THB Headlines: July 20

I’ve been chewing over this piece of journalism for a couple of days…

Exclusive: Fake Accounts Fueled the ‘Snyder Cut’ Online Army
A WarnerMedia report reveals that bots and other inauthentic users bolstered the fan-led campaign for director Zack Snyder’s Justice League do-over

Here’s the thing. Tatiana Siegel clearly did a huge amount of work on the piece. Most of it is factual. But the headline premise of the story… is weak. And the depth of the rest of the piece suggests an authority that the headline hasn’t earned.

“According to two reports commissioned by WarnerMedia and recently obtained by Rolling Stone, at least 13 percent of the accounts that took part in the conversation about the Snyder Cut were deemed fake, well above the three to five percent that cyber experts say they typically see on any trending topic.”

OY MY!!!! 13% instead of 5%!!!!

“That means a fandom amplified by fake accounts helped shake down a major studio — at an ultimate cost to Warner Bros. of more than $100 million — to re-release a movie that had already bombed years earlier.”

Oh, bullshit. I hate to agree with Zach Snyder about almost anything… not a fan of the man or most of his work. But a “shake down?” Come on! If Jason Kilar was really that weak… well, I don’t think he is. And there is no real claim in the piece to back up this whimsy.

“The campaign didn’t end with the March 18, 2021, release of the Snyder Cut. The Wrap reported in May that bots may have factored into Snyder winning two fan-favorite awards at this year’s Oscars.”

Yes… this was written about for months… and fully expected in response to the hideous choice by The Academy to play this game. Toughen up.

Siegel did admit, via one of her hired consultants, “We regularly see these types of adversarial social media campaigns that are driven by real people coordinating online. When you kick the hornet’s nest of a large, engaged, and confrontational fan community, that can be just as, if not more, scary as facing down an army of fake accounts.”

“Forsnydercut.com, one of the loudest and most influential voices in online Snyder fandom, made its debut in late December 2017, and, according to both the site and the main report commissioned by WarnerMedia, played an influential role in making the Twitter hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut go viral.”

Zzzzzz….

The bulk of the story is the regurgitation of Warners process on this film that has been written about ad nauseum before.

And what is never mentioned in the piece is that all of the studios are in the business of hiring consulting companies to manipulate social media every single day of the year.

“The following year, Tsujihara resigned following a Hollywood Reporter exposé about his apparent efforts to secure roles for an aspiring actress with whom he had a sexual relationship.”

OR.. THR ran a piece driven by private texts provided by an actress who was sleeping around with a large number of executives around town… no one else was willing to run the story on the basis of her vengeance… and even though he didn’t get her on any films, he lost his career because he did something undeniably stupid and there was a very faint trail of him trying to get her a job on a WB movie. I’m not saying he wasn’t an idiot… but…

… that’s another conversation.

“Pricey publicity stunts ensued, like a towering Times Square ad — which can cost more than $50,000 per day — and a plane flying over Comic Con with a banner calling for DC to release the Snyder Cut. None of the press reports at the time addressed who was footing the bill.”

Nor does this one. It makes the inference that it was Snyder and moves on.

Around the same time, Kilar agreed to give Snyder $60 million for postproduction and special effects work. That figure marked a significant bump from initial reports that pegged finishing costs at $20-$30 million.

OMG!!! A profligate spender who has been over budget on almost every single one of his movies went over! And the studio chief gave him the money he asked for! Pulitzer, please!

Then it goes after Whedon and his bad behavior… completely off topic… except that Siegel infers that the complaining actors were put up to it by Snyder. No proof of this. Denials, in fact. But whatever… not really the main event.

Again… Siegel goes deep. Walter Hamada, Martian Manhunter, Adam Wingard, Godzilla… all off point.

By the end, I’m admiring Siegel’s lift, but I don’t see the receipts… I think Zach Snyder seems like a passionate filmmaker who is fighting for his vision, even more after they hired an accused abuser to take over… and I am shocked that WB could be so easily manipulated. Unlike more expensive projects that I think failed to move the needle for HBO Max, this one did, regardless of its aesthetic value or lack thereof.

Anyone with a profile on Twitter has been under attack by waves of angry lunatics for days and weeks. I have been getting nasty notes claiming I made Timothée Chalamet sad for over 6 months now.

But most of all, after reading this piece 4 times, I still see no hard evidence of anything new aside from the confirmation that WB report exists… as it had to exist. Lots of smoke. Smoke everywhere. Much of which I am inclined to believe. But the headline is the headline. ‘Fake Accounts Fueled the 'Snyder Cut' Online Army” The accusation in the piece is 13%… as analyzed by a company being paid to find an answer.

Underpromise… overdeliver.

A more concise take on toxic fandom
Simon Pegg: 'Star Wars' Fandom Is the 'Most Toxic at the Moment' and It's 'Really Sad'

Oh, those evil fans just won’t shut up!!!! (Pass the tiny violin)
HBO Again Defends 'Game of Thrones' Finale Over Backlash: 'Twitter Is Not Real Life'

If my eyes rolled any further back in my head, I would be a character in one of these shows.
'Game Of Thrones' Prequel 'House Of The Dragon' Snags Key Comic-Con Position In Marketing War; Street Battle For Eyeballs Back With 'LOTR' Series, 'TWD,' 'Star Trek' & More

firstavenue

A post shared by First Avenue (@firstavenue)

Dave Chappelle isn’t undamaged. But his show is going on. I agree they should. But his arrogance in the face of this, as probably the highest paid comic on the planet, is a little tough to swallow. Less bad results?

On the other hand, it looks like Michael may finally be damaged… forever… or at least until they come up with an idea that doesn’t include his sister…

Speaking of the same thing, but different…. HBO is pushing hard for “Game of Thrones: You Wanted Dragons? You Get Dragons!!!”

From The Museum of Bad Ideas…
Netflix Ends Customer Support on Twitter After 13 Years

LA Times living its best news-value-free life on the ‘Bullet Train’ press tour
Brad Pitt is living his best, pants-free life on the ‘Bullet Train’ press tour

Let’s hope he got a pay-out.
Chris Alexander Departs As Head Of Communications For Disney TV Studios, Ending 30-Year Run At Disney-Fox

Bradley As Bernstein
On the town and on the set with the biopic version of Lenny.

Participant Ups 4 in Campaigns and Engagement
The department is meant to extend the reach and impact of Participant’s films through marketing, digital resources and social.

And closing happy…