David Manning (fictional film critic)

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David Manning is a fictional journalist and film critic who was employed by Sony Pictures Entertainment or its subsidiary Columbia Pictures in the early 2000s to provide films with positive press articles that were rated rather negatively by other critics.

history

David Manning first appeared in 2000 as a journalist for The Ridgefield Press , a regional newspaper based in Ridgefield , Connecticut . He wrote film reviews for this newspaper, primarily for productions by Columbia Pictures. Above all, films that received mostly little positive reviews from many other critics received exuberantly good reviews from Manning, which were then quoted in advertisements and articles by Sony Pictures and Columbia and used to advertise these films. At least Hollow Man - Invisible Danger (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Knight from Passion (2001) and Animal - Das Tier im Manne (2001) received false reviews. Columbia published Manning's reviews in national media such as the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post .

Detection and trial

In 2001, journalists from Newsweek magazine sought an interview with Manning. Inquiries to The Ridgefield Press , however, revealed that none of the journalists employed there knew Manning. Newsweek journalists proved that Manning was a fictional character created by a Sony employee and given the name of a friend. Neither The Ridgefield Press nor Sony were involved. The discovery of the hoax led to a class action lawsuit against Sony Pictures. The company finally agreed on a settlement in the following process . This stipulated that every cinema-goer of the affected films who claimed their rights would be paid 5 US dollars . In total, Sony Pictures paid $ 1.5 million plus a $ 325,000 fine to the state of Connecticut.

Reactions

A Sony Pictures spokeswoman condemned the fictional critic's use as "an incredibly stupid decision and we are appalled." Revolution Studios, who produced Animal for Columbia, said, “It's hard to believe. It's awful. Sony has to apologize and pull out the ads. ”The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group stated,“ This is sure to cross a line. We would never, never, never do that. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christa Piotrowski: Culture of dishonesty. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 15, 2001, accessed on June 17, 2020 .
  2. ^ Goedart Palm: This year's hottest new star. Telepolis, June 12, 2001, accessed June 17, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Alex Boese: Square Bonsai Cats: The World's Greatest Modern Myths . Rowohlt Verlag, Hamburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-644-44151-4 , p. 214 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ↑ Sony had cinema reviews invented. Der Standard, August 9, 2005, accessed June 17, 2020 .
  5. ↑ ... a critic disappears. Der Tagesspiegel, August 5, 2005, accessed on June 17, 2020 .
  6. ↑ John Horn: The Reviewer Who Wasn't There. Newsweek, June 2, 2001, accessed June 17, 2020 .