I’m just getting started writing about movies online, so I try to avoid all this petty quarreling. Right now I’m happy to be included in the press list that I am on and am really happy that I’m starting to get more invites for screenings and interviews.

I think the key is to focus on the films. We all love movies – that’s why we do what we do. Forget all the politics and just enjoy the movies and hope you get read by more people.

You said it yourself. The guys who wrote the letter weren’t stupid and thought they were doing the right thing. I’m all for PR, but should worrying about public perception really stop someone from doing what they feel is right?

It’s a question worth exploring – especially since there are two publics here. Should Drew have halted, knowing that the public of readers might think website runners are petty or should he have gone ahead with it, knowing that the studios might see silence as tacit acceptance of behavior that has the chance to color all of the online world?

Also – I’m not sure that anyone really brought the issue into the public eye except The Wrap and whoever spoke to them. I completely agree that squabbles should be done privately, but without The Wrap story, this would have been.

Completely see where you’re coming from Cole… but for me the mistake with “the letter” was beyond it going public. Questions raised by other include “What were they trying to accomplish”? “Was it even their place to write that letter in the first place”? Like I said, I think this was righteous indignation that was just expressed the wrong way. End result is that the reputation of the whole community got hurt.

I could be 100% wrong though… that has been known to happen from time to time.

John,

That letter wasn’t for publication. It was mailed to studio representatives. Why would a letter that was intended to be a communication between people who work together make anyone ‘look bad?’

As for what the letter was trying to accomplish – well, I assume you didn’t read it, as the Wrap didn’t publish it. The letter was trying to let the studio publicity departments know that we do not agree with Alex and that we do not condone his awful behavior. We want to make sure that these people with whom we work daily understand that Alex is the rotten apple, not the representative for the rest of us.

If you had reached out to any of the folks who signed the letter you would have known that. I wish you would have reached out to any of us so that you would have known that this was never intended to be public.

Hey Devin,

Maybe I didn’t communicate this properly in my post, so let me restate it. My starting assumption was that the motive for writing the letter was innocent enough. I also never assumed the letter was MEANT to be public.

What Alex did makes us all look stupid, but I still believe that letter was a poorly thought out idea. It should have been considered that such a letter, with all the people involved, could be made public and what would the perception be?

Universal knows who is who and what is what, so I’m a little unclear about what you were trying to accomplish.

Like I said, I assume the motives and intent were right, but it wasn’t a good idea regardless of intent.

(Had to break this comment up cause I was getting tired of typing it out on my phone).

Also, everyone knows how much you hate Alex. You’re quite public about it. A couple of the guys who signed that letter are. Did you not consider that this fact alone should have made you NOT sign it? Did you not consider that the credibility of that letter becomes questionable when several of the names attached to it have been very vocal detractors of the subject (Billington)? Did this not cross your mind?

Look, you and I have disagreed before. That’s cool. I don’t think you had the wrong motive or had the intention of making the letter public… but it was a bad idea, and I think if you had thought it out a little bit more (and if I may speculate here, if it was anyone other than Billington I think you would have thought it out more) you wouldn’t have sent it.

Call me “misguided” all you wish, it is what it is.

I still love your beard.

I don’t and have never hated Alex Billington – actually at Comic Con 2010 – I introduced him to Thomas Tull (Head of Legendary Pictures) as being one of the fastest writers online. Tull had apparently never heard of Alex – and in a past Internet squabble – I played the peacemaker and helped explain things to Alex and stopped the witch hunt that was taking place – though Alex was in the wrong back then.

Alex is young. And I understand if you think Web Film Coverage is in its infancy. You’re very young yourself. But I can tell you about WEB INFANCY. I was the guy that broke down a shit ton of the barriers, and erected some of the prejudices as well, but what Alex did isn’t a Web Journalist problem. It is an integral and fundamental moral issue that has been established as being a “NO NO” for about the last hundred & fifty years of civilization.

BLACKMAIL is baaaaaad, mmmkay?

In 14 & a half years of doing this, I’ve never once had to resort to BLACKMAIL. I STILL haven’t seen fucking SCOTT PILGRIM. I’m dying to. My wife – it is her most anticipated film of the year – and though I knew about the SCOTT PILGRIM screenings at Comic Con – and though I did have reserved seats and an invitation from Edgar (who is a friendly associate of mine going all the way back to SPACED) – I couldn’t make it. And that happened to keep me from seeing the film for the next two nights of COMIC CON too.

Maybe I’ve become the Old Fart of the internet, but I was fine without seeing it FIRST or THAT NIGHT. I didn’t throw a hissyfit, I certainly didn’t give ANYONE a hard time about it – but my god – the night of that first SCOTT PILGRIM screening – there were easily 10 different things I could have done that night. I chose the easiest – which was THE EXPENDABLES party at the Hotel I was staying at.

But what Alex did wasn’t shady journalism… it was TECHNICALLY an illegal act. Not a Journalistic one, but a societal one. The only reason that Alex isn’t in jail or charged is that the Studio in question – rather than create bad blood placated the blackmailer in the hopes that it would all go away.

But then the story got out. Because, that’s what happens when somebody does something abhorrent. That’s why everyone knows what happened at IESB. Because it was horrible.

The biggest problem is that people like you, John, believe we’re still in our infancy. Well, folks like myself, Drew McWeeny, Garth, Devin, Nick, Patrick and others have been doing this for about a decade and a half – which means we’re not in our infancy – we’re officially entering HIGH SCHOOL – and soon we’ll have to be adults.

We helped forge the relationships with the studios – breaking down nearly a century worth of STUDIO DICTATED RULES for Film Journalism and rewriting how it is done. Most of the BIG HICCUPS were dealt with before LORD OF THE RINGS was a film project.

NOW – should everyone adhere to the “rules” that we’ve fought for over the last decade and a half?

No, absolutely not. We’ve so far to go. So far. I have been working forever to get Healthcare in place for my staff – but economically it still doesn’t work. But we’re still trying. I’m still pushing for it, so my wife can quit retail and become a human being pursuing her own passions. So everyone working with me can be protected. Because GODDAMMIT – many of you may be infants, but some of us have been fighting these fights for a very very long time.

AICN survived the bubble pop back in like 1998-1999. When advertising disappeared online for about a year and a half. When NOBODY was paid – and I had to use my book advance to keep the site alive.

We are no longer infants, many of us are men – married – with families – and the problem is – when an infant comes in and doesn’t even understand the criminal intent of the action of BLACKMAIL – we as an ADULT SOCIETY have to communicate to the other ADULTS – even if it goes against most everything I like to do.

Alex has never bothered me in the past. I found him to be a young, hungry film lover – who was sending himself to places like CANNES, SUNDANCE, TORONTO – and I figure that inside of the next 4-7 years – Alex would grow up a shitload.

The problem is this.

What Alex did with UNIVERSAL – was not a decent thing to pull. It was clearly “BLACKMAIL” – and people that do that are people to disassociate yourself from – and that was what everyone that agreed to Drew McWeeny’s motion and outreach supported.

That ANYONE would openly support someone that BLACKMAILED any individual, corporation or entity – well, that’s just wrong.

I’ve never once been jealous of anybody else’s coverage or access. Oh, I wish to God I could have seen the Captain America, Thor and AVENGERS panel in Hall H – but I couldn’t. I was somewhere else – and I could have got very forceful with MARVEL & PARAMOUNT and demand to sit in during the testing of that footage the night before, but I decided to simply LET IT GO. Why? Because I knew dozens of other sources would be covering it – and “I” don’t have to see anything before anyone else – and I’m certainly not the most important person in the universe. I’m a lucky bastard that has an amazing life that I should be thankful for.

I do not wish to infringe on ANYBODY’S rights – but you know what. I do believe BLACKMAILERS should be shunned. Do you, not?

Hey Harry,

You’ve been doing this for 15 years… I’ve been doing it for just 8 years. Print media has been around for over 150 years. When I talk of our “industry” being in its infancy, I’m not talking about you or me personally, I’m talking about the medium itself.

My point was that as a young industry, we have a lot going against us in terms of credibility, perception and reputation.

I’m not defending Alex in the least. Not sure what part of “stupid” or “foolish” you confused with defending.

What Alex did was wrong. Pure and simple. There is no defending what he did. But…

While I agree with your righteous indignation (and I mean that sincerely) over what Alex did, i still hold that writing that particular letter was a bad idea.

I’m not saying nothing should have been done, but who did it, what was to be done and how it should be done was not thought out.

I’m sorry if you take my disagreement with you as some sort of personal insult. I believe your intent was right, but it was a bad idea.

Campea is 100 percent correct. As someone on the periphery, I can honestly say that this letter makes you all look petty and stupid. It matters not whether it was meant for public consumption or not; it happened. Unfortunately, your huge egos won’t allow you to see this fact. Feraci calls Campea’s post “fundamentally flawed”, but it is he who is flawed by unfounded arrogance.

I don’t sign my name beneath lies, period.

And frankly, John, your headline is a little insulting. I assume that we nerdly movie bloggers would be MORE respected if we silently condoned this sort of despicable behavior? I do not agree.

Last one: “squabble” has two Bs. ;0)

Sorry, fundamentally misguided was the actual phrase used.

Well the idea was Drew’s. And he has been known to have a few “bad ideas” over history – and the night before it went up, I called him to see what the fuck the point was. Because frankly – it is the place of a Studio to either deal with someone, or not to.

That said – this isn’t the first time Alex has apparently pulled shenanigans. I know of at least 2 other major Geek Websites that I have heard have done the EXACT SAME THING in past years.

I’ve always tried to be the nice guy in how I deal with everyone. I don’t like squabbles – they’re a waste of energy and effort. I usually like to hover above the fray and chime in with my apparently sage advice from time to time, but… Drew made a point.

What ALEX did has been done before, and both times previously, studios caved in to BLACKMAIL.

This is abhorrent. Not just the act of BLACKMAIL, but the cowardice to pursue by the studios. What Drew and frankly, what a lot of us decided was to write a letter to the studios letting them know that if they issued some sort of punitive action agains Alex for doing this sort of thing, that we wouldn’t have a problem with that.

Because sadly – for most in this business – it is hard to gain any access to studios. And true, what Alex does affects me not one ounce. But in terms of the longterm bloggers, I’ve got very long term relationships in place – and people know that I don’t get information and then blackmail a studio.

If I get something cool, I post it. And deal with the fallout should it come.

Putting my name to that letter was done so, not because of any reason other than to join with my fellow online folks to say… THIS STINKS.

I never had a moments thought that this would be Private. It shouldn’t be. EVERYBODY should know that Alex Billington successfully blackmailed a studio. A couple of things will come out of this. There will be people that look upon this and realize – wow – we can blackmail Studios and gain access to screenings? And as it has been done before, it will happen again.

All that we webfolks can do is label it as terrible action, let everyone we know, KNOW. And perhaps help embolden the studios to react to BLACKMAIL as it should be handled. Not by writing and talking with the offending act, but by simply handing this over to Internal Legal departments and the Authorities.

And then they should realize – ya know – the thing about SCOTT PILGRIM isn’t that it is a secret screening, but how great of a movie was screened. Ultimately you had to have a 1-UP pin to get in – and there was no way to create them – so who cares if anyone knows where it is – but I believe everything that is a part of COMIC CON and surrounding it should be announced and scheduled with proper RSVP and invites sent to who those that throw the party, event – want to have come. And if you’re not on the list, you should not be a baby, definitely don’t be a blackmailer… be nice, if that doesn’t work – hell, get some sleep. THat’s the most precious commodity at Comic Con.

You’re not a bad guy John. Never meant to suggest such. But if things are ever to get better – people need to stand together and say, “This was wrong & we do not support it.”

The ludicrious side is thinking that anything online can be a secret. Oddly enough, I’m able to keep secrets extremely tight and talk openly amongst associates without fear of it coming out. Because I tend to be nice about it… and explain the need for the secrecy.

God I love SNEAKERS.

I guess you believe in the three strike program. Billington was already accused (and pretty correctly) of cut and paste plagiarism, and – from what you said – didn’t understand why what he was doing was wrong. Which strikes me as amoral. But it seems like being shamed by most of the community was enough to get him to stop.

I guess Weinberg’s saying there’s some wiggle room on what happened – and I wasn’t there, so I can’t attest to it – but from the people I talked to, I believe what I’ve heard. Alex knows he was somewhat in the wrong. If you read his comments, he says that he hasn’t had a good working relationship with Universal, and the evidence is he got into the screening. The question is “so?” A lot of sites have bad to non-existent relationships with Fox. Does that entitle them to anything? No. And regardless of whether it’s blackmail or not, Billington seems to have bullied his way in. I don’t know if that can be argued, Billington recognizes he made a mistake. So, if the only thing that gets Billington to curb his bad behavior is another – this time more public – shaming, so be it.

I also know that when I’ve been invited to cover certain things lately, we’ve all been told not to twitter about it because not everyone gets invited. It strikes me this has a lot to do with people like Billington who will complain to publicists if they don’t get into shit. But Squeaky-wheel journalism seems bad for the internet because – as this incident suggests, some people have entitlement issues, when a lot of coverage is based on relationships. I get the urge to defend Billington, but the Wrap did that already and this is all inside baseball regardless. And it’s too bad that this – like the Sanchez incident – was made public. But that’s bad journalism making the private public when it really shouldn’t be.

Harry,

I have no place at all in this discussion; I’m just a lowly film geek who frequents many movie news sites, including AICN and hitfix. After following this story throughout the day and hearing Cargill’s live take via Skype, I just wanted you to know that the movie geek community does not look at you writers any differently. TO be honest this whole deal has shown that you guys have integrity and are willing to police yourselves when someone screws up.

Again, I don’t have any place in conversation but I thought you should know that it’s refreshing to see integrity in a time when many sites, news or otherwise lack it.

I’ve been writing about film on internet blogs (Blogger, Live Journal etc.) for about five years. I don’t have a readership. My family and friends placate me by reading it because they know it’s a passion. A few friends share that passion, and they read it as well. One of the first things I fell in love with about the internet was that I wouldn’t have to wait from month to month for the newest edition of Fangoria, Starlog or whatever other magazine I could get my hands on to get some information about movies I was anticipating or movies I didn’t even know I should be anticipating. I envy the kids who are growing up with these sites, because they won’t have to work as hard as many of us did.

While I think John is absolutely right that film blogging is not journalism, it does serve a pretty important purpose. For guys like me, growing up in working class neighborhoods, where reading and watching every manner of off the beaten path material I could find rendered me a weirdo in many people’s eyes, it gives us the sense that we do belong to a larger community. I started writing a film blog because I love film. I’m getting nothing from it, and sometimes, I feel some kind of weird sense of responsibility even though I get nothing from it. And I mean nothing. I work at a job I can’t stand, everyday. I spend as many hours as I can manage at that job listening to podcasts about film. I write that blog because I should at least try to participate, to give something back to a community of people who have given me a lot. Maybe some kid will stumble across it and decide he’s going to see some film I recommend that he ends up really just falling in love with. That’s why I do it.

Honestly, this whole thing is pretty ridiculous. Blackmail is reprehensible. I can’t argue it any other way. But I can get feeling a little jealous because you’re not invited to the party. I don’t live in a big city. Even if many of these sites have contests, it makes no sense for me to enter them because I can’t get there if I do win. I don’t even get to see many of the films I read about until a good while after they’ve been released on DVD, because I have to hunt them down or order them. I get that feeling. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re looking in on a world you can’t gain access to. I get it. It’s an extremely stupid thing for Billington to have done, but I get it.

On the other hand, it would behoove many of the folks who are pretty well established in the world of film blogging to realize how many of us are out here. Hundreds of thousands. You might fancy yourselves the scrappy outsiders who made it through the door, but you’re in the door now. You’re not fighting for your survival now. You’re part of the new establishment. You were lucky to be a part of the first wave of people who really understood the implications of internet tech, and I do believe you all worked incredibly hard, and I applaud that. But you’re on the inside now.

The word for writing a letter to the studios excoriating a young blogger is “tone deaf”. You’re right in that his actions are reprehensible. You’re right in that it might in fact be illegal. But you’re wrong in thinking it’s your “industry” or “community” or whatever, to defend. It’s not. We are now the community of outsiders, sitting out here, living our lives, reading your sites. You don’t police the community. We do. Word getting out about what he did should have it’s own effect on Billington’s work and site. Over time, people will stop reading. If he’s as much of a jerk as some of you think he is, he won’t last. On the other hand, forgetting that you are the one’s who are getting invitations from the studios to screenings and sets, is not going to bode well for you either. You’re extremely lucky people. You’ve found a way to make your love for something work and produce something you can at least exist on. I commend your work and effort in that because I know it’s not easy, but you’re not alone. You couldn’t have done it without all of us, who don’t get those invitations, and who haven’t figured out how to do that yet, and frankly, all of this comes across as some inside baseball bullshit. Get over yourselves.

I’ll still read your sites, because I love them, don’t get me wrong. And I can totally get the fight to try and be able to get health care for your people. I don’t have health care. I get how much this all means to you, because of how hard you’ve worked, but that has to stay between you all. You have to make the statement of what you believe integrity is by being someone you think has integrity. We all lose otherwise. Universal made their decision on how to deal with the issue at hand, and it was their decision to make. Back off, and go fight the fight you actually should be fighting, getting your people health care, and stopping studios from making so many shitty movies with millions of dollars invested in them that could be used for good movies.

Interesting how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

10 years ago I found myself writing an email to Harry about a STAR WARS 2 scoop CA broke that I felt AICN had played down. Several movie webmasters wanted to sign the email too, concerned about the way they felt AICN was treating the online community. That email had a similar effect to what The Wrap just did, in that Harry got an early copy of the email and brought it to the attention of the public’s eye.

I get along great with Harry. In fact, AICN has been super terrific in giving the new CA linklove and I’ve sent him numerous emails thanking him and his staff for saying gushing statements about CA and myself. I believe that we both have respect for each other and what we do, and I think that we and a lot of the old guard also see our industry through different glasses than some of the more recent sites and their owners do. I even think that we’re both more educated, further along in our lives and more wiser about how the studios and film creators and other websites and readers (and the ad agencies, where we make our living) all mix together.

I also think that I have an unusual perspective on this latest incident. Since bringing back CA 2 years ago I’ve had to re-educate myself on the whole movie webmaster business. It’s not just learning who the new players are in our business but also what their reputations are. Add to things that I’m out of the L.A. loop/gang, so I don’t get to see guys like Drew or Devin or Todd so I piece stuff together a lot more slowly over time. The business mechanics of this industry have also evolved, or de-evolved I should say, and hit-whoring / practicing combatitive SEO tactics against fellow movie websites that some owners perceive as being in competition for the same ad dollars are commonplace with some sites and agencies. Some movie webmasters are wise to these new rules for the game, other are relatively new and I see them act more concerned for the short term gains.

Ever since I came back on the scene Billington has had a bad rep. Learning from Drew his version of events, it certainly paints a childish picture of Alex. I can easily see why several of the web writers that know Lindsey could be easily offended by what he did, which I understand was quite emotional to her. My understanding is that it made her feel that her job was in jeopardy and that Alex could have her lose it if he so chose to act a certain way.

In thinking about this, I’m reminded of what it was like when I was on a different side of the fence 10 years ago. I remember going to the first Masters of the Web panel and meeting a lot of movie guys (and gals) that ran their sites. They told me of how frustrating it was to not feel included by movie studios, and how lucky I was to be given opportunities that they weren’t.

Now, 10 years later, I’m very much on the side of the fence where I don’t have any relationships with movie studios. Being outside of L.A. doesn’t help, but I’ve found it frustrating trying to reach out to studios’ online PR departments and not getting your calls or emails returned. I know full well that it’s because CA 2.0 is, to the PR people, off their radar and doesn’t get the same traffic levels as AICN, DH, CHUD, Slashfilm, Coming Soon and many others. In fact, I had to once get the attention of Lindsey at Universal by publicly calling her out on Twitter, and an opportunity that a director of a Universal feature gave to me was lost for reasons that I feel have to do with not being on Lindsay’s list of who she considers the movers and shakers of the online community. I could have anger for her, but I don’t because I understand the simple and very impersonal reality of this business: studios think you’re important when you have traffic, or can bring attention to their product. Nevertheless, I can see why movie webmasters do get angry when they get the cold shoulder. That’s not to forgive what Alex is accused of doing because, in the 15 years that I’ve been doing this, I have never tried to blackmail someone to get access or a privledge that others have.

But look around at the state of our industry — do you see it getting better or fostering a feeling of maturity? I see sites ripping off content, cut and paste, and making a decent living from doing it. I see hard work and good journalism — which I believe some of us are trying to do John, much as you may not think so — not given the commendation or attention that it should be given. I see people turning to desperate measures to try and squeeze more revenue from their sites even though they’re not being supported by movie studios through ad buys, or by one-sided deals with ad agencies. Taking the easy road, which can also sometimes be the morally ambiguous road, is a viable business model for the internet. What do you expect the consequences to be?

Getting back to the way I began this post and that email to Harry 10 years ago, looking back perhaps the best thing to emerge from that event was that it brought the subject to light and a discussion took place. With this latest email, I’ve read the comments in The Wrap’s coverage of this and I’ve seen people calling us everything from crybabies to offering their unconditional support. What we might need to start doing is talking in public a lot more about what the pressures and challenges are for each of us that run our sites, from the movie studios’ PR and marketing people, our readers, the online ad agencies, filmmakers and distinguished competition/peers from all sites.

That, and Billington can weigh in on what went down from his perspective.

Hey Scott,

I never suggested doing nothing, nor do I accept that the only two options are 1) doing the wrong thing and 2) doing nothing.

But how was the title “insulting”?

I’ll spell squabble however I want you son of a bitch.

Hey Harry,

See, i really don’t think we’re on very different pages. What Billington did was dead wrong. No doubt about it. I felt a little sick when I first heard of it.

I also agree that something needs to be done.

A few years ago at SXSW I tried to pull together a few webmasters to collectively talk about how we can police ourselves. One of the major issues was how certain sites were taking stories from other sites and then promoting the stories on DIGG to reap the traffic from other people’s work. I tried to get a discussion going, but no one wanted any part of it.

I agree web writers need to come together and do something about situations like this. However… My only thing is that WHAT was done was the wrong thing. It was well intentioned for sure, but it was not well thought out and if you read around the web it just got sympathy for Alex. This is the wrong result.

And as i mentioned to Devin earlier… who i have no doubt had the right intentions… having the letters signed by some guys who are known for how much they hate and have feuded with Alex makes such a letter lose credibility and has given fuel to those blasting the letter and those who signed it.

Again, I stand in complete agreement that what Alex did was WRONG and something needed to be done. But what was done was ill-advised and clearly not thought out enough despite the right intentions.

I hope that despite the part we disagree on we can one day watch Sneakers together. JEJ at the end is still my all time favorite movie cameo.

Hey Stuart,

I don’t think those involved have “huge egos”. I think they were (rightfully) angry at what happened and just felt the need to do something. I may not agree that what they did was the right action, but I do agree with them that some sort of action should happen.

John I love ya, but I have some issues with your post.

I don’t care if what we sent to the studios was made public. (I like how we’re perceived as a “cozy and yet competitive group” who according to The Wrap, has Scrabble sessions every weekend and wife swaps.)

The letter that I’d like to see made public is the one that Alex sent. Because so far readers seem to be getting only one side of the story. That we’re ganging up on a guy and sticking our nose into studio business.

Know what? Fuck that. What do you suggest we do John? So far all you’ve said was that how we handled it wrong but you’re offering up no suggestions of your own. Do we picket? Wag our fingers next time we run into Alex? Dance battle? A good old fashioned ass whuppin’?

A letter telling the studios we DO NOT CONDONE these actions was fine by me. Here’s a possible scenario for you: maybe the studios will start restricting access to us. Maybe they might start thinking that if one guy can do this and we cave in, that others might start doing it as well. We start getting cut off, and THE READER is the one who pays the price for that. Maybe the studios start thinking they’re only going to deal with the major outlets from now on. Give everything to Yahoo or USA Today. Why bother with the geek sites anymore if that’s the kind of shit they’re going to pull if they don’t get invited to something? We lose content, we lose readers, we shut down, readers have one less site to go to. I’m not gonna lose my job and go back to a life of underground Filipino stick cage fighting. I just won’t do it. Would that happen? I doubt it. But the actions of one do affect the rest of us in this community.

Ya, I sometimes get upset if I don’t get invited to something cool like driving Aston Martins in Europe (damn you to the gods, Sony!!), but I’ve never resorted to blackmail to try and get my way. (Bribes of sparkling rubies and sweet chocolates is cool though. That actually works.)

You mention that we saw this as an opportunity to pounce on poor young Alex because some “are known for how much they hate and have feuded with Alex…” That sending such a letter loses value because of a personal grudge.

BULLSHIT.

What we don’t like is some kid blackmailing a studio and nobody saying a fucking word about it. We let the studios know we don’t condone this type of action and neither should you. All were saying is whether it was Billington or Faraci, nobody has the right to do what they did and think it’s ok. (And this isn’t the first time he’s pulled this ‘e-mailing bosses’ shit with a studio either.)

Everyone seems to be missing the point that we sent this letter because blackmail is irresponsible, not to mention illegal. In my opinion, keeping quiet, letting this get swept under the rug, is just as irresponsible.

By the way, journalism is described as: the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business.

We’re journalists. As shitty as we may be at it, that’s what we are. No matter the medium or what stage of growth it’s in.

Word to your mother,

-El Guapo

From our friends at Wikipedia:

“Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing, socially damaging, and/or incriminating nature.”

What you’re talking about is coercion, because if the private screening had been revealed it wouldn’t have been socially damaging, embarrassing, or incriminating.

What is embarrassing is that 20 “stewards” of the net have taken it upon themselves to make everyone in the industry look foolish. But it almost seems like cozying up to studios for access to marketing materials isn’t really an industry at all.

The true problem with just about everyone in this insular little game is that they want to be a “fan” while also partying with celebrities and not providing any value to the readers. The sites mentioned, Billington’s included, are more marketers than pillars of justice. As such, when they come together for a righteous stand, it feels very hollow and misguided.

Hey El Guapo,

Dude, you know I love ya too.

Here’s the thing my man… you don’t need to keep telling me how what Billington did was wrong. I know that, I agree with you 100% and also completely agree that something needs to be done.

Also you said:

we saw this as an opportunity to pounce on poor young Alex because some “are known for how much they hate and have feuded with Alex

Bullshit, I never suggested that at all. What I did say was that by having guys sign this letter who are well known to ALREADY hate Billington and have openly feuded with him, it makes the letter lose credibility and makes the letter look like it’s just a bunch of guys who hate Billington trying to get at him. You and I know that’s not the case, but dude, it’s what it looks like.

And come one man, let’s not act like Lindsey/Tamar/Brent/Carol etc. etc. etc. don’t know what’s what and who is who. They all know who Alex is and how he acts and that he doesn’t represent all of us.

Man, I tried for a couple of years to get webmasters together to decide on an agreed upon code of conduct and what we collectively do when that code isn’t adhered to… but no one else wanted anything to do with it.

So yeah man, I totally agree that what Billington did was inexcusable. I totally agree that something needs to be done. I’m 100% with you on that. However, no matter how well intentioned the letter was I would have told you immediately that it was the wrong idea… that we should have all taken a couple of weeks to talk about it, figure out what to do and then taken deliberate, united, concentrated, well thought out and co-ordinated action.

But now there are as many people around the web making statements like the ones I quoted in the post instead of talking about Billington and what he did. So tell me again how that letter wasn’t a bad idea?

Yeah, I do have a suggestion of what we should do, but I honestly don’t think anyone is really interested in hearing it because it would actually take time/energy/effort.

And I’m still going to kick your ass at poker.

John,

Dance battle it is. I knew it would come down to this. Bring your ‘A’ game!

you’re about to get served

This isn’t the first time Alex has upset the community with his actions. If this was a first offense, there would be no letter. I’ve seen emails upon emails being passed around about Alex and the way he operates, and up until this letter everything has been dealt with in-house, so to speak, on long email chains featuring several online movie writers all bitching to one another and to Alex.

So when the blackmail thing happened, a lot of us felt that we needed to make a little noise. It was wrong, it hurt us, it hurt people we worked closely with and we, as a community, wanted to come together and say, “Look, this is not how we do things – we respect you, we respect the access you’ve given us over the years so we can provide better content to our audiences — and we want to single this person out because he’s been a bad apple and we do not support his actions.”

Understand one thing that really upset me, personally, was finding out the fact that Alex tends to loop “everyone” in on his fights with studios and publicists, saying (and I’m paraphrasing) “Everyone feels the way I do. No one likes you. No one thinks you do a good job”

Well, fuck, I don’t feel that way. In fact, none of us feel that way. And so, like I said, all of these factors contributed to our need to make a little noise.

And when you make a little noise, you don’t always come out of it a champion or a hero (because not everyone likes noise; noise, depending how loud it is, can be annoying). Obviously people who don’t do this day in and day out — who aren’t on all the emails and don’t have all the facts — are going to want to attack us and call us bullies. That’s fine — I can totally see how an outsider would think that. That’s why the letter was never intended to be read by an outsider.

But know that I am not a bully. I work my damn ass off at what I do because not only do I fucking love it, but it also puts food on the table for my family. I respect this business, I respect the people I work with and around, and I don’t want anyone to think any differently.

I’ve known Alex for awhile now, and though I’ve been pissed at a lot of the decisions he’s made — and have even spoken to him about them and his writing — I’ve never once gone out of my way to hurt him and have always treated him as a colleague.

And I don’t want the guy to never be able to do what he loves ever again. I just want him to finally hear us. Trust me we’ve tried, but every few months there’s always something else. I’m sorry if this letter hurt Alex — and he’s probably happy that a lot of people are attacking those of us who signed it — but I sincerely hope he sees the errors in his ways and will do all that he can do be a more professional and honest human being.

That’s all I really want see come out of this whole thing.

“The world of film blogging and writing on the web is still essentially in its infancy, and as such has a long way to go in terms of perception and legitimacy.”

Total and 100% bullshit. Just because you’re SUPER new to the game, doesn’t mean Aintitcool News, Movieweb, ComingAttractions, Dark Horizons, Joblo and so many other websites haven’t been doing exactly what you call your “job”, for 15 years +. Get your facts straight. That’s one things all you new school little bloggers never think to do.

Obviously you’re new…and you think your opinion matters, but come on…. who the hell are you anyway? And why should anyone really care? Just because you spend your whole day typing shit into a web form doesn’t make you important.

Hello Han,

Wow, you’re really eloquent aren’t you?

Print media has existed for over 150 years.

The first TV newscast was over 80 years ago.

So yes… “film blogging” is still in its infancy. 15 years is NOTHING for a new medium.

“But what Alex did wasn’t shady journalism… it was TECHNICALLY an illegal act. Not a Journalistic one, but a societal one. The only reason that Alex isn’t in jail or charged is that the Studio in question – rather than create bad blood placated the blackmailer in the hopes that it would all go away.”

Someone call 911!

Wow.

i think Harry should have saved time typing and just write whaaaaaa whaaaaaa whaaaa!!!

I’m commenting on this because it’s the entire who’s who of our circle and I want to play too!

Really, the only issue I have with the article is the journalist part. Can someone be a blogger and a journalist? Yes. Hence, we can blog and still be journalists.

Most of what I write for Film School Rejects I consider “editorials.” I’m an editor, they’re my opinion, they’re focused and not entirely personal. I also write film reviews – are Ebert and other famous movie reviewers bloggers or are they entertainment journalists?

I also, from time to time, write up news that I researched or found. Guys like El Mayimbe and El Guapo and Steve ‘Frosty’ W. are well known for hunting down news and scoops – that’s total, legit journalism. If you hunt down leads and people and get facts and publish those facts, you’re a journalist.

Also agreed that Billington did a bad thing. But I’m not hung up over it. Plenty of people have done bad things in our business to get what they wanted.

Rather than get caught up in something that honestly isn’t distracting me enough to stop eating this delicious sandwich, I’ll just sign off by saying I agree with much of the sentiment of this article (but not all) and think, for the most part, everyone is responsible for themselves and their own actions, and needn’t be involved in every aspect of other people’s/site’s business.

I like to live in my happy shell.

Well, no. Here’s how it would have played out:

1. The accused person does not get a ticket.

2. He goes on all available networks (twitter, fb, website) and spills the beans.

3. 3,000 people show up in front of a theater that’s meant to hold (?) 800.

4. Firemen arrive and cancel the screening because it’s a freaking fire hazard.

5. 3 and 4 probably wouldn’t happen, actually, because SDCC and Uni would have to cancel it before it got that far.

I signed the letter, and I’d do it again tomorrow. I am not a mean-spirited or vindictive person. There is no love lost between me and the accused person, this is true, but I would never sign my name on a lie, just to smack someone down I don’t like all that much.

Yes, what we do is trivial in the grand scheme of the world, but I still take it a little bit seriously.

Also, THE OTHER GUYS is freaking hilarious.

To be fair, John’s been doing this stuff longer than I have. And that’s kind of a long time.

Amiable fill someone in on and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you on your information.