Sony Attacks Critical Review Of Movie They Know Is Bad
from the why-did-they-make-it-in-the-first-place dept
Most people can tell that Hollywood puts out a lot of junk every year, and one wonders whether the studios realize it as well. Apparently, they do know when something is bad, and they try to limit reviewers' access to bad movies. They're probably anxious to avoid another Gigli moment, with reviewers trying to outdo each other in who can be the meanest. When one reviewer slipped through the cracks and caught a screening of the upcoming Rob Schneider vehicle The Benchwarmers, Sony marketing went on the attack. According to the reviewer, the studio called papers where his write-up might have run, called him a liar and said he scammed his way into the screening. They even tried to trick the papers, telling them they'd have to pay extra to run the review, even though they subscribe to the wire service where it was posted. Of course, none of this addresses the review itself, or in anyway casts doubt onto the reviewers ojectivity. This isn't the first time that Sony's had controversy with film reviewers. A few years ago they were discovered to have made up fake quotes from a reviewer that didn't exist (oddly, for another Rob Schneider film). What's weird is if they know the movie is bad, why they bothered distributing it in the first place. Maybe they don't want to miss the next Snakes On A Plane.
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Why they bothered distributing it?
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Re: Why they bothered distributing it?
When you spend $20mil or $30 mil or $50 mil on salaries, production and martketing (a good chunk if which as already been spend on pre-release marketing), what are you going to do?
Set all the prints on fire and write off the entire expenditure?
Or quietly put it on 2500 screens on opening weekend in an effort to cut your losses by pulling in $5mil to $15 mil from suckers who don't know any better?
Sony (each studio for that matter) is not in this business for the sake of art. They are in this business to generate revenue and pay dividends.
If to do so they have to con you and i (ok, NOT you and i-- some clueless saps) into swallowing a $15 shitburger (including sides of stale popcorn and flat soda), they don't give a rat's ass.
-- dan
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Re:
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Re: Re:
My girlfriend's parents couldn't return their camera but they won't buy another Sony product. Luckily the Sony camera doesn't require you to install the CD.
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that's funny
If they can just get enough advertising in quick enough, they just might be able to get people in to see the film before the scathing review comes out. Let's say it's a movie that will only appeal to dummies, like most stuff out there now. If they can get the dummy groundswell going, the bad review may not matter, whereas even dummies may be discouraged from going to the movie if enough bad reviews are seen early enough.
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I just watched the preview (on Nickelodeon), it doesn't even make it look good...but you're right people will watch it because of who's in it.
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Fukk Sony too
so they are not as bad as the RIAA. What is the deal with the rootkit thing?
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Re: Fukk Sony too
Oh, it's just something that's been annoyiing PC users since shortly after we drove Saddam back to Baghdad in the 1st Gulf War 15 years or so ago.
Or have you not heard about that, either?
-- dan
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Bill Romanowski is -1 star
Sean Salisbury is the death knell.
The "Napolean Dynamite kid" is the jumping on the dead bits part.
As much as I would like to like Rob Schneider, and as much as I miss Jon Lovitz...just...ugh.
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Sony = Evil; Benchwarmers = funny movie
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Re: Sony = Evil; Benchwarmers = funny movie
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Snakes on a plane
It's up to us, the American consumers, to quit lapping up their shitty product.
That said, I am probably going to see SoaP - I mean come on, they got Samuel Mothafuckin' Jackson up in it.
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Re: Snakes on a plane
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They bought a HP instead.
They liked the Vaio - but once I emailed him all that info about the rootkits - he agreed, he didn't want any "suprises" on his laptop and though better of buying from Sony.
Sony... the word of mouths' gonna drop that bottom line :)
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grifo
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Now that's entirely unreasonable with other, more evpensive and usually hardware products, yes? I say buy conputers from apple or dell(if you want a pc). Then you're sure that you'll get the hardware how you want it, and the software's gonna suck either way. If in five years there's a still battle with HDDVD players on one side of the isle and Blu-Ray on the other side of the isle, buy whichever one you think has better movies, or if one has died, then buy the other. Don't wory about sony or not or this actor vs that actor, worry about if you think it's a good product from your own opinion.
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Hey kids
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The PD 150
Phildo
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sarcasm?
>
>Or have you not heard about that, either?
The guy was asking a legitimate question. He wanted to know what rootkit was and instead of telling him and releiving the world of a little bit of it's ignorance you decide to make a sarcastic comment. You should be ashamed of your self.
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The fact is, Sony IS Evil (with a capital E).
Not to mention, Sony is one of the "Big 5" that make up the power hungry, scum sucking, rich off their a$$ recording studios. Not only does Sony one of the major idiots backing the RIAA, but the MPAA too!
So I'm sorry...just knowing that Sony is a large part of the RIAA and MPAA is enough to make me vomit in their general direction and want nothing to do with them or their products.
Playstation (SCEA) is about the only thing I "might" put any cash into that belongs to Sony, and that's still a big if.
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But I hate Sony customer service, and I plan on dumping my laptop on my life partner and getting a Macbook Pro around the time Leopard comes out.
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You are finally comming about!
You forgot that they also pay for the RIAA and MPAA, helping them to exist.
How about DRM?
Or directly to congress kritters for the DMCA
But I'm confused. If Sony is SO EVIL, why are you asking for a boycott? Why havn't you already stopped buying their products/services?
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Get educated
So that means that the donations of Sony Electronics over the DMCA are "OK"? The DRM parts are 'an accident'? That there isn't ANY input from Sony Entertainment?
If there is any 'head pulling' to be done....go research the campaign contributions.
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...Surprise!
This backfired for Sony. Everyone who goes to see this kind of film knows that it probably got bad reviews.
Of course, that's no reason not to distribute it. I've enjoyed more movies in the "1 star" range than in the "4 star" range. The guage I use is if the "critics" liked it, I probably won't (Brokeback Mountain being a fine example of 4-star swill).
In reality, movies in "The Benchwarmers" genre you either "get", or you have a brain. You have to be able to relate with characters who suffer from problems of the "bowel movement" nature, and must also enjoy seeing said caracters play out that suffering for excruciatingly long periods of time.
Sony is so far out of touch that they took "1 star" movie and created enough of a stink around it to ensure that portions of the target audience (the "bowel movement crowd" that *don't typically read reviews*) would think twice about seeing it.
"If the reaction from Sony was this strong, the movie must really SUCK", seems to be going through my head.
You don't call attention to negative press by behaving like a three year old child who just had her favourite toy taken away.
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i liked it
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deserved reward
decision has purpose..overt or covert. What prompted
"Davinci?" The Holy Bible gives the best answer. In the last days men will say ,"here is Christ, there is Christ but
don't go after such. When He returns to judge man, every single person will see and every knee will bow before Him.
In the meantime the Anti-Christ will beworking profusely
to discredit faith in God, the Church, and believers. Ron Howard, saddly you and Tom Hanks and Sony have revealed where you stand. I hope you each confess your sin and receive Christ who forgives every sin,
however, I personally hope this picture and every connection to it tanks. lar
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