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Topic: Will The Real David Manning Please Stand Up?
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John Pytlak
Film God
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Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 06-07-2001 12:07 PM
Steven said: "Sure, deceiving the public may not be the smartest marketing campaign… but its no surprise either.""There's a sucker born every minute".  Unfortunately, untruths perpetuate themselves and take on a life of their own. Even the famous quote attributed to PT Barnum may never have actually been said by him!: Link to origin of PT Barnum quote ____________________________________________ "There's a sucker born every minute" ------------------------------------ Those of P. T. Barnum's acquaintances who mentioned the subject were unanimous in insisting that he never said this. The closest thing to it that can be found in Barnum's writings is: "I said that the people like to be humbugged when, as in my case, there is no humbuggery except that which consists in throwing up sky-rockets and issuing flaming bills and advertisements to attract public attention to shows which all acknowledge are always clean, moral, instructive, elevating, and give back to their patrons in every case several times their money's worth" (the Bridgeport Standard, 2 Oct. 1885). Captain Alexander Williams, a New York City police inspector at the time, attributed "There's a sucker born every minute, but none of them ever die" to Joseph Bessimer, a notorious confidence trickster of the early 1880s known to the police as "Paper Collar Joe". See _P. T. Barnum: the Legend and the Man_, by A. H. Saxon (Columbia University Press, 1989). "There is a Sucker Born Every Minute" is the title of one of the songs in the 1980 Broadway musical _Barnum_ by Jim Dale. ____________________________________________ ------------------ John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging Eastman Kodak Company Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419 Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243 E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Charles Everett
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1470
From: New Jersey
Registered: May 2001
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posted 01-19-2002 12:34 PM
Bumping this back up since I found this quote in the Village Voice's "year in film" roundup:"If readers are wondering why weekly publications like the Voice sometimes end up reviewing a studio film a week or two late, it's because the studios are often less than thrilled that their movies get reviewed at all. Spearheading a media movement, Paramount officially decided this year that no publication will publish a review of their films even a minute before opening day--which leaves the out-on-Wednesday Voice uninvited to the prom. It remains something of a wonder that the studios allow even half of their product—-brainless action films, hollow star vehicles, goofball teen comedies, etc.—-to be reviewed at all, but Paramount, with a docket dominated this year by Tomb Raider, Domestic Disturbance, Down to Earth, Enemy at the Gates, Rat Race, and Vanilla Sky, has serious reason to keep its cards close. Any review beyond a David Manning-style blurb can only beat horses already butchered for dog food. The studio's major triumph over unlikeliness—-Pootie Tang—-suffered the scantest marketing and least trumpeted press screening of the year."—-Michael Atkinson Such a policy should affect not only a metro weekly (such as the Village Voice) but also the likes of Newsweek and Time. On the other hand the latest Paramount release, Orange County, had pre-release ads filled with pull quotes from "critics" nobody has ever heard of. For the record, Michael Atkinson is the No. 3 movie critic at the Village Voice (behind J. Hoberman and Amy Taubin).
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Ron Keillor
Expert Film Handler
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Posts: 166
From: Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 08-03-2005 12:11 PM
and do your ticket printers issue tickets that can still be read after four years?
quote: was the last to post
Last Updated: Wednesday, 3 August 2005, 15:57 GMT 16:57 UK
Sony pays $1.5m over fake critic Heath Ledger in 2001's A Knight's Tale Manning supposedly called Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star" A judge has finalised a settlement in which film studio Sony will pay $1.5m (£850,000) to film fans after using a fake critic to praise its movies.
In 2001, ads for films including Hollow Man and A Knight's Tale quoted praise from a reviewer called David Manning, who was exposed as being invented.
People who saw the films can now get a $5 (£2.80) refund from Sony's pay-out, lawyer Norman Blumenthal said.
Sony did not admit liability in the settlement and declined to comment.
The studio reached the out-of-court agreement to settle the case and avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation, according to a court notice.
The settlement was agreed last year but has only just been approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl.
If the full $1.5m is not claimed, any money left over will go to charity, Mr Blumenthal said.
'Fabricated quotes'
Promotional material for other films including The Patriot, Vertical Limit and The Animal also carried quotes from "David Manning of The Ridgefield Press".
He supposedly called Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star" for his role in A Knight's Tale, said The Animal was "another winner" and Hollow Man was "one hell of a scary ride".
But The Ridgefield Press, a small paper in Connecticut, said David Manning had never worked for them.
Sony temporarily suspended two employees following an internal investigation into "fabricated quotes on four movie ads".
[url= Http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4741259.stm]Http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4741259.stm[/url]
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