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Joining…

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Chapter 6:
Ethics AND FACT-
BASED STORIES
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PRESENTERS

Thyrus Ahmad
Karen Jane Shaina
James Jhann
Magsayo Gayao
Abdurasid Jannaral

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PRESENTERS

Queen Alija Sharif Virgel Sofia Mae

Buklao Rasdi Sasil Yap

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Ethics AND FACT-BASED

STORIES
• We, are going to look at some hot-buttom areas associated with factual works and ethical
quandaries that result.
• At the 1979 landmark docudrama symposium held in Ojai, California
• Works that are touted as based on fact, or inspired by actual events, or based on a true
should, in fact, have a sound factual basis, should they not?
• As Mike Piller. "based on truth, inspired by truth, historical drama"
• Impression - misleading

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• In truth, the based-on-fact label is often meaningless,

reduced to what legal department consider acceptable risks,
regardless of the factual basis.

• Director Barry Levinson said, when he asked about the

factual basis of the 1996 film sleep that based on the book
by Lorenzo Carcaterra.

• As the saying goes, truth may be stranger that fiction, but

fiction often wins out over truth.

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What’s real and what isn’t

• Novelists can reveal great truths about the human condition, and so can poets, film
makers and painters.

• To make things more complicated, writers of fiction use fact to make their work
believable.

• Fact is “something collectively perceived to be true”

• Fiction is “an imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has
been invented”.

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• Entertainment trade industry publication focuses on

factual errors and it was proved that more attention is being
given to factual errors Why?

• Distorting the Truth

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Theatrical film and Media/TV

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The Quiz Scandal

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• As California State University Fullerton Professor Larry

Ward notes at the start of his documentary class, the term
“documentary” itself is misunderstood and abused, applied to
everything from newsreels to instructional films to
travelogues and television specials.

• Though many do see documentaries as objective, in truth

they aren’t. Most documentaries have a distinct point of view
and possibly more of an agenda than the ore maligned
docudramas, works that mix with dramatic license while
using actors.

• Erik Barnouw noted that from early times, “documentary

film was infected with increasing fakery.”

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Documentaries and ethics

• For John Fox, an Emmy Award- winning series producer of Heritage:

Civilization and the Jews (1984), documentary filmmakers have to find the
truth that they want to tell; for Fox, this the truth that benefits the public.

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To accomplish this, he believes the following:

1. That words cannot be taken out of context

2. That visual editing tricks should not be used

3. That events should not be presents out of sequence

4. That any reenactments should be carefully researched

and labeled, as he questions if completely accurate
reenactments are even possible

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Oliver stone
• William Oliver Stone s an American film director, produce and screen writer. Oliver
Stone has become known as a master of controversial subjects and a legendary film maker.

• Several work have suffered significantly as a result of perceived factual inaccuracies,

inaccuracies that are increasingly disseminated by blog and websites dedicated to
uncovering untruths.

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• Is a 2006 American docudrama disaster film directed by

Oliver Stone, it stars Nicolas Cage, Maria Bello, Michael
Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Dorff and Michael
Shannon.

• The film was shot between October 2005 and February

2006, and theatrically released in the United States on
August 9, 2006.

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JFK

• John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician
who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination near
the end of his third year in office.

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• Norman Mailer strongly defended the film, for example,

saying, “Even when one knows the history of the Garrison
investigation and the considerable liberties that Stone has taken
with the material, it truly does not matter, one soon decides, for
no film could ever be made of the Kennedy assassination that
would be accurate.”
• Mailer added if the film were successful and widely seen, it
would be criticized as a “monstrous act” because it would then
be “accepted as fact by a new generation of moviegoers. One
can only shrug. Several generations have already grown up with
the mind-stultifying myth of the lone assassin. Let cinematic
hyperbole war then with establishment’s skewed reality. At
times, bullshit can only be countered with superior bullshit.
Stone’s has, at least, the virtue of its thoroughgoing metaphor.”

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THE FACT POLICE ON THE

ATTACK
What is a Fact Police?
-A fact police/fact-based police are people who go after “real or perceived factual errors.”

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• Sometimes critics and pundits find it easier to cite factual

errors than to cite more fundamental objections about a Insert picture that is related to your
given work. topic

• Saying that a work is “filled with errors” is a lot easier

than systematically describing and analyzing factual errors.

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THE FACT POLICE ON THE

ATTACK
• To do thorough fact-checking requires a great deal of work, but the fact-based police are
nevertheless at the ready to insist that errors in a film or TV program abound.

• Often the public will more readily accept that a work is “filled with lies” than it will
accept objections that appear too detailed or pedantic.

• If a critic does not like what a work is attempting to do, the easiest response is to attack
its factual accuracy.

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• Critics of Jimmy Carter's book on Palestine initially attacked the

book over its numerous inaccuracies, though they later shifted their
attention to the book's incorrect claims.

Insert picture that is related to your • Critics also focused on the book's inaccuracies, despite the former
topic president claiming that he tried to describe the situation in the most
accurate way.

• Regardless of how one feels about the volatile situation in the Middle
East, wouldn’t it be fairer, more ethical, to say upfront that one objects
to the thesis of a work instead of framing one's objections behind a
ready list of factual distortions or inaccuracies?

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THE FACT POLICE ON THE

ATTACK
• If the listing of real or perceived factual errors takes center stage, trouble ensues, and
when millions of dollars and reputations are at stake, the trouble escalates.

• Sometimes, publicized factual inaccuracies do not hurt a film if the studio responds
quickly and convincingly to the charges.

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• In 2006, ABC aired a docudrama miniseries.

• Touted by ABC as a public service

• The film carried a lengthy disclaimers/advisory

• Due to the subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

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THE path 9/11

• The following movie is a dramatization drawn from a variety of sources.

• The movie is not documentary

• The movie contains fictionalized scenes

• The film was heavily criticized as being inaccurate

• A DVD of the film had been announced

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A million little pieces by James

• Publish in 2003
Frey
• James frey memoire a million little piece became a best
seller

• Frey's book intense, unpredictable and instantly engaging,

this is a story of drug and alcoholic abuse rehabilitation as
it has never been told before. It is also the introduction of
bold and talented literary voice.

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A million little pieces by James Frey

• It should be noted here that the original publication of a million little piece
didn't include a disclaimer indicating that certain part of the book had been
fictionized.

• Frey went on Larry King live to defend himself during the show.

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Key ethical issues;

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• Oprah Winfrey called in to voice her support of Frey,

saying that the book's message of redemption resonated
with her. Insert picture that is related to your
topic

• But, a million little piece went directly against Winfrey's

vision of the book as inspiration

• Frey's challenge factual accuracy on June 8, 2006

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A million little pieces by James Frey

• She withdrew her support and what media observes describe as " remarkable television“

• Winfrey gives apologize to Larry King, " I left the impression that the truth doesn't not
matter, and am deeply sorry about that, because that is not what I believe.“

• She added " to everyone who has challenged me on this of truth, you are absolutely right"

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• Eighteen months later, on July 28, 2007 at the widely

covered Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference of the Insert picture that is related to your
topic
South West on Grapevine, Texas

• January 2006 Talese may not have justified or depend

herself on Oprah Winfrey Show.

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FREELANCE BOOK EDITORS AND

FACT-BASED PROJECTS
• What about freelance editors who proofread and polish manuscripts before publication? Don’t they fact-
check

• According to freelance editor John Morrone, a freelance editor edits punctuation and strives to make the
manuscript clear and consistent. It’s the editor’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of a book and to ensure
that it’s consistently clear. “

• As noted by journalists Scott Collins and Matea Gold in connection with the controversy over Frey’s A
Million Little Pieces, “Veterans agree that few nonfiction books will ever be vigorously fact-checked,
because publishers’ profit margins are too meager to justify the cost.”

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• Similarly, Frey’s Doubleday editor, Nan A. Talese, has said, “The

trouble with book publishers is that they don’t have the staff or they
don’t want to have the staff to ensure the veracity of a writer.”
Freelancers like Morrone who are paid by the hour are thus often asked
to do “light” review.

• Sometimes, however, a freelancer is asked to “check everything.” Insert picture that is related to your
When this request is made, the freelancer’s job is to query everything. topic
This sometimes causes authors to feel threatened or insulted by having to
“prove” the truth of what they have written. For example, Morrone
recalled one author who got angry when a number of errors in the
manuscript were found. This authors wrote in the manuscript’s margin,
“Go write your own op-ed piece and go fuck yourself,”

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FREELANCE BOOK EDITORS AND

FACT-BASED PROJECTS
• A freelancer thus has to ask himself or herself if the text should simply be accepted or if
facts need to be verified, even if the publishers has not requested a thorough review. A
freelancer has to question whether or not he or she can trust the narrator of a manuscript. If
the narrator can be trusted, the editing process is a lot smoother, because the freelancer can
focus on seeking clarify. If the narrator cannot be trusted for whatever reason (conflicting
versions of events, secrecy, falsification), the freelance editor has to devote energy and
time to create a consistent voice for the book.

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According to Morrone, ethical questions that a freelance editor faces

on a regular basis include the following:

• Accepting or declining an assignment if the subject matter does not

fall into an area of interest or expertise.
Insert picture that is related to your
• Accepting or rejecting an assignment because the subject matter topic
contradicts one's personal beliefs.

• Letting something go (i.e., "biting one's tongue") because the

freelancer's function has been curtailed as a result of cost cutting or a
directive not to investigate too deeply.

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FREELANCE BOOK EDITORS AND

FACT-BASED PROJECTS
• Avoiding inserting one's own politics into a manuscript.

• Facing the temptation of turning a manuscript into the freelancer's vision and not the
vision of the author. Some authors are very malleable, making the temptation that much
greater.

• Considering showing off or grandstanding on trivial matters to establish one's superiority

over the writer.

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• Praising a manuscript when it contains gibberish in order

to keep getting freelance assignments needed to pay the
rent.

• Navigating a conflict between the book's author and the Insert picture that is related to your
book's editor. topic

• Claiming a manuscript has been fully vetted in a

responsible and fair manner when it hasn't.

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FREELANCE BOOK EDITORS AND

FACT-BASED PROJECTS

• The issues that freelance editors face figure prominently in any discussion about the role
of factual accuracy, in terms of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces as well as all works
based on factual accounts.

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• Beginning filmmakers are often stumped when deciding

what rights are needed when they are developing a fact-
based story. Securing the rights of key individuals involved
in the story becomes a primary concern. It's not an easy
process.

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Rights and ethics

Here are some of the issues filmmakers need to consider:

• Are rights indeed needed?

• Is the public record adequate so that rights are not needed?

• Are necessary rights available?

• If more that one set of rights is available, how many should the filmmaker go after?

• How should the rights holder be approached? By whom? When?

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• What promises or guarantees should be made to the rights

holder?

• If a lawyer controls the right, how does this impact on the

nature of the negotiation?

• What should be included in a contract with the rights

holder?

• How long should the rights option last?

• What is a fair amount to pay for the rights?

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Securing approval can raise Ethical

concerns
• What you want is for that individual to be available you to help flesh out story points and
provide the necessary documentation.

• What you don’t want is for that individual to contradict what you want to do in your
project and for him or for her to demand story approval.

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• Many project has been halted at the gate because a producer

made the "mistake" of granting a rights holder story approval.

• Similarly, having the rights holder read a script can lead to

suggestions that can impede a project's initial vision or lead to
long delays as revisions are considered and then
implemented, often resulting in bad feelings all around.

• Other might say that these revisions could improve the

authenticity of the film and that it is unethical to secure
someone's right only to ignore that person's input.

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Securing approval can raise Ethical

concerns
• Freedom Writers (2007) - a fact-based film.
- It's about the efforts of a dedicated teacher, Erin Gruwell, to reach out to students (Figure 6-
5) who had been dismissed by the system in Long Beach.
• Hillary Swank - who portrayed Gruwell in the film.
• 1993 to 1998 - when the film takes place.
• Stand and Deliver (1998), with Edward James Olmos, and Dangerous Minds (1995) with
Michelle Pfeiffer
• Many of the television projects developed while at ABC glorified the rights holders
participating in the telefilm. For example, the fireman (Figure 6-6)
- Also, Michael Mann's 1999 film The Insiders about whistle blowing in the tobacco industry

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• Experienced producer Phillip M. Krupp, who was

mentioned in Chapter 4 in connection with the film Edges of
the Lord, navigates the rights waters very carefully.
- A Killing in Beverly Hills (1994) - it's about two sons who
murdered their parents
- Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution (2005) - it's about
notorious Scott Peterson case
- A Girl Like Me (2006) - it's also about a boy who feels he
should be a woman

• Krupp, the key to securing a person’s rights is to get that

person’s complete trust.

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