, “I know there were bad reviews, I’m the one who said they were bad reviews.” It remains unclear whether he considers himself his own toughest critic or if he is referring to the identification of the bogus endorsements.
Additionally, Coppola described Megalopolis as a passion project that has allowed him to work with a stellar cast, including acclaimed actors like Adam Driver, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman. The director invested a significant amount of his personal funds into the film.
Coppola shared his journey of artistic exploration, saying, “When I made John Grisham’s The Rainmaker, I took off, and I quit. And I just said, ‘I wanted to study, and … to learn what my kind of film is, whatever that might be.’ And after 14 years of that type of experimentation, I then came out and made a film that was my kind of film. So it’s not like anything you’ve ever seen.”
Megalopolis is set to release in theaters on September 27.