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Brooks Peterson
Monday, June 18, 2001
Examining the curious case of the un-critic
There are plenty of people out there who would leap at the chance for a job like David Manning's.
And why not? David Manning was a movie critic. In other words, a guy who gets paid to see movies and write about 'em. Are we talking a dream job here, or what?
True, ol' Dave wasn't your basic household word. He worked for the Ridgefield Ledger, a little newspaper in Connecticut. But he was a comer. Quotes from his reviews had been used to promote some major Hollywood releases. He had, for instance, hailed "Hollow Man" as "stupendous," and announced that Heath Ledger, the star of "A Knight's Tale," was "this year's hottest new star." Ads for a couple of other movies, "Vertical Limit" and "Animal," had also carried highly complimentary comments from the Connecticut phee-nom.
Interestingly, all four movies were produced and released by Sony Pictures. Maybe Sony, like Dave, was on a roll. Ya think?
However, there was one flaw in this idyllic picture:
David Manning, the up-and-coming quotable critic, did not exist. The paper existed, but not the critic. Not in Ridgefield, Conn. Not in the dusky confines of the cineplex. Call him "The Critic Who Never Was."
With profound embarrassment, Sony Pictures confessed earlier this month that David Manning was, well, the brainchild of someone in the Sony entertainment empire looking for ways to generate good press for Sony flicks. And not just good press, but absolutely, positively guaranteed good press. There is actually a quality of antic effrontery to the notion that lends it a certain appeal . . .
No. No. No. We're not going down that path, my children. Wouldn't be prudent.
And of course Sony, being an upstanding corporate citizen, is doing penance. A Sony spokeswoman, no doubt speaking through clenched teeth, said, "It was a case of incredibly bad judgment. We're taking all the steps necessary to determine who's been responsible and will act appropriately."
(Read: Heeeeee-WAK! Off with their heads!)
Subsequent dispatches from Sony Central indicate that a couple of guys have been disciplined - though this of course could not, and did not, forestall The Inevitable Next Step: a lawsuit. In Los Angeles, two patrons of the cinematic arts have filed a class action suit against Sony for deceptive, unfair and unlawful business practices.
Create your own rave reviews
It's been a great tale. But one question just won't go away:
"Why?"
I mean, why bother to go to all this trouble when you can cobble up rave reviews from real critics?
Let's say we have a for-real movie critic - we'll call him, say, Smartleigh Dunne - who dutifully treks to the movie palace and then pecks out a review of "Stalingrad: The Musical." Let's say it goes something like this:
"I must confess that nothing could have prepared me for the sheer awfulness of 'Stalingrad: The Musical;' there is a kind of perverse genius at work in this film, which excels throughout in attaining a stunning degree of tastelessness and excess."
So, OK, it's not a rave - but with a little selectivity you can salvage something useful:
". . . Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer . . . genius at work in this film . . . excels throughout . . . stunning!"
Or you could try Plan B, which was employed a few years back in an effort to market a truly abysmal flick called "Surf Nazis Must Die!"
In the run-up to the Oscar nominations, the promoters of the film scoured the country for individuals bearing the same names as the hi-visibility critics of the day: say, Roger Ebert, Leonard Maltin, Bosley Crowther, Pauline Kael, and so on.
Then - no doubt via the laying-on of a bit of cash, they persuaded these nice people to say nice things about the movie. Thus:
"I can honestly say 'Surf Nazis Must Die!" is the feel-good movie of the season" -Roger Ebert. And so on. Now, that's entertainment. Sony, take note.
Brooks Peterson can be reached by phone at 886-3772, or by e-mail at petersonb@caller.com
Brooks Peterson can be reached by phone at 886-3772, or by e-mail at petersonb@caller.com
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