For anyone who believed that Hollywood is any more interested in free expression of ideas than, say, Microsoft, I want to point out a little story that will probably get a lot less airtime than Angelina Jolie’s attempt to ban Fox News from the premiere of a film about the execution of journalist Daniel Pearl.
A projectionist from Memphis was fired under pressure from 20th Century Fox. What did this guy do? What did the guy do that was so evil that it brought down the wrath of an entire movie studio? He posted a bad review of the Fantastic Four sequel. That’s it. Now, it was an advance screening review, which generally have folks sign a non-disclosure agreement beforehand. But, according to our intrepid reviewer, he was never asked to sign one. This means that he wasn’t obligated to anyone to keep his mouth shut. . . He was fired anyway.