Re: [Harp-L] Re:Cadillac Records pure jive

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

A story may be tarted up for Hollywood, but when it sullies the reputations of real people, there can be legal consequences.

I'm wondering if Marion Walter Jacobs has relatives who are unhappy to see him portrayed as a murderer when no basis in fact for this portrayal can be demonstrated, and whether they have standing to take legal action.

Real people (at least living ones with lawyers; don't know about dead ones without representation) can and do control how they are portrayed in fictionalized tellings of "true" stories in the movies. The character called "Dolly Pelliker" in the film Silkwood comes to mind. The real woman behind that character was very smart; she negotiated both her portrayal and her compensation.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Thu, 12/11/08, Bob Loomis <miltloomis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Bob Loomis <miltloomis@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Re:Cadillac Records pure jive
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 11:27 AM

Hey! You people expect FACT from Movieland???!!! Come on, baby, this is
Hollywood! No bidness like show bidness and all that. You ever see any horse
turds or flies in a Western movie? You want facts, try a documentary ... or a
book ... it's hard enough to come by truth in those media these days. 

I once heard the story of a friend of a friend of a FAMOUS '60s rock star
who died young ... the star's friend wrote a book about the relationship ...
the publisher ordered the writer to insert spicy sexual content or else no
publication ... The writer felt bad about it, but needed the money for survival
... The book was later part of the basis for a Hollywood film. 

This isn't always the case, but I fear we live in the Age of Gossip. The
truth isn't good enough for the moneymakers unless it can be bent
spectacularly out of shape. Besides, legend easily blurs into myth and myth into
fantasy ... that's how we feed our dreams sometimes, on the fast food of
imagination. I haven't seen the film yet, but I bet even the seedy parts (if
any) look pretty fancy compared with reality. If not, my apologies.  Most folks
seem to prefer their truths at least thinly sugar-coated.

Bob Loomis
Concord CA
"When Cynicism Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Be Cynical!"







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