I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve had a bunch of ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ posts. I apologize, but this one’s indirectly related to the David Fincher remake of the Swedish film.
‘Dragon Tattoo’ is Fincher’s follow up to his Oscar nominated ‘The Social Network’ and comes out Dec. 26, billed as “The feel-bad movie of the season.” Suffice to say, it’s got a lot invested in it. And on Monday, The New Yorker film critic David Denby released a review on the film, 8 days before the date agreed upon by all film critics.
The New Yorker ran the article regardless, which was a positive review I’ll note, but the controversy stemmed from the written agreement that Denby and other critics signed. It’s a matter of principle. Critics get to see advance screenings of movies. Newspapers can plan their budgets accordingly and run the story, so their readers get the review before the film comes out.
Producer Scott Rudin called the flub “completely unacceptable,” and put Denby through the wringer. Director David Fincher had a different strategy, agreeing with Rudin, but understanding that we live in a world with constant internet access and that it’s impossible to keep a lid on anything these days, let alone a giant blockbuster like ‘Dragon Tattoo.’
Despite the controversy, The New Yorker hasn’t missed a beat. The story’s their most popular and, as of now, Denby’s not getting sued. Regardless, it still leaves those principled critics with a bad taste in their mouth.
Via NYTimes
socodifferent 