Film Producers in court
Oliver Stone, the American famous filmaker, found himself involved in a lawsuit because of one of his films. Watch the video and answer the questions that follow.
Micky and Mallory were natural born killers, cross country criminals that took many lives but gained fans along the way. “If I was a mass murderer, I’d be Micky and Mallory”
Two of their biggest fans were Ben and Sarah. They followed the same script on a journey that left one dead man in Oklahoma and 34 year old Patsy Byers paralyzed in Louisiana.
When they confessed to these copycat crimes Patsy shot back in court. In addition to Ben and Sarah Patsy sued Oliver Stone and Time Warner for producing a film designed to glorify and incite violence.
The trial judge wouldn’t hold the producers liable for copycat crimes and dismissed them from the case.
Would Patsy have better luck on appeal? Patsy never lived to see the ruling. But the Appeals Court agreed that films designed to incite violence take freedom of speech a bit too far. Her family pressed on but couldn’t prove that these filmmakers actually intended to promote violence.
Olive Stone didn’t win an Oscar for the film but he and his partners did win the case.