This week the law enforcement consulting firm John E. Reid and Associates sued Netflix and director DuVernay for defamation over the Central Park Five miniseries When They See Us, alleging that the script makes false statements about an interrogation method developed by the firm called “the Reid Technique.” Here’s an explanation of what the Reid Technique is and why it’s controversial. – The Guardian
Category: media
Panama Papers Law Firm Sues Netflix For Defamation Over ‘The Laundromat’
The name partners of the Panama City firm Mossack Fonseca (portrayed in the movie by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas) allege that the Steven Soderbergh film (which also stars Meryl Streep and Sharon Stone) depicts them as “ruthless uncaring lawyers who are involved in money laundering, tax evasion, bribery and/or other criminal conduct” and claim that it could harm their case in an upcoming criminal trial in Panama. – The Guardian
Shape-Shifting Screens: How Filmmakers Are Playing With Aspect Ratios
The proportions of movies’ height and width have changed several times over the course of cinema history, but, for practical reasons (projectionists don’t like changing equipment all the time), at any given time the ratios have been standardized. Until the rise of digital projection, that is. Now it’s fairly easy for filmmakers to play with aspect ratios, and that’s what they’re doing. Ben Kenigsberg looks at four examples from this fall’s releases. – The New York Times
Instagram Removes “Likes” – We Need Another Way To Value Content
The removal of visible likes is by no means a threat to the influencer marketing world, but rather an opportunity to shift how we see success in the digital age. – Fast Company
How Apple Made Its Move Into TV Production
“After a few false starts and a little offscreen drama, AppleTV+ finally makes its big debut with a slate of shows, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and a billion potential customers ready to see what original programming looks like from the world’s largest company, led by CEO Tim Cook.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Netflix Heads To Frankfurt Book Fair On Book-Buying Spree
“It’s about finding the most specific, authentic, local stories and bringing those to a global platform in a way that hasn’t ever been done before. Those ideas can come from books, blogs, podcasts, comics, or any range of creative expression.” – Deadline
Netflix And Director Ava DuVernay Sued For Defamation By — Wait, Who?
In the 1940s, John E. Reid and Associates developed a commonly-used, and now-controversial police interrogation method called the Reid Technique. That method is mentioned once, briefly, in When They See Us, DuVernay’s recent Netflix series about the Central Park Five; based on that mention, Reid and Associates argues in its court filing that its reputation has been damaged by the script’s mischaracterization and false assertions. – Variety
World’s Biggest Movie-Theater Chain Moves Into Streaming Video
“[AMC Entertainment’s new] service, AMC Theaters On Demand, will offer about 2,000 films for sale or rent after their theatrical runs, just as iTunes, Amazon and other video-on-demand retailers do.” – The New York Times
Streaming Wars: Challenging The Binge-TV Model
“Having had roughly six years to figure out how to best attract TV viewers trained to feast on content, none of the streaming services set to debut between now and next spring will be exclusively adopting the binge model, and veterans like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have tried different release strategies themselves.” – Los Angeles Times
“Fortnite” Season Ten Ends In Destruction: Video Games (And Storytelling) Will Never Be The Same Again
In the game’s final moments on Sunday evening, a giant explosion took place, sucking the world into a black vortex, leaving players stunned and confused. Brilliantly, Epic took the explosion out of the “fiction” of the game, so that the menu pages and user interface were also pulled into the black hole. – The Guardian