08-12-2004, 11:37 AM
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#15 (permalink)
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is awesome!
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The fact that they demanded $1 in compensation and that they have the paper's humor columnist (Bill Flick is a kind of watered-down dave berry wannabe) writing these articles should give you an idea how serious this issue is. It's hilarious that the paper is trying to maintain its objectivity and, at the same time, produce something intended to be picked up by other media outlets. The Pantagraph does have a notoriously conservative editorial board. For anyone who really cares here is an update from today's paper:
Quote:
Moore lawyer responds to newspaper complaint
by Bill Flick
Bloomington--The Pantagraph has received its first response from filmmaker Michael Moore about his "makeover" of a Pantagraph page in the hit movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Moore apparently is not going to say he's sorry or pay the newspaper's light-hearted, if not symbolic, request for damages.
But his company's lawyer was willing to spend 37 cents--to send a letter suggesting Moore did little wrong.
New York-based lawyer Deereux Chatillon of the law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal sent the letter to J. Casey Costigan, the Bloomington attorney representing the newspaper.
Citing several precedents Chatillon suggested Moore was withing his legal right to use a Pantagraph headline in the movie and that no "copyright infringement" occured.
Further, the letter claims Moore did nothing "misleading" when the headline ("Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election") that originally appeared abone a Dec. 5 2001, edition of The Pantagraph.
"Baloney," said Pantagraph President and Publisher Henry Bird, in response to the letter.
Said Costigan, "I disagree that Michael Moore's use of the headline falls under 'fair use,' and I think the letter also takes what Mr. Moore did out of context."
Bird said the newspaper would consider pursuing the matter further and asked Costigan to send Moore a follow-up letter, encouraging him to explain why a Pantagraph page was altered without permission.
Although offering no apology, the letter from Chatillon, who represents Westside Productions, which produced "Fahrenheit 9/11," did admit the dated of The Pantagraph page flashed in the movie "was unfortunately off by a couple weeks." But the mistake "did not make a difference to the editorial point ... and was in no way detrimental to (The Pantagraph.)"
In the film, Moore criticizes President Bush's handling of the Sept. 11 2001, terrorist attacks, the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the president and his associates' ties to Saudi Arabian oil interests.
Repeated attempts over the past three weeks to reach Moore by telephone and e-mail have been unsuccessful.
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