Francis Ford Coppola doesn't make too many movies anymore, so when he does, it's a big deal. His new film, Megalopolis, the first in 13 years (good luck naming one that came before), has had a rather divisive reception after its premiere at Cannes. So, in the lead-up to its theatrical release, the studio put out a trailer with quotes from well-known critics panning Coppola's well-regarded films. Clever, right?

There is Rex Reed calling Apocalypse Now, "an epic piece of trash". Roger Ebert, "a triumph of style over substance" regarding Bram Stoker's Dracula. Front and center, Pauline Kael on The Godfather: "diminished by its artsiness".

So let's talk about Pauline Kael. Born to a family of Jewish chicken farmers(!!!), she was a long-time film critic for The New Yorker. Kael was known for her anti-establishment views; she hated mainstream dreck that was beloved by audiences. The Sound of Music, for one. Lawrence of Arabia, for another. The Godfather... wait, no. Kael really liked The Godfather.

As it turns out, the quotes in the Megalopolis trailer were all... made up. Whether they were sourced by AI or a product of some clever ad executive, none of them were real. (The Ebert one was lifted from his review of Tim Burton's Batman, so... okay.) The trailer has been pulled, but perhaps the brouhaha over the fake reviews gave the film extra publicity? Maybe that was the point?

Whatever the reason was, we'll end it with the words of another famous film critic, Jay Sherman:

It stinks!