from the natural-stupidity dept

I’ll admit, when I’ve been able to witness some of the fuckery around the use of artificial intelligence in stupid ways, some part of me has always gotten some amusement at those being fooled. I’ve gotten to witness most of this from afar, after all. It feels a bit different when you write about a situation where you were among those fooled by the bullshit.

At some point in the last week or so, I personally recall seeing the following trailer for Megalopolis, the forthcoming film from Francis Ford Coppola.

Now, the reason I recall seeing that trailer is due to those opening quotes from movie reviews of previous Coppola films. See, I’m a fan of many of his movies, as are millions of others. I recall laughing at those quotes, wondering just how in the hell reviewers could have gotten it so completely wrong when it comes to films like The Godfather and Apocolypse Now. I even thought briefly about googling those critics’ names and seeing if I could find the full reviews, just to laugh at how hilariously wrong they were.

Well, someone else did exactly that. And they found that those are AI-generated quotes from fake reviews that those reviewers never wrote.

Lionsgate has parted ways with Eddie Egan, the marketing consultant who came up with the “Megalopolis” trailer that included fake quotes from famous film critics. The studio pulled the trailer on Wednesday, after it was pointed out that the quotes trashing Francis Ford Coppola’s previous work did not actually appear in the critics’ reviews, and were in fact made up.

Sources tell Variety it was not Lionsgate or Egan’s intention to fabricate quotes, but was an error in properly vetting and fact-checking the phrases provided by the consultant. The intention of the trailer was to demonstrate that Coppola’s revered work, much like “Megalopolis,” has been met with criticism. It appears that AI was used to generate the false quotes from the critics.

That’s being far too kind. Some of these critics supposedly trashing Coppola’s work absolutely loved the films they were supposed to have denigrated. Variety was able to generate similar quotes with some trial and error prompting using ChatGPT, which is likely where this all came from. Misattributing the words and reviews of a film critic merely to drum up fake outrage as an interest multiplier for Coppola’s new film is both a complete violation of the actual work those critics did and an abdication of trust the public will have in the studio.

Now, to be fair, it appears Lionsgate had no idea that the quotes in the trailer were fakes, and worked fairly quickly to pull the trailer once it found out.

“Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for ‘Megalopolis,’” the company said Wednesday. “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.”

Still, at a time when both the public and every SAG member out there is concerned about how AI is going to start filtering into creative work in negative ways, this is a fairly terrible look for the industry.

Or, if Lionsgate would like ChatGPT’s take on this:

Lionsgate’s use of fake quotes generated by AI for the trailer of “Megalopolis” was a significant misstep and attracted considerable criticism. Using AI-generated quotes can undermine the authenticity and credibility of marketing materials, especially when presented as genuine endorsements from critics.

For many, the inclusion of these artificial quotes not only misleads potential viewers but also raises ethical concerns about transparency and trust in advertising. When audiences or critics discover such manipulations, it can damage the studio’s reputation and affect the film’s reception.

In the case of “Megalopolis,” this controversy highlighted the broader issue of how AI can be misused in promotional contexts. It underscores the importance of maintaining integrity in marketing practices and being transparent about the sources and nature of endorsements.

And on that, you can quote me.

Filed Under: ai, francis ford coppola, marketing, megalopolis, trailer

Companies: lionsgate

In any case, I would certainly love to have the confidence of the series’ producer, Ng Kin-hung, who started shooting this third film – reuniting with The Brotherhood of Rebel’s director, screenwriters and lead actors and even recycling its narrative framework – before the latter was released in cinemas.

As in that film, The Unwavering Brotherhood tells the story of three mid-level gangsters – Wah (Bosco Wong Chung-chak), Fei (Louis Cheung Kai-chung) and Kwok (Carlos Chan Ka-lok) – who make some very bad decisions for themselves and inadvertently bring about the downfall of their beloved triad faction leader.

Returning director Terry Ng Ka-wai’s engaging, if familiar movie again boils down to a test of loyalty for the trio, this time after they are ambushed on a money transfer assignment; the conflicts here stem primarily from Fei’s need to pay for surgery for his severely ill sister (Angel Lam Chin-ting) and Kwok’s gambling in the stock market.

Next to the leading trio of blood brothers it is, surprisingly, their boss, the honourable Fa Kam, and his fiercest rival for leadership inside the syndicate, Kwan (played respectively by Mark Cheng Ho-nam and Michael Tao Dai-yu in eye-catching supporting roles), who prove the most watchable.

Cheng, who was in both Young and Dangerous 5 (1998) and Election 2 (2006), is hugely charismatic as the endlessly amiable father figure to the protagonists. Meanwhile Tao, who is not at all known for nuanced acting in spite of his range of TV drama leading roles, is suitably despicable as the villain.

The Unwavering Brotherhood offers the kind of comfort watch that long-time aficionados of Hong Kong gangster movies should readily seek out. Instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel, the film simply adopts the same old genre formula and briskly shuffles its tragic heroes to their predictably bitter end.

Amazon’s podcast studio, Wondery, on Tuesday announced it has landed a multiyear deal with “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” as it continues to add more audio programs to its ad sales and distribution portfolio.

The deal includes global distribution rights to audio and video episodes of “New Heights” since it began in 2022. Wondery said it will be able to create “international audio adaptations,” as well as develop, manufacture and license merchandise related to the podcast, including new products. The deal is worth more than $100 million, according to a person familiar with the deal who declined to be named.

“Since its first play, ‘New Heights’ has brought hilarious, relevant commentary and interviews, even unprecedented insider access to the NFL season and professional sports,” Jen Sargent, chief executive of Wondery, said in a statement. “Now a cultural phenomenon, we’re excited to grow the ‘New Heights’ brand together with Jason, Travis and Amazon through Wondery’s 360-approach that will engage and excite their audiences across audio, video, live experiences, merch and more.”

The Kelce brothers’ podcast has a big following, ranking as the top sports podcast during the football season on Apple and Spotify, according to Wondery. Travis Kelce is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, while Jason Kelce used to play with the Philadelphia Eagles. Travis Kelce is also known for dating popular musical artist Taylor Swift.

“We love this show, and the fanbase that has grown with us over the last two seasons,” the Kelce brothers said in a statement. “Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to New Heights! We are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership.”

“New Heights” will remain widely available on podcast services and will be ad-free on Wondery+, Amazon’s subscription podcast listening plan that costs $5.99 a month.

Podcast deals have evolved over time. Companies such as Spotify used to offer large upfront sums to creators for exclusive podcasts only available on their platforms. But not all of those deals were successful and some of the deals changed to become ad sales partnerships.

In July, Culver City-based Wondery landed a deal with comedian Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, which was worth about $80 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Previously Shepard had a deal with Spotify.

Football has also been popular on Amazon Prime Video, home to “Thursday Night Football,” which has attracted more younger viewers to the games than on traditional TV.