November 22, 2010, - 1:48 am
NY Times on Movie Critic Debbie Schlussel v. Paramount Pictures
The New York Times just posted a new article about Paramount Pictures removing me from (and today, restoring me to) its critics screening list for movies. The article appeared online on Sunday (yesterday) and is reportedly in today’s print edition of the paper. Much thanks to New York Times reporter Michael Cieply, a true mensch, who wrote the article. In this case, it was the liberal New York Times and a couple of local liberal movie critics who helped me and took on the case, NOT so-called conservatives, like the fakes at Andrew Breitfraud’s Big (on Viagra) Hollywood. I highly recommend you read the article. It’s a great article. I enjoyed it.
In mid-October, I learned that Paramount removed me from its movie screening list. Thereafter, I was not allowed to attend advanced screenings of the studio’s movies, so that I could review them for you. I was removed from the list because I did not fall in line with everyone else and gush profusely over “Inconvenient Truth” filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s other BS documentary, “Waiting for Superman.” Read my review of the movie here. The movie blamed the failures of America’s public schools solely on teachers and unions, and not at all on America’s broken families and absentee womb- and sperm-donor parents. All of the inner city kids in the movie were bright and eager to learn, not a single one of them with behavioral or disciplinary problems, and only two of them came from non-nuclear families. That’s just not an accurate picture of the average inner city public school student, as I noted.
While most blind and clueless conservatives and liberals just loved this one-sided fake-umentary, I actually used a modicum of critical thinking skills and went to town on the movie. For that crime–an honest review of a wholly inadequate documentary, Paramount not only removed me from the screening list, but referred all of my questions about it to the studio’s Vice President of Legal Affairs. Not only would she give me no information, but Paramount didn’t even have the guts to say it was because of my negative review of “Waiting for Supe.”
So that I could still give you timely movie reviews over the last month, I paid to suffer through midnight debuts of Paramount movies along with the stoned college student masses. I said nothing about this whole thing on DebbieSchlussel.com because I hoped the situation could be resolved with a little sunshine by others. As we know, it’s always the best disinfectant, but, sometimes, it’s best if someone else shines the light and sprays the Lysol.
The New York Times’ Cieply looked into it and wrote an excellent piece. It is 100% accurate, which is the best compliment I can give a journalist. Don’t fall for Paramount’s claim to Cieply that this was all a mistake made by a local studio rep, an excuse I expected the studio to give him. This came from someone at the top of Paramount. The local studio representatives here in Detroit are nice, professional people, and I know they truly had no idea why I was removed. That’s why they were told to refer me to no less than Paramount’s lawyer.
Again, it wasn’t conservatives who stood up for me and my principle of accurately critiquing movies without worrying that a negative review would get me banned. It was the liberal New York Times, its talented reporter Michael Cieply, and two other mensches, Detroit Metro Times movie critics, Corey Hall and Jeff Meyers. They stood up for me when others would not. I truly appreciate all of their help and thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Because of Cieply’s reporting, Paramount has apologized and I am now back on their screening list, I am told (as the New York Times article confirms). I hope to continue to provide you with timely reviews of newly-released movies from all studios, chock full of my own special brand of bluntness (as well as save you two hours and ten bucks in a lot of instances).
Again, be sure to read the New York Times piece. It’s spot on.
Tags: banned, Corey Hall, Debbie Schlussel, Jeff Meyers, Michael Cieply, Movie Critic, Movie Reviews, New York Times, Paramount, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Studio, Paramount Studios, studio, Waiting for Superman
Congratulations, Debbie!
This is just wonderful news for Thanksgiving Week! Continue to tell us like it is. Your movie reviews beat all the rest and now even Paramount acknowledges it.
While there are a few good movies out there, there are plenty of clunkers. Life’s simply too short to watch ’em all.
NormanF on November 22, 2010 at 2:57 am