Atlanta newspaper sues Clint Eastwood over film’s portrayal of reporter

Atlanta newspaper sues Clint Eastwood over film’s portrayal of reporter

December 12, 2019 Off By WhoThatCelebsRS

Atlanta-Journal Constitution hires powerful media lawyer in defamation case after film, Richard Jewell, shows reporter sleeping with FBI agent

Atlantas leading newspaper has hired a powerful media lawyer, known for scaring off journalists for celebrity clients, to take on Clint Eastwoods latest film, Richard Jewell, in an argument about the on-screen portrayal of one its legendary reporters.

The paper says the depiction in the movie of now-deceased reporter Kathy Scruggs, played by Olivia Wilde, is offensive and highly defamatory. It wants Hollywood executives to add a disclaimer in the film about the part.

Richard Jewell depicts Scruggs as sleeping with an FBI agent to draw out information from a source in the aftermath of the 1996 Olympic Bombing in Atlanta. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has repeatedly, in recent weeks, denounced the movies treatment of the veteran reporter, who broke the news that the FBI was focusing on Jewell in the investigation.

Such a portrayal makes it appear that the AJC sexually exploited its staff and/or that it facilitated or condoned offering sexual gratification to sources in exchange for stories. That is entirely false and malicious, and it is extremely defamatory and damaging, says the letter from lawyer Marty Singer on behalf of the paper, to Eastwood, screenwriter Billy Ray and Warner Brothers executives. The letter was obtained by Deadline.

Singer, who has defended and represented celebrities for decades, including the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Charlie Sheen and Jeremy Piven, has threatened Eastwood and other Hollywood executives with a defamation lawsuit on behalf of the AJC.

Its not how the AJC operates, said Kevin Riley, the papers top editor, to the Daily Beast after Warner Brothers dismissed the papers claims as baseless.

We find it extremely troubling in these times when the media is under almost constant attack, for a film that claims to be portraying a real situation to suggest that this is how journalists operate, Riley said to the Daily Beast.

A number of journalists have called the portrayal of Scruggs boring and wrong, taking to social media to defend female journalists who are repeatedly portrayed by Hollywood in this sexist trope.

Wilde has said she did her research on Scruggs but the AJC followed up with close friends, family and former colleagues who say they never heard from Wilde, despite offering their assistance to writers.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us