'Megalopolis' Trailer's Fake Critic Quotes Were AI-Generated; Lionsgate Drops Marketing Consultant Responsible

Lionsgate has severed ties with Eddie Egan, the marketing consultant behind the “Megalopolis” trailer that included fabricated quotes from renowned film critics. The studio removed the trailer on Wednesday after it was revealed that the critical quotes disparaging Francis Ford Coppola’s previous works were not genuine but fabricated.

Sources informed Variety that neither Lionsgate nor Egan intended to create false quotes. The error stemmed from inadequate vetting and fact-checking of the phrases provided by Egan. The trailer aimed to highlight that Coppola’s esteemed work, similar to “Megalopolis,” has faced criticism. It appears that AI technology was used to generate the misleading critic quotes.

For example, the trailer falsely claimed that Pauline Kael, writing for the New Yorker, had said “The Godfather” was “diminished by its artsiness.” In reality, Kael praised the film.

When Variety used AI service ChatGPT to generate negative critiques of Coppola’s work from well-known reviewers, the responses bore a striking resemblance to the false quotes featured in the trailer.

Egan has a long-standing professional relationship with Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate’s film group chair. They previously collaborated at Universal and later at STX. Fogelson, who was chairman of Universal Pictures until 2013 and then of the STX film group, joined Lionsgate as vice chair two years ago and was appointed chairman in January.

Since leaving STX in 2019, Egan has been working as an independent consultant.

Lionsgate issued a statement on Wednesday: “We are immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis.’ We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved, Francis Ford Coppola, and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.”

A Lionsgate spokesperson declined to comment further on the situation. Egan did not respond to multiple requests for comment.