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New Yorker critic breaks embaro on "Dragon Tattoo," defends it in arrogant email

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Dick Whitman, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    Again. Not arguing this specific case.

    Arguing the symbiosis between "producer" and "critic."
     
  2. BurnsWhenIPee

    BurnsWhenIPee Well-Known Member

    So if he HAD to run the review in because they had nothing else to put in that issue, and he NEVER would have done so if it had been a negative review ... what would he have put in that issue if it indeed was a negative review?

    Would he have magically found something else, broken the embargo on another review, or what?

    That's where I think his reasoning doesn't hold water.
     
  3. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    The Hollywood press is a disgrace. It is mostly promotional.

    But, what about when this happens in the real world. Reporters get speeches -- like the State of the Union -- ahead of time, under embargo.

    I suppose the argument there would be that it is to help the reporter on deadline, or the TV analyst. They get to prepare thoughtful commentary/analysis in a timely manner.

    But, isn't it also promotional when you get right down to it?

    I mean, if a baseball beat writer can bang out a gamer on deadline, why can't a political reporter react in real time to a political speech?
     
  4. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    If early reviews damage a movie, they why are they paying to run ads of the movie already?

    Both folks have a point, but if the New Yorker was determined to break the embargo, the writer or his editor should at least have made the effort to let the producer know of their plans and why they were looking to get out of the embargo.
     
  5. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    More look-at-me from Denby, who's made a career of it.
     
  6. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member


    You don't get the scripts from the baseball games ahead of time?
     
  7. mediaguy

    mediaguy Well-Known Member

    The Boy with the Dadgum Review
     
  8. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Awesome.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/12/dragon-tattoos-scott-rudin-vs-david-denby-who-has-the-high-moral-ground.html

    I see both sides on this. I have a little sympathy for magazines that want to get reviews into an issue sooner rather than later, but I would use it as a way to steer traffic to their web site.

    Whether you like the rules or not, if you sign an agreement, you should stick to it. I agree that the critics covering the Spiderman thing on Broadway had a right to violate it because it was legitimate breaking news about the delays and problems.

    But something like that is going to be pretty rare.
     
  10. beanpole

    beanpole Member

    Sportswriters get a pressbox and free food because their coverage, positive or negative, is part of a team's promotional apparatus.
     
  11. britwrit

    britwrit Well-Known Member

    Scott Rudin has a reputation in the industry for being a monster towards underlings (in an industry not particuarly noted for civility towards those low on the totem pole.) So yeah, screw him. This isn't important enough to bothering parsing out the journalistic ethics.
     
  12. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    Nine times out of 10, I would sign with Mr. Journalist over the movie company but this guy knew what he was getting into, signed an agreement and pissed on it. F*ck him.

    What he did here was say "Yeah, I know I agreed to play by the same rules as everyone else but, in actuality, I'm special so you can all kiss my ass and deal with it".

    It's this type of self-entitlement that makes me cringe and I hope EVERY major movie studio bans this asshole from screeners going forward.
     
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