The unmasking of the phoney critic follows recent concerns about Sony's decision to pay theatre owners to show trailers for The Animal before sessions of The Mummy Returns . Until now, decisions about the exhibition of trailers have been left up to cinema owners, and there are now fears within Hollywood's studios that the precedent set by Sony might eliminate a free source of publicity. It also is difficult to see why anyone thought the risk involved in making up such quotes was worthwhile, given the ease with which film companies can get favorable review quotes for just about any movie without resorting to invention. The Manning affair also raises questions about both the importance of positive reviews and the processes by which such opinions are sourced for advertisements. We'll generally do it if we've got good reviews, but you have to wonder if the public are drawn into that.
Extreme cases are rare.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Hollywood, there's probably a script based on this week's events. David Manning couldn't have put it better. The Age Company Ltd 2001. Any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.