David Manning (sometimes "Dave") was a pseudonym used by a marketing executive around July 2000 to give consistently good reviews for releases from
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
subsidiary
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...
. Several fictional review quotes attributed to "David Manning" were used in the promotion of medieval action/drama ''
A Knight's Tale
''A Knight's Tale'' is a 2001 American medieval adventure comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, win ...
'' (describing
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
as "this year's hottest new star!") and
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...
's comedy ''
The Animal
''The Animal'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Luke Greenfield, written by Rob Schneider and Tom Brady, and starring Schneider in the lead role, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Guy Torry, and Edward Asner. The film depicts a police ...
'' ("Another winner!"),
[Horn, John (June 2, 2001)]
"The Reviewer Who Wasn't There"
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
''. the latter of which generally received poor reviews by real critics.
Details
Manning was named after a friend of Matthew Cramer, the Sony marketing executive responsible for the insertions. Manning was credited to ''
The Ridgefield Press
''The Ridgefield Press'' is an American weekly newspaper published each Thursday for Ridgefield, Connecticut. The newspaper was established in 1875, and has a paid circulation of about 4,753 copies.
It is currently owned by Hearst Media, which ...
'', a small weekly newspaper from
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, ...
that actually published film reviews written by the father-and-son team of Mark and Jonathan Schumann. During an investigation into Manning's quotes, ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' reporter John Horn discovered that the newspaper had never heard of him.
The story emerged in mid-2001, around the same time as an announcement that Sony had used employees posing as moviegoers in television commercials to praise the
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocal ...
film ''
The Patriot''. These occurrences, in tandem, raised questions and controversy about ethics in
film promotion
Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes called the press junket or film junket, film promotion generally includes press re ...
practices.
On June 10, 2001, on an episode of ''
Le Show'', host
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a membe ...
conducted an in-studio interview with David Manning. The voice of Manning was provided by a computer
voice synthesizer.
On August 3, 2005, Sony made an
out-of-court settlement and agreed to refund $5 each to dissatisfied customers who saw ''
Hollow Man
Hollow may refer to:
Natural phenomena
*Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse
* Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley
*Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals
Places
*Sleepy ...
'', ''
The Animal
''The Animal'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Luke Greenfield, written by Rob Schneider and Tom Brady, and starring Schneider in the lead role, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Guy Torry, and Edward Asner. The film depicts a police ...
'', ''
The Patriot'', ''
A Knight's Tale
''A Knight's Tale'' is a 2001 American medieval adventure comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, win ...
'', or ''
Vertical Limit'' in American theaters as a result of Manning's reviews.
References
External links
David Manning entryfrom the
Museum of Hoaxes
The Museum of Hoaxes is a website created by Alex Boese in 1997 in San Diego, California as a resource for reporting and discussing hoaxes and urban legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urb ...
MetaCritic and RottenTomato rankings for the movies reviewed by Manning''Rezec v. Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.'' No. 160586 (Cal. App. Jan. 27, 2004)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, David
2000 hoaxes
2000 in American cinema
Nonexistent people used in hoaxes
Hoaxes in the United States
Journalistic hoaxes
Columbia Pictures
Pseudonymous writers
Film advertising material