Clint Eastwood And Warner Bros. Facing Threats Of Defamation Suit Over "Richard Jewell" Movie

[Cicada 5]

https://news.avclub.com/atlanta-newspaper-threatens-clint-eastwood-and-warner-b-1840323511

There are reports of a controversy surrounding the Clint Eastwood-directed biopic, Richard Jewell. The movie tells the story of a real life security guard, the titular Richard Jewell, who helped save people during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing but was later accused of planting the bomb himself. The controversy about the film revolves around the depiction of the now-deceased and real-life reporter Kathy Scruggs, played by Olivia Wilde, who in this film is depicted as trading sex in order to get a tip about the FBI?s investigation into Jewell. This has been met with backlash as there is no evidence the real Kathy Scruggs ever did such a thing. Now the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, where Scruggs worked, is threatening a defamation law suit.

Sadly, I doubt this will go anywhere since this plenty of movies that are "based on a true story" misrepresent or completely fictionalize real life events and people with no consequence.

 

[Saint of M]

Something this recent, especially when these people and their loved ones are still alive, I feel need to be handled with more care. If nothing else, adding sleaze for the shock factor will sully this woman's reputation for those viewers who are not already knowledgable of the event will think she stooped to this low.

Its one thing with BT Barnum: he's been dead for decades, but this, nope.

On the other hand it can be misleading for an actual historicle event, one that seems to repeat it self. Its on par with the crap in Call of Juarez: The cartel.

 

[Exley97_v1legacy]

https://news.avclub.com/atlanta-newspaper-threatens-clint-eastwood-and-warner-b-1840323511

There are reports of a controversy surrounding the Clint Eastwood-directed biopic, Richard Jewell. The movie tells the story of a real life security guard, the titular Richard Jewell, who helped save people during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing but was later accused of planting the bomb himself. The controversy about the film revolves around the depiction of the now-deceased and real-life reporter Kathy Scruggs, played by Olivia Wilde, who in this film is depicted as trading sex in order to get a tip about the FBI?s investigation into Jewell. This has been met with backlash as there is no evidence the real Kathy Scruggs ever did such a thing. Now the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, where Scruggs worked, is threatening a defamation law suit.

Sadly, I doubt this will go anywhere since this plenty of movies that are "based on a true story" misrepresent or completely fictionalize real life events and people with no consequence.

A few things...

First, fuck Clint Eastwood, the producers and the writers for dragging Scruggs through the mud with a baseless fucking accusation. And fuck them for ruining an otherwise important story about someone wrongfully accused and maligned by wrongfully accusing and maligning someone else to suit Eastwood's anti-press agenda.

Second, you can't libel or slander a dead person, so there's no merit to a defamation suit. So whether the film runs a disclaimer regarding dramatic license or not, it likely won't matter (unless a judge buys the AJC claim that disparaging Scruggs in that manner defamed the AJC and its staff in general).

Third, fuck the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for hiring *Marty fucking Singer* of all slimeball lawyers to represent them in this case. The guy is an anti-press good and the AJC should hang its head in shame.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/atlanta-journal-constitution-hires-media-scourge-marty-singer-to-threaten-clint-eastwood-over-richard-jewell

 

[Trunkage]

Just so everyone is aware, Musk won his deformation case, when he called a volunteer a pedophilia, this week. I don't think this deformation case would go anywhere

 

[Agema]

Just so everyone is aware, Musk won his deformation case, when he called a volunteer a pedophilia, this week. I don't think this deformation case would go anywhere

I'm guessing Musk probably used the argument that it was not a "serious" accusation - i.e. your average reader would not reasonably assume it were true.

We have to bear in mind The Social Network passed, which introduces an interesting case about what sort of fictional portrayal can be made of someone alive, never mind that the journalist in this case is dead and cannot therefore be legally defamed. I doubt the newspaper can make a reasonable case that the portrayal damages its reputation sufficiently.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

 

[CaitSeith]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

No, never heard of that; but it sounds both funny and sad.

 

[Exley97_v1legacy]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie.

I haven't seen the movie, so I can't judge the full body of work. But in addition to the baseless depiction of Scruggs, the movie appears to be marketed in a way that maligns the media and puts the blame on journalists for unfairly smearing Jewell. For example, the movie's IMDB page says Jewell was "vilified by journalists and the press who falsely report that he was a terrorist."

There's no mention here of the fact that the FBI *did* suspect Jewell, and that the Feds leaked that info purposefully to the press -- who accurately reported Jewell was a suspect. (This is a big factor why Jewell ultimately lost his libel lawsuit against the Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Jewell obviously didn't do it, but at the time the AJC reporters were correct in their reports)

The FBI also didn't clear him in the investigation for nearly 3 months. And when DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility and Congress investigated the handling of the Olympic Park Bombing and Jewell's case specifically, they found serious errors and lapses (though no intentional wrongdoing) within the FBI that led to them falsely accusing Jewell of the crime. Here's a transcript of one of the House committee meetings: http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju52836.000/hju52836_0F.htm

This is not to say the AJC and Scruggs did nothing wrong -- they should have been more skeptical of the FBI leak, and they made some sloppy errors in subsequent coverage of the matter. You can read more on that in the Vanity Fair article that's the basis for Eastwood's movie.
https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/1fd2d7ae-10d8-474b-9bf1-d1558af697be

 

[Ravinoff]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie.

There's no mention here of the fact that the FBI *did* suspect Jewell, and that the Feds leaked that info purposefully to the press -- who accurately reported Jewell was a suspect. (This is a big factor why Jewell ultimately lost his libel lawsuit against the Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Jewell obviously didn't do it, but at the time the AJC reporters were correct in their reports)

The FBI also didn't clear him in the investigation for nearly 3 months. And when DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility and Congress investigated the handling of the Olympic Park Bombing and Jewell's case specifically, they found serious errors and lapses (though no intentional wrongdoing) within the FBI that led to them falsely accusing Jewell of the crime. Here's a transcript of one of the House committee meetings: http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju52836.000/hju52836_0F.htm

https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/1fd2d7ae-10d8-474b-9bf1-d1558af697be

This sounds amazingly similar to the shitshow surrounding the 2001 anthrax attacks. FBI picks their suspect with minimal evidence, proceeds to drag them through years of litigation and ruins them publicly, then is finally forced to concede and back off. I believe in that case the original suspect (Stephen Hatfill?) was eventually awarded a considerable chunk of change in a lawsuit against the FBI, and they closed the case when the next guy in line - Bruce Ivins - committed suicide the day after being named a person of interest.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

No, never heard of that; but it sounds both funny and sad.

It was at the RNC back in 2012. And its funny in that his 'jokes' killed with the Republican crowd, sad in that it was a crazy old man have a fake debate with ghost Obama in a chair, trying to show how weak a candidate Obama was.

 

[Exley97_v1legacy]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie.

There's no mention here of the fact that the FBI *did* suspect Jewell, and that the Feds leaked that info purposefully to the press -- who accurately reported Jewell was a suspect. (This is a big factor why Jewell ultimately lost his libel lawsuit against the Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Jewell obviously didn't do it, but at the time the AJC reporters were correct in their reports)

The FBI also didn't clear him in the investigation for nearly 3 months. And when DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility and Congress investigated the handling of the Olympic Park Bombing and Jewell's case specifically, they found serious errors and lapses (though no intentional wrongdoing) within the FBI that led to them falsely accusing Jewell of the crime. Here's a transcript of one of the House committee meetings: http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju52836.000/hju52836_0F.htm

https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/1fd2d7ae-10d8-474b-9bf1-d1558af697be

This sounds amazingly similar to the shitshow surrounding the 2001 anthrax attacks. FBI picks their suspect with minimal evidence, proceeds to drag them through years of litigation and ruins them publicly, then is finally forced to concede and back off. I believe in that case the original suspect (Stephen Hatfill?) was eventually awarded a considerable chunk of change in a lawsuit against the FBI, and they closed the case when the next guy in line - Bruce Ivins - committed suicide the day after being named a person of interest.

You have a pretty good memory. Yes, Hatfill took on the Feds and actually won. However, he lost his libel case against the NYT.

Similar cases in that the FBI, under pressure to resolve a high profile case that had rattled the nation, wrongly implicated an innocent man in a rush to judgment.

 

[CaitSeith]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

No, never heard of that; but it sounds both funny and sad.

It was at the RNC back in 2012. And its funny in that his 'jokes' killed with the Republican crowd, sad in that it was a crazy old man have a fake debate with ghost Obama in a chair, trying to show how weak a candidate Obama was.

I searched for it on Youtube, and there is a part before the act even began that made me sad. The moment when he said "I haven't cried so hard since I found that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country" the public applauded and cheered. WTF!?

I also found ironic in so many levels when he said "politicians are employees of ours, and when somebody does not do their job we gotta let them go".

EDIT: Then I stumbled onto a comment that said "Damn, Obama is so good at debating he beat Clint Eastwood and wasn't even there" and it made my day. Thank you.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

No, never heard of that; but it sounds both funny and sad.

It was at the RNC back in 2012. And its funny in that his 'jokes' killed with the Republican crowd, sad in that it was a crazy old man have a fake debate with ghost Obama in a chair, trying to show how weak a candidate Obama was.

I searched for it on Youtube, and there is a part before the act even began that made me sad. The moment when he said "I haven't cried so hard since I found that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country" the public applauded and cheered. WTF!?

I also found ironic in so many levels when he said "politicians are employees of ours, and when somebody does not do their job we gotta let them go".

EDIT: Then I stumbled onto a comment that said "Damn, Obama is so good at debating he beat Clint Eastwood and wasn't even there" and it made my day. Thank you.

I think the unemployment remark was a dig at the economy under Obama, that was saved during the recession, but the GOP love to applaud unemployment numbers because it makes the Dems in charge look bad.
So when Obama said the economy was growing, Clint can saw he broke down crying at 23 million Americans unemployed. Which i'll point out at the time of the RNC convention was only 14 million, but that's Clint Eastwood. What's a 9 million person lie if you get to mock the black dude?

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Second, you can't libel or slander a dead person, so there's no merit to a defamation suit. So whether the film runs a disclaimer regarding dramatic license or not, it likely won't matter (unless a judge buys the AJC claim that disparaging Scruggs in that manner defamed the AJC and its staff in general).

Came here for this exact comment. You are correct: one can't really defame the dead, at least not in a way that is legally actionable*. Whether or not estates of the deceased should be permitted to pursue such actions is a policy debate, but as it currently stands, the movie can claim more or less whatever it wants about this woman. Of course, I'm sure the lawyer who wrote this demand letter knew that. So I'm tempted to assume this is all legal bluster.

*Exception: In many jurisdictions, if a person was defamed while they were alive and the plaintiff brought suit, the estate is often permitted to continue the lawsuit even if plaintiff dies during the process. That doesn't apply here, obviously.*

 

[CaitSeith]

So its basically #FakeNews the movie. Makes sense for an idiot like Eastwood. Remember when he did 'stand-up' by arguing with an empty chair that only he could hear, all to show off how much he hated Obama?

No, never heard of that; but it sounds both funny and sad.

It was at the RNC back in 2012. And its funny in that his 'jokes' killed with the Republican crowd, sad in that it was a crazy old man have a fake debate with ghost Obama in a chair, trying to show how weak a candidate Obama was.

I searched for it on Youtube, and there is a part before the act even began that made me sad. The moment when he said "I haven't cried so hard since I found that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country" the public applauded and cheered. WTF!?

I also found ironic in so many levels when he said "politicians are employees of ours, and when somebody does not do their job we gotta let them go".

EDIT: Then I stumbled onto a comment that said "Damn, Obama is so good at debating he beat Clint Eastwood and wasn't even there" and it made my day. Thank you.

I think the unemployment remark was a dig at the economy under Obama, that was saved during the recession, but the GOP love to applaud unemployment numbers because it makes the Dems in charge look bad.
So when Obama said the economy was growing, Clint can saw he broke down crying at 23 million Americans unemployed. Which i'll point out at the time of the RNC convention was only 14 million, but that's Clint Eastwood. What's a 9 million person lie if you get to mock the black dude?

I didn't expect to be truth in his strawaman act, tbh. I was just caught off guard by the audience reaction.

By the way, I forgot to talk about the act itself. It wasn't as bad as I expected. Frankly, the idea that Obama would snap a FU to Clint Eastwood is so absurd that it's hilarious; and yeah, Clint looked ridiculous as he talked to an empty chair and the chair seemed to answer in his head by insulting him.

 

[Batou667]

Just so everyone is aware, Musk won his deformation case, when he called a volunteer a pedophilia, this week. I don't think this deformation case would go anywhere

There was no need for the guy to get so bent out of shape about it.

 

[CaitSeith]

Just so everyone is aware, Musk won his deformation case, when he called a volunteer a pedophilia, this week. I don't think this deformation case would go anywhere

There was no need for the guy to get so bent out of shape about it.

Yeah. Musk shouldn't had gone as far as accusing someone of pedophilia thrice just because they hurt his feelings when they told him to "stick his submarine where it hurts".

 

[Batou667]

Yeah. Musk shouldn't had gone as far as accusing someone of pedophilia thrice just because they hurt his feelings when they told him to "stick his submarine where it hurts".

Reread the bit I bolded