"Merchants of Doubt" Doc Launches Nationwide Campaign - Opens Friday, March 6th

Participant Media, Omidyar Network, and The Poynter Institute Launch New Campaign Against Misinformation Inspired by the Film “Merchants of Doubt”

March 2nd Event at Columbia Journalism School Kicks Off Nationwide Campaign Timed to Sony Pictures Classics Theatrical Release of the Critically-Acclaimed New Documentary from the Director of “FOOD, INC.”

NEW YORK & BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. & ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Inspired by the new documentary “Merchants of Doubt”, Participant Media, Omidyar Network, and The Poynter Institute are collaborating on a national program to help journalists, educators and students learn how to identify misinformation aimed at distorting scientific truth and influencing public policy in the United States. Representatives from Poynter will introduce the program, including a curriculum aimed at journalism students, at a screening of “Merchants of Doubt” tonight at New York’s Columbia Journalism School, hosted with Columbia Journalism Review (CJR).

    “Journalists and citizens must both get smarter at vetting scientific information because a small number of powerful corporations have become quite sophisticated in their efforts to distort the truth”

In the new film “Merchants of Doubt”, inspired by the acclaimed book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, filmmaker Robert Kenner (“Food, Inc.”) lifts the curtain on a secretive group of charismatic pundits-for-hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities – yet have the contrary aim of spreading confusion about public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals to climate change.

Poynter’s curriculum is designed to help journalists report accurately and authoritatively on science and hold companies and individuals responsible for their actions. Poynter has also developed classroom guides to assist teachers and students as they explore the skills of news literacy and develop an appreciation of critical journalism in democratic societies. The training will be offered in a variety of forms, including in-person workshops and on the Institute’s e-learning platform News University. More information is available at www.takepart.com/doubt.

“Merchants of Doubt” director Robert Kenner, Poynter’s Kelly McBride, Huffington Post columnist Wendell Potter, New York Times reporter Justin Gillis, and Emily Southard from Forecast the Facts, will join CJR’s editor-in-chief Liz Spayd at Columbia Journalism School on Monday evening to explore how journalists and other citizens can identify and avoid corporate misinformation aimed at influencing the American public and impacting government policy.

Chad Boettcher, Participant’s Executive Vice President, Social Action & Advocacy added, “For decades, industries like tobacco, chemicals, and fossil fuels have employed spin doctors to cast doubt on inconvenient science that showed how damaging their products were to human health or the environment. Their success delayed public action on some of the most dangerous and pressing issues of our time. At Participant, we see the release of ‘Merchants of Doubt’ as an opportunity to inspire consumers to demand more information and more transparency about these issues in the media. We are proud to work with Poynter to help journalism students avoid the trap of spreading misinformation.”

“Journalists and citizens must both get smarter at vetting scientific information because a small number of powerful corporations have become quite sophisticated in their efforts to distort the truth,” said Kelly McBride, Poynter’s vice president of academic programs. “We at Poynter jumped at the chance to join this project because we believe that well-informed citizens are capable of holding private corporations accountable and encouraging their government to serve the greater good.”

Commenting on the campaign, Director Robert Kenner said, “The media looks at climate change like it's a debate – but there's no debate at all here. The theory of climate change is as solid as the theory of gravity. The only question now is what can we do to solve this, but as long as these merchants of doubt are being treated like experts, we're never going to see things change.”

“Merchants of Doubt” is presented by Sony Pictures Classics, in association with Participant Media and Omidyar Network, a film by Kenner, produced by Kenner and Melissa Robledo, executive produced by Jeff Skoll and Diane Weyermann of Participant Media, and Pierre Omidyar of Omidyar Network, and co-produced by Brian Pearle, Taki Oldham, Dylan Nelson and Youtchi von Lintel. Directors of Photography on the film include Don Lenzer, Barry Berona and Jay Redmond with music by Mark Adler. The film will release theatrically in the U.S. on Friday, March 6, 2015. Trailer and more information at http://www.takepart.com/merchants-of-doubt.


About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 300,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute’s website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world’s top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

About Columbia Journalism Review (CJR)
Columbia Journalism Review (www.cjr.org) is the only publication/brand whose sole focus is to critically examine the dynamics of American journalism - the work itself, the players and the forces reshaping it.

About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. Omidyar Network has committed more than $730 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple initiatives, including Consumer Internet & Mobile, Education, Financial Inclusion, Governance & Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com and follow on Twitter @omidyarnetwork.com.

About Participant Media
Participant Media (http://www.ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant's more than 60 films include Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc., Waiting for ‘Superman’, The Help, Contagion and Lincoln. Participant launches campaigns that bring together government entities, foundations, schools, and others to raise awareness and drive people to take action on issues from each film or television show. Pivot (http://www.pivot.tv/), the company’s television network, is available nationally in 50 million homes, with a diverse slate of talent and a mix of original series, acquired programming, films and documentaries. TakePart (http://www.TakePart.com) is Participant’s digital news and lifestyle magazine and social action platform for the conscious consumer. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network, and its television network, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.

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Leonard Nimoy: Remembering the Unforgettable Mr. Spock - Update #5

The death of the American actor, film director, photographer, and poet, Leonard Nimoy, on Friday, February 27, 2015 made me feel sad.  But I also felt joy because Nimoy was "Mr. Spock" on the original "Star Trek" (1966-1969), and as Spock, Nimoy entertained me and sparked my imagination - helping me to envision a world that was larger than I had ever imagined.  He also gave me hope that we could make a world that was better for everyone.

From NYTimes:  "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83"

From RollingStone:  "Leonard Nimoy, 'Star Trek''s Spock, Dead at 83"

From TwitLonger:  A statement by Dani Schwartz, Nimoy's grandaughter.

From CBR Spinoff:  "President Obama Mourns Leonard Nimoy’s Passing: ‘I Loved Spock’"

From Forbes:  "Leonard Nimoy And Why Space Needs Real Spocks"

From TheHollywoodReporter: "How Leonard Nimoy Was Convinced to Join the First 'Star Trek' Movie"

From TheHollywoodReporter: "William Shatner Flies to L.A. in Time for Leonard Nimoy's Funeral"

From HitFix:  "Just Try Watching Spock's Funeral without Crying"

From HitFix:  "Remembering the filmmaking talents of Leonard Nimoy"

From HuffingtonPost:  These are Leonard Nimoy's touching final words of wisdom.

From IMDb: IMDb remembers Leonard Nimoy.

From InformedConsent: "Leonard Nimoy’s Last Wishes for Israel and Palestine"

From People:  "Nichelle Nichols Remembers Leonard Nimoy: He Made Star Trek into TV History"

From RollingStone: President Obama and young Star Trek stars remember Nimoy.

From StarTrek.com: "Friends, Colleagues, Fans Pay Tribute To Nimoy"

From Time: "Chekov Remembers Spock: Walter Koenig on Leonard Nimoy"

From TrekMovie: Leonard Nimoy passes away.

From TrekMovie:  "Koenig: Leonard Nimoy Fought To Get Nichelle Nichols Pay Equity For ‘Star Trek’ + Nimoy Confirms"

From Variety:  Leonard Nimoy, ‘Star Trek’s’ Spock, Dies at 83

From Variety: "Remembering Leonard Nimoy: Spock’s Top ‘Star Trek’ Moments"

From YahooCelebrity: "Read Leonard Nimoy's 1968 Words of Wisdom to a Mixed-Race Teen"

From YahooMovies:  "Leonard Nimoy's Friends and Fans React Online"

From YahooMovies: "See Leonard Nimoy Become Spock for the Last Time"

From YahooTV:  "Leonard Nimoy, Actor, Director, and 'Star Trek' Icon, Dies at 83"

From YahooTV:  "William Shatner Feels 'Awful' He's Unable To Attend Leonard Nimoy's Funeral"

From Zachary Quinto's Instagram.

Review: "Snowpiercer" is Unique and Thrilling

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Snowpiercer (2013)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  South Korea
Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, language and drug content
DIRECTOR:  Bong Joon Ho
WRITERS: Joon-ho Bong and Kelly Masterson; from a screen story by Joon-ho Bong (based on the comic book,  Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette)
PRODUCERS:  Tae-sung Jeong, Wonjo Jeong, Miky Lee, Tae-hun Lee, Steven Nam, and Chan-wook Park
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kyung-pyo Hong
EDITORS:  Steve M. Choe and Changju Kim
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami

SCI-FI/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Chris Evans, Song Kang Ho, Tilda Swinton, Ko Asung, Octavia Spencer, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Ewen Bremner, Vlad Ivanov, Marcanthonee Jon Reis, Emma Levie, Allison Pill, and Ed Harris

Snowpiercer is a 2013 South Korean science fiction film from director Bong Joon Ho.  The film is based on a series of French graphic novels that began in 1982 with the first book, Le Transperceneige (Snowpiercer).  Snowpiercer the movie takes place on a class strife-ridden train that is the only home of the last humans alive on Earth.

At the beginning of Snowpiercer, we learn that humans made an attempt to halt global warming by spraying the chemical, CW-7, into the atmosphere.  That backfired, and the result was the start of an ice age so severe that almost all life on Earth was destroyed.

The only human survivors are now living in Snowpiercer, a massive train that travels on a globe-spanning train track.  However, a rigid class system pervades Snowpiercer with the elites living in the front of the train; people useful to the elites occupying in the middle; and the utterly poor and destitute inhabiting the tail of the train.

In the year 2031, the tail inhabitants prepare to launch another rebellion against the elites.  Although past rebellions have failed, this new rebellion may have finally found the one man who can lead the poor people to the very front door of Wilford (Ed Harris), the creator of the train.  This new leader's name is Curtis Everett (Chris Evans), and he has a plan to get past Snowpiercer's security system and its armed guards.  In order for his plan to work, however, Curt must rely on Nam Kung Min Soo (Song Kang Ho), a drug addict who doesn't speak a word of English, and also on his kooky daughter, Yona (Ko Asung).

Snowpiercer is one of the best films of 2014.  Everything about it is high-quality, especially its beautiful cinematography and its production design, which is both imaginative and inventive.  Considering the narrow spaces with which production designer Ondrej Nekvasil had to work, he managed to recreate a diverse cross section of modern humanity's interior living environments in a way that is almost too impressive for words.

The ensemble cast is also excellent, with Tilda Swinton delivering a splendid performance as Mason.  This is a character that is so odd that anyone other than a highly-talented and skilled actor would fumble.  My favorite performance, however, is that of Chris Evans as Curtis Everett.

Evans began his rise as a movie star by showing his ability to be funny or to deliver light comic flourishes whenever a film in which he appeared desperately needed some genuine humor.  He was often the saving grace of 20th Century Fox's 2005-2007 Fantastic Four film franchise.  Evans then showed that he could be an action movie star in Marvel Studio's Captain America films by bring dramatic heft and gravitas to both Captain America films and to Marvel's The Avengers, in which he also appeared as Captain America.

In Snowpiercer, Evans puts a lock on leading man status.  He looks like a leader, and, in this performance, he carries and embodies this film's social commentary in Curtis Everett's physicality and his emotions, and especially in his spirit.  Evans leaves no doubt that he is not only the real deal as a movie star, but also as an actor.

Co-writer and director Bong Joon Ho (or Joon-ho Bong) gives Snowpiercer visual scope, creating a big picture in a setting that is both intimate and claustrophobic.  Bong shows that science fiction can be more than just imaginative and speculative about the future.  It can and should speak to the modern condition; the genre wants to be more than just escapism.  I still wish that Snowpiercer had spent more time with more of its amazing cast of characters.  That does not keep me from declaring that this is a unique science fiction film because its themes and ideas are both non-fiction and important.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, February 24, 2015


NOTES:
2015 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Octavia Spencer)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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