The Chicago Film Critics Association is fed up with 20th Century Fox, the studio that has of late been refusing to show movies to critics until the last possible minute — assuming it bothers to let critics see those movies at all. Now the critics are boycotting the studio’s films — to a point, at least. Radar Online reports:
According to the Chicago Film Critics Association, 20th Century Fox has instituted a policy of favoritism in the Windy City, providing special treatment to select film reviewers. Others, it is charged, are not given adequate time to craft stories between seeing a movie and its release—or are shut out of screenings entirely. . . .
In response CFCA has instituted a boycott against Fox releases, vowing to write nothing but reviews for its movies, withholding the more coveted coverage in features, profiles, and interviews. And they’re calling on their film critic brethren to join in. “We’ve hit a common nerve among all critics’ organizations who are suffering under the same kind of tyrannical rule,” [CFCA president Dann] Gire told Radar. “We have had amazing support from all over the country.”
Fox, you may recall, is also the studio that threatened to withhold its movies from Canada because of alleged piracy concerns.
UPDATE: Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere gives his two bits.
JUL 18 UPDATE: Fox isn’t exactly happy with Jeffrey Wells.
JUL 19 UPDATE: Now David Poland at The Hot Blog offers his take.
UPPERDATE: Jeffrey Wells responds to David Poland’s piece, and he notes that Fox has suddenly and mysteriously cancelled its promotional appearances at Comic-Con next week.
In the words of one of Wells’s anonymous colleagues:
“Fox has declared war. We’ve been on the receiving end of this for a few years, and no one gave a shit because it was just us. Now that Fox is widening their attitude to everyone, people are now paying attention. Fox hates critics. Fox hates the press. Fox hates their audience. That is the truth.”
He forgot to mention that Fox hates Canada, too.
UPPESTDATE: Chris at Movie Marketing Madness chimes in.
JUL 20 UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times and The Reeler cover the ongoing saga, and Jeffrey Wells has a few more thoughts.
It’s sad that Fox Searchlight is getting caught up in this and that its PR efforts on behalf of Sunshine etc. are being boycotted, since they have actually been very, very, very good about letting critics like me into screenings. Their publicists are completely separate from the publicists who work for “Big Fox” — the term Jeffrey Wells has used for the larger, more mainstream branch of the studio.
UPPERDATE: David Poland posts the Chicago film critics’ e-mail to Fox in its entirety, and criticizes the “antics” of Dann Gire.
UPPESTDATE: Jeffrey Wells reports that the “war” is now “over”.
JUL 25 UPDATE: Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily posts a letter from Gire to his fellow critics, alleging inaccuracies in the Los Angeles Times story. Jeffrey Wells also has an update.
UPPERDATE: David Poland also posts the letter, with comments.
JUL 27 UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times prints a correction — but take it from me, there is nothing “alleged” about 20th Century Fox’s discrimination against online critics. I say this as one who was actually uninvited to a screening this week after I was invited — and all because the publicists discovered that I have a blog.
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