Kettle? This is Pot. Do you have any idea how black you are?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is asking that a disclaimer be added to Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, out Dec. 13., stating that the events portrayed in the film are not wholly accurate and that the filmmakers took dramatic license when constructing the narrative.
Such as?
The main concern is with the portrayal of journalist Kathy Scruggs, who broke the news that Jewell (played by BlackKklansman actor Paul Walter Hauser) was a suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing on July 27, 1996. The film implies that the journalist traded sexual favors for information about the FBI investigation.
Golly. AJC "reporting" destroyed Jewell's reputation and eventually led to his suicide, something the paper won't even admit, never mind apologize for.
[CORRECTION: I've been informed that Jewell did not, in fact, commit suicide but did die eleven years later, his reputation still in tatters.]
"The Richard Jewell film falsely portrays the AJC and its personnel as extraordinarily reckless, using unprofessional and highly inappropriate reporting methods, and engaging in constitutional malice by recklessly disregarding information inconsistent with its planned reporting," begins the letter addressed to Eastwood, screenwriter Bill Ray, journalist Marie Brenner (who wrote the Vanity Fair feature on which the film is based) and Warner Bros.
Forget Richard Jewell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the real victim here.
"We hereby demand that you immediately issue a statement publicly acknowledging that some events were imagined for dramatic purposes and artistic license and dramatization were used in the film's portrayal of events and characters. We further demand that you add a prominent disclaimer to the film to that effect."
For its part, Warner Brothers told the paper to kiss off.
In its own statement, Warner Bros. said, "The film is based on a wide range of highly credible source material. There is no disputing that Richard Jewell was an innocent man whose reputation and life were shredded by a miscarriage of justice. It is unfortunate and the ultimate irony that the Atlanta Journal Constitution, having been a part of the rush to judgment of Richard Jewell, is now trying to malign our filmmakers and cast. ‘Richard Jewell’ focuses on the real victim, seeks to tell his story, confirm his innocence and restore his name. The AJC’s claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend against them.”
American "journalism." The rot goes back a long time.
UPDATE: Annnnnnnnnnd...boom goes the dynamite.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is asking that a disclaimer be added to Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, out Dec. 13., stating that the events portrayed in the film are not wholly accurate and that the filmmakers took dramatic license when constructing the narrative.
Such as?
The main concern is with the portrayal of journalist Kathy Scruggs, who broke the news that Jewell (played by BlackKklansman actor Paul Walter Hauser) was a suspect in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing on July 27, 1996. The film implies that the journalist traded sexual favors for information about the FBI investigation.
Golly. AJC "reporting" destroyed Jewell's reputation and eventually led to his suicide, something the paper won't even admit, never mind apologize for.
[CORRECTION: I've been informed that Jewell did not, in fact, commit suicide but did die eleven years later, his reputation still in tatters.]
"The Richard Jewell film falsely portrays the AJC and its personnel as extraordinarily reckless, using unprofessional and highly inappropriate reporting methods, and engaging in constitutional malice by recklessly disregarding information inconsistent with its planned reporting," begins the letter addressed to Eastwood, screenwriter Bill Ray, journalist Marie Brenner (who wrote the Vanity Fair feature on which the film is based) and Warner Bros.
Forget Richard Jewell. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the real victim here.
"We hereby demand that you immediately issue a statement publicly acknowledging that some events were imagined for dramatic purposes and artistic license and dramatization were used in the film's portrayal of events and characters. We further demand that you add a prominent disclaimer to the film to that effect."
For its part, Warner Brothers told the paper to kiss off.
In its own statement, Warner Bros. said, "The film is based on a wide range of highly credible source material. There is no disputing that Richard Jewell was an innocent man whose reputation and life were shredded by a miscarriage of justice. It is unfortunate and the ultimate irony that the Atlanta Journal Constitution, having been a part of the rush to judgment of Richard Jewell, is now trying to malign our filmmakers and cast. ‘Richard Jewell’ focuses on the real victim, seeks to tell his story, confirm his innocence and restore his name. The AJC’s claims are baseless and we will vigorously defend against them.”
American "journalism." The rot goes back a long time.
UPDATE: Annnnnnnnnnd...boom goes the dynamite.
3 comments:
He didn't commit suicide. He died 11 years later. He was out on medical leave at the time and was getting chewed up by diabetes. The local coroner did do an autopsy. Not sure where you'd find it.
The conduct of the FBI and the media in our own time has been such that none of us should be the least bit surprised if the transaction between said reporter and said FBI agent was precisely as suggested. If the Atlanta Journal=Constitution wishes us to suspend judgment more than we would for a New Jersey mafioso or a Hollywood press agent, they have to earn their reputation back.
Any Hollywood film is a dramatization. I hope that if the AJC is stupid enough to take this to court, claiming slander, the court would laugh and dismiss.
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