|
|
Post by Phoenix on Aug 3, 2005 11:56:19 GMT -5
From the BBC news: A judge has finalised a settlement in which film studio Sony will pay $1.5m (£850,000) to film fans after using a fake critic to praise its movies. In 2001, ads for films including Hollow Man and A Knight's Tale quoted praise from a reviewer called David Manning, who was exposed as being invented. People who saw the films can now get a $5 (£2.80) refund from Sony's pay-out, lawyer Norman Blumenthal said. Sony did not admit liability in the settlement and declined to comment. The studio reached the out-of-court agreement to settle the case and avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation, according to a court notice. The settlement was agreed last year but has only just been approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. If the full $1.5m is not claimed, any money left over will go to charity, Mr Blumenthal said. 'Fabricated quotes' Promotional material for other films including The Patriot, Vertical Limit and The Animal also carried quotes from "David Manning of The Ridgefield Press". He supposedly called Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star" for his role in A Knight's Tale, said The Animal was "another winner" and Hollow Man was "one hell of a scary ride". But The Ridgefield Press, a small paper in Connecticut, said David Manning had never worked for them. Sony temporarily suspended two employees following an internal investigation into "fabricated quotes on four movie ads". I want my $5!  |
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 10, 2005 11:08:28 GMT -5
There's never too many reasons for me to hate Sorny. Rotten company, that.
|
|
|
|
Post by spacer on Aug 10, 2005 12:15:31 GMT -5
What's that Quorth? ;D Do you mean you are sorry for Sony? Or you maybe feel corny?  |
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 10, 2005 13:35:25 GMT -5
What's that Quorth? ;D Do you mean you are sorry for Sony? Or you maybe feel corny? From The Simpsons: Magnetbox, Sorny, Phanasonic--they were TV shopping in Ogdenville I believe. |
|
|
|
Post by Heineken Skywalker on Aug 12, 2005 0:48:07 GMT -5
Meh. Our latest DVD player is a Sony and it kicks all kinds of ass.
All corporations are evil, but we still gotta buy their shit. Unless I'm going to string a couple of coconuts and an umbrella together to play my DVDs. Or is that the plans for a two-way radio?? Damn "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND"!!
Did that Glass guy have anything to do with the fake movie reviews?? This seems right up his alley.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 12, 2005 3:45:47 GMT -5
I want my $5! They can keep my $5. I liked Hollow Man. But what a stupid idea with this fake critic, wasn't it? Much less risky to pay a REAL critic for liking all those movies. |
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 12, 2005 9:36:04 GMT -5
Meh. Our latest DVD player is a Sony and it kicks all kinds of ass. All corporations are evil, but we still gotta buy their shit. Unless I'm going to string a couple of coconuts and an umbrella together to play my DVDs. Or is that the plans for a two-way radio?? Damn "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND"!! Did that Glass guy have anything to do with the fake movie reviews?? This seems right up his alley. Not me, sir. I personally boycott Sony--sure, they'll never notice, but I feel better about myself. Their grand plan is to have every piece of entertainment equipment in your home emblazoned with the Sony logo--that plan is a little close to them starting to make their shit top of the line, but only compatible with other Sony crap via specialized cables. In essense, their business plan is to create a monopoly. The PSP is part of it as I'm sure you can imagine. There are movies released that can be played on it. But at what cost? The PSP DVD's cost more than a normal DVD and you can ONLY watch them on that little tiny screen! On top of which, the battery life of the PSP is roughly 2 hours--it'll die before Kill Bill Volume One is even over! This kind of over-priced gizmo also leads me to believe that Sony sees the consumer as dollar signs only (they all see us as dollar signs, but the good companies see people with specific needs as well) so gullible that we'll buy any overpriced electronic piece of junk if it's just marketed just right. And the Nintendo DS is weaker, doesn't play movies, and is still outselling the PSP. But this is all just me, I just can't stand the company. I'm extra-leary of Microsoft after hearing their dreadful game-plan for th video-game world. UGH! |
|
|
|
Post by Heineken Skywalker on Aug 12, 2005 9:49:20 GMT -5
That's cool. Everybody has their cause or whatever.
That DVD player is actually the only piece of Sony equipment in my home theater, (Pioneer TV, JVC speakers, etc.) so they definitely don't have a monopoly on my entertainment needs. And I never watch movies on video game consoles, so that doesn't affect me either. All I know is that the player was a great deal and it's of excellent quality.
|
|
|
|
Post by Phoenix on Aug 12, 2005 11:48:35 GMT -5
Sorry Quorthon - didn't mean to dredge up all these feeling for "THE MAN" that is the Sony corp. I only buy Sony TVs. I had a Wega and it rocked and when we moved to FL we sold it, bought another brand (either Samsung or Phillips) and had HORRIBLE problems with it. We returned that piece of s*** and bought a new Sony and I love it. Their products are A++ quality at least (check out consumer reports!). They aren't the #1 electronic brand in Japan for nuthin'! I'm just sticking up for them because I've developed a sort of brand loyalty for them because everything I've ever had Sony never broke. So I'm afraid I'm part of the machine.....  But I signed up to get my $5 back. I dont like to be 'lied' to and they must pay me for this. |
|
|
|
Post by Termination on Aug 12, 2005 12:22:05 GMT -5
Sony ain't that bad as long as every component in your HT doesn't belong to them. They no doubt have the best display technology wether we are talkin' projector's or Tv's. I also have a wide range of different brand names (Harmon/Kardon, Panasonic, Toshiba, Klipsch, Poloriod, JVC, Pioneer) in me HT room.
I agree with Quorthon about PSP, what piece of shit & a bad idea. UMD will not surpass 5 years. If you're gonna go with Sony for gaming, you can't go wrong with the PS3.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 12, 2005 15:10:27 GMT -5
Sony ain't that bad as long as every component in your HT doesn't belong to them. They no doubt have the best display technology wether we are talkin' projector's or Tv's. I also have a wide range of different brand names (Harmon/Kardon, Panasonic, Toshiba, Klipsch, Poloriod, JVC, Pioneer) in me HT room. I agree with Quorthon about PSP, what piece of shit & a bad idea. UMD will not surpass 5 years. If you're gonna go with Sony for gaming, you can't go wrong with the PS3. I've got a Sharp TV, Aiwa stereo that's nearly 7 years old (the CD player in which just miracuously started working again without trouble--apparently it just needed to be stored and ignored for 3 months!), Aiwa record player (like a laserdisc, but heavy and only plays music!), Samsung DVD/VCR, another Sanyo TV and yet another TV that's currently with my Dad that's a Samsung GXTV. I don't remember what the other VCR is. The only thing Sony I have (besides the PS1 I got for free) is a pair of tiny speakers to hook up to a discman or such device that put out decent sound at a volume barely noticable by human ears. The PS3 looks pretty powerful--I wish Nintendo would wake up and smell that aroma of no one caring about them anymore and finish showing off their damn Revolution. I'm a real "do it for principle" kinda guy in case you haven't noticed but I do have brand loyalty with General Motors (almost everything wrong with my Blazer has not been factory-related. Except that short in the electrical system. Who needs a gas guage anyway)--1 Buick, 2 Blazers--and Nintendo--which I may have to abandon if the company doesn't get their shit together. No I won't give up on 'em, I'll just have no choice if they allow themselves to fall into obscurity and corporate death. Oh, and I write too much for what should be short, simple responses. |
|
|
|
Post by Termination on Aug 12, 2005 17:45:05 GMT -5
Oh, and I write too much for what should be short, simple responses. Thats cool, I write too little for what should be long, complicated responses. ;D Remember that quantity over quality made Sony a success in the gaming bizz. Well they might not be able to do that with the PS3, simply because of authoring Blu-Ray discs. Nintendo might have the advantage in this department. Still, How can you go wrong with buying the new Nintendo, Sony, & X-Box? You simply can't. All 3 will have & use DvD tech. |
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 15, 2005 8:05:05 GMT -5
Oh, and I write too much for what should be short, simple responses. Thats cool, I write too little for what should be long, complicated responses. ;D Remember that quantity over quality made Sony a success in the gaming bizz. Well they might not be able to do that with the PS3, simply because of authoring Blu-Ray discs. Nintendo might have the advantage in this department. Still, How can you go wrong with buying the new Nintendo, Sony, & X-Box? You simply can't. All 3 will have & use DvD tech. That's true--and all will be backwards compatible to the current generation. Nintendo's planning on a download service that will allow you to play damn near any game throughout Nintendo history. Download and play Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Revolution if yah want. DVD players with all of 'em are good and all, but I already have a DVD player. I'm glad Nintendo is making that a simple, optional add-on device to keep the core cost of the console down. **Edit** Shit! I forgot all about the Blu-Ray thing. Sony was trying to push for their Blu-Ray technology to be the next form of DVD--I believe the plan involved upgrading the HD-DVD's for ALL DVD's within the next 5 years (average life span of a video game console) and were marketing the Blu-Ray to Hollwood. There was stiff resistance and competition from Panasonic (I think) who was developing their own HD-DVD technology. Basically here's the horror scenario: Within 3-5 years Sony's push would begin wiping out current, standard DVD's and quickly replacing them with all HD-DVD's. It's not a revolutionary enough upgrade, like going from videos to DVD's, to warrant such a massive change. It could (and I'm not saying it will) force the DVD into obsolesence roughly 5-8 years after coming to the consumer. Factor in that Video Tapes ruled for nearly 25 years before becoming obsolete and forcing the public to "change or die," this becomes a nightmarish scenario of being forced to throw away our DVD players to upgrade after a life span of only a few short years--and forcing a lot of collectors to restart their massive DVD collections. There'll be a lot of wasted money and ripped-off consumers. This, of course, borders on being a lunatic conspiracy theory--but Sony was trying, for a time (this last year), to court the Blu-Ray to Hollywood. Last I heard, Sony still wants to go Blu-Ray for the PS3, but began working with Panasonic to co-develop the next generation DVD. That's all well and good, but dammit, I'm happy with my normal DVD player. I don't have the money to upgrade to HD right now--like a lot of people. Microsoft, for instance, announced (GDC last March or April) a game plan for the video game industry that basically stated: "Make all games for the lowest common denominator to sell the highest numbers." Guess how much creativity and originality that will lead to... I know I sound like the nutcase on the streetcorner announcing grave warnings of "da man," but sometimes, there is just cause to worry. Or at the very least, look ahead with skeptisism and caution. |
|
|
|
Post by Phoenix on Aug 15, 2005 8:36:57 GMT -5
And which one will succeed? Studios are waiting to see what the porn industry picks first before tipping their hat in one direction or another.
Given how predictably lame the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD over which format is going to be the high-def successor to DVD has become lately, it seems only fitting that it could be the preferences of the porn industry, which releases 11,000 titles each year (a number which keeps us crazy, uh, busy), that ends up tipping it to one side or the other. ZDNet reports on the debates the industry is having over the formats—HD DVD is supposed to be cheaper to produce, Blu-ray is going to offer better picture quality—are pretty much exactly the same arguments people are having in the non-porn world.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quorthon on Aug 15, 2005 9:22:51 GMT -5
And people are always putting down the porn industry...
(Remember to the late 70's Beta vs VHS--Sony's Beta had better quality, VHS was cheaper--guess which became the more popular medium!)
Hopefully the Sony-Panasonic (I'm pretty sure it was Panasonic) cooperation will work out for the best for the consumer.
|
|
