I always used to crack up when I saw a movie with a bunch of tag lines from reviewers from "The Ladies Auxillary of Groveton Newsletter" and "Bubba's Web Page" or whatever other little-known reviews they can dredge up. It nearly always signals to me immediately that the film probably isn't all that great. ------------------ How the hell should I know why God would allow the Holocaust. I don't even know how the electric can opener works. - from Hannah and Her Sisters
Thank God people can sue over anything! The jury system is the only true protection the little guy has against the powerful in this country. ------------------
I can't believe Kagy is suing you mrpaige! I say sue him for slander! ------------------ "Win if you can, lose if you must but always cheat!" - Jesse Ventura
Curb your blurbs By Janet Shprintz HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Ten class-action lawsuits were filed against Hollywood studios on Monday, alleging members of the public are duped when they read favorable blurbs in movie ads from critics who have been wined and dined on lavish press junkets. The complaints, filed in L.A. Superior Court by four individual plaintiffs and a group called Citizens for Truth in Movie Advertising, allege the defendants promote their product with ads that use endorsements by film critics as the focal element. The studios named were Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Sony, Universal, Fox, DreamWorks, Artisan and Lions Gate, Individuals named as reviewers in the complaints include Maria Salas, Jim Ferguson, Jeff Craig, Mark S. Allen, Ron Brewington and Earl Dittman. The six are not defendants in the lawsuit but are cited as examples of reviewers who have been frequently quoted over the years in newspaper and TV ads for the films. The critics work for various, unrelated outlets: for example, Salas at Telemundo/Gems Television, Dittman at Wireless magazine and Brewington at American Urban Radio Network. According to the complaints, defendants pay some or all expenses incurred by the reviewers on press junkets, including airfare, meals and hotels. Reviewers also get free merchandise and a chance to interview celebrities, the complaints add, and the defendants do not acknowledge in any of their advertisements that reviewers have received these benefits. The complaints allege fraudulent concealment, unfair business practices under California law and false and misleading advertising in violation of California law. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from continuing with their allegedly misleading advertising. The plaintiffs, who are seeking class-action status, are represented by Anthony Sonnett and Stephanie Hingle of Yukevich & Sonnett. The practice of studios hosting media junkets and the use of reviewers' quotes in film advertisements have been common for decades. In recent months, however, some studio marketing practices have come under fire, including Sony's creation of a fake critic for ad blurbs and its use of studio employees in testimonial ads. Next, I'm suing Roger Ebert for telling me that The Princess and the Warrior was worth seeing. Personally, I can't believe people are so bent out of shape about this stuff. Personally, I've never paid any attention to quotes on movie ads, and I certainly wouldn't decide to go see a movie based solely on what some critic I've never heard of from some place I've never heard of had to say (I wouldn't go to a movie based solely on the opinion of critics I have heard of. There are many films I didn't like at all that the legitimate critics loved). Next someone will sue when a scene makes it into a trailer that ends up getting cut from the final film. Isn't that fraud, too? They showed us a scene in the trailer that isn't in the movie. And what about Psycho? It says it's starring Janet Leigh, but she dies well before the film is over, so she's not really starring in the picture, is she? That's misleading. Someone should sue. ------------------ Why not visit MovieForums.com
It was only a matter of time. I wonder if these are the same people, when told smoking was bad for their health, quit. or... when told Bounty is the "quicker picker upper", started buying Bounty paper towels or... When told Colgate prevents cavity's, only used Colgate toothpaste. ------------------ "For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet
Except that frivilous suits like this one sometimes lead to reforms in the Legislatures and in Congress that make it harder for legitimate suits to get through. While I am glad that people have the right to sue, that doesn't mean I think they should sue. ------------------ Why not visit MovieForums.com
