Well, this broken legal system of ours has created another winner. After nearly three years of legal wrangling, Sony has agreed to settle with a group of moviegoers whose lives were inconvenienced by the ramblings of nonexistent movie critic David Manning. The fact that this could even go to trial is staggering; the fact that it could drag on for so long is outrageous.
What has happened to personal responsibility in this country? Have people forgotten that they alone are to blame if they choose to go see a movie that turns out to be a stinker? Haven’t they heard of Rotten Tomatoes? Any little inconvenience seems to automatically result in a lawsuit. Come to think of it, I should sue the city for my slow-as-snot commute this morning. When that lady sued McDonald’s over the hot coffee in her lap, no one could have predicted that she was the pioneer who would open the flood gates of frivolous lawsuits.
The judge in the Sony case said it best. He’s obviously in serious need of a vacation, but I couldn’t have said it better myself:
“Imagine the great contribution this case will make to our quality of life and to justice in America. Why, it may eventually protect us all from war, pestilence, famine and death. A new day will dawn from which time no one will ever again be fooled by a promotion touting a movie as the greatest artistic accomplishment of the ages.”
Source: CNN
Brian
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2 Comments
No, it’s not earth-shattering, but I think Sony should be slammed for this. It’s incredibly misleading. Transfer this situation to some other product, and possibly increase the number of fake reviewers and you can see where this could lead.
How about fake reviews of particular automobiles, or other expensive products? Set up a few phony websites touting the safety, value, etc. of a product which in reality is unsafe or very poor quality. Then use those reviews in your advertising.
Sound good?
Vic
Point taken. At least that would be sufficient grounds for a lawsuit.
Speaking of misleading reviews, take a look at the VHS (and now DVD) box for the Pauly Shore movie “In The Army Now.” Top front and center is the quote “Genuinely funny!” attributed to a reviewer from the Houston Post. What that reviewer actually wrote was that only one or two scenes in the entire movie were genuinely funny. Technically, no rules were violated by including only a misleading snippet of the actual review on the VHS box.
Brian