Retraction: The Ron Maxwell Rant Against Critics was a Hoax.

It is with both regret and relief that I post this apology.

My earlier post about Copperhead director Ron Maxwell was erroneous.

For the first time in more than a decade of blogging, I have apparently been fooled into linking to, and responding to, a fabrication.

The speech — which is still posted at Marble Hill Constitution-News — is, according to Maxwell himself (he just wrote to me personally), a fake.

Apparently it was deleted from the Copperhead Facebook page when he discovered it, but not before it was published on that Marble Hill site as news. They fell for it and, when they reported it as “From Director Ron Maxwell, via Facebook” with no apparent challenge to their report, I saw no reason to question it. I should have (yes, I see the irony) looked more closely.

I thank Mr. Maxwell for being gracious in his note to me, and I apologize to him and anybody connected with the film whose reputation has been harmed by the report. The story appeared legitimate when I came across it, and no one questioned it until 48 hours after I’d shared the link. Nevertheless, I should have gone to greater lengths to verify the report.

I’ve removed the post.

If you shared that link, please support Ron Maxwell by removing it and spreading the word that it was a hoax. Thank you.

Jeffrey Overstreet