Brand New Lawsuit!

[James Harvey]

It seems movie studios are underfire again! http://www.ew.com reported:

As if Hollywood studios weren't in enough trouble over fake critics in movie ads, they're now being attacked over the use of real critics in the ads. A group called Citizens for Truth in Movie Advertising, along with four individual plaintiffs, filed 10 class action lawsuits yesterday against just about every major distributor in Hollywood -- studios Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Sony, Universal, Fox, and DreamWorks, and independents Artisan and Lions Gate. At issue are the frequent quotations in movie ads by such reviewers as Maria Salas, Jim Ferguson, Jeff Craig, Mark S. Allen, Ron Brewington, and Earl Dittman, who are cited as examples but not named as defendants. The studios regularly wine and dine these reviewers and others on press junkets, paying some or all of their travel expenses, providing them with souvenir gifts, and granting them interviews with the stars.

The suits allege fraudulent concealment, unfair business practices under California law, and false advertising because the ads don't reveal that some of the reviewers whose raves are quoted have received these perks. The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages and an end to such advertising practices. The promotion of films through press junkets has been going on for decades, though some newspapers pay their own way or avoid junkets altogether, and many of those journalists attending still file negative reviews or no reviews at all. Sony is already facing two lawsuits over ads for ''The Animal,'' which quoted praise from Sony invented reviewer David Manning.

[Calhoun07]

I'd want to sue anybody who praised the Animal as well.

[The Mad Hatter]

Hmmm, interesting. I recognize the name Jeff Craig from his 60 Minute Preview bit... he likes everything. Maybe he'll actually toughen up now that he's been outed as a junket whore.

Actually, as a journalist, I can really say that I can't give any credit at all to these folks who soften up on movies just because studios pay their way. Execs of all kinds of entertainment will do their darndest to send freebies and such to try to sway reviewer's opinions, and it's part of a reviewer's responsibility to ignore them. I know, because I get all kinds of random freebies all the time. Many of them are cool, but I try to seperate them from the games. I remember 3DO actually sent me a damn lava lamp to promote something lame called "Groovy Bunch of Games." The lava lamp was cool, but I still trashed the game.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
I recognize the name Jeff Craig from his 60 Minute Preview bit... he likes everything. Maybe he'll actually toughen up now that he's been outed as a junket whore.

Roger Ebert is on record as saying he doesn't think Craig exists either. (But the latest word, apparently, is that he does.)

Sleazy studios vs. bottom-fishing lawyers. As one diplomat said about the Iran-Iraq war, it's a pity they can't BOTH lose.

[joker]

when i saw the title of the thread i thought it would be about a new buisness suit for lawiers....