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Tanuki

(14,893 posts)
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 05:23 AM Dec 2019

Clint Eastwood's misogynistic slander of female reporter in "Jewell" film

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/clint-eastwood-richard-jewell-kathy-scruggs-1203429660/amp/

'The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is asking Warner Bros. and the makers of “Richard Jewell” to release a statement acknowledging it took dramatic license when it portrayed journalist Kathy Scruggs as trading sex for tips.

The Clint Eastwood film looks at the media circus that broke out around Jewell, a security guard who came under suspicion for orchestrating the Centennial Olympic Park bombing before being exonerated. Scruggs, an employee at the paper, broke the story that Jewell was under investigation by the FBI. The film shows Scruggs, portrayed by Olivia Wilde, sleeping with an FBI agent (Jon Hamm) to get the story. Scruggs died in 2001 at the age of 42. The paper has maintained that there is no evidence that Scruggs slept with anyone involved in the Jewell investigation.
.....

Reached for comment, Kevin G. Riley, editor of the Journal-Constitution, said that reporters in his newsroom and those who knew Scruggs were disturbed by the film’s portrayal. Riley saw the film when it premiered at AFI Fest. He said he felt that the movie trades in harmful stereotypes about female journalists, such as those seen in movies like “Absence of Malice” and “Thank You for Smoking” that have depicted female reporters sleeping with sources.

“I think this letter makes it clear how seriously we take the misrepresentation of our reporters’ actions and of the actions of the newspaper during that time,” he said. “We have been clear about how disturbed we are in the film’s use of a Hollywood trope about reporters…and how it misrepresents how seriously journalists concern themselves with reporting accurately and ethically.”...(more)

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Clint Eastwood's misogynistic slander of female reporter in "Jewell" film (Original Post) Tanuki Dec 2019 OP
Eastwood's a "quiet part quiet" rightwanker Grokenstein Dec 2019 #1
Hear, hear. Solomon Dec 2019 #34
A shock to many, I know jeffreyi Dec 2019 #35
An honest film about what happened to Richard Jewell would be interesting. Jim__ Dec 2019 #2
I'm curious if it at all tells the story of Eric Rudolph underpants Dec 2019 #3
No. It focuses on the media assassination of Jewell. He settled several lawsuits too. oldsoftie Dec 2019 #5
The rush to convict him.... I remember the Central Park 5 case. 3Hotdogs Dec 2019 #6
Cant recall his name......i think he became a bigger asshole oldsoftie Dec 2019 #7
Yeah that was a heinous act that I'm glad hasn't been repeated underpants Dec 2019 #14
I think you mean that Jewel deserves all the settlements and apology he got, right? lunatica Dec 2019 #17
Yes I meant that Jewel should have received the money and the apology. underpants Dec 2019 #28
I won't watch Eastwood films anymore PatSeg Dec 2019 #4
Clint Eastwood is a notorious misogynist. Has always been. CousinIT Dec 2019 #8
I can't watch him or Tom Selleck at all. milestogo Dec 2019 #9
Huh, I didn't know about Selleck. Explains why I have never liked him. Ever. Maru Kitteh Dec 2019 #20
Hunk of gun-humping right wing shit. milestogo Dec 2019 #21
Same here. -nt. okieinpain Dec 2019 #10
Especially the way he treated Sandra Locke... tenderfoot Dec 2019 #19
But Clint made a movie about a woman boxer Beringia Dec 2019 #22
That was the woman, Sandra Locke, he left his wife Maggie for, Greybnk48 Dec 2019 #23
I don't understand your point Beringia Dec 2019 #25
No because he mistreated her and exboyfil Dec 2019 #26
I would never expect anything better from Eastwood HAB911 Dec 2019 #11
I'll never forget eastwood talking to the chair (Obama) spanone Dec 2019 #12
same here! HAB911 Dec 2019 #13
Yep. Hong Kong Cavalier Dec 2019 #24
Par for the course from that guy. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2019 #15
Olivia Wilde (actress who plays Scruggs) Calls Out Double Standard Of Sexism progressoid Dec 2019 #16
If there was evidence she slept with FBI agents exboyfil Dec 2019 #29
If it's a fictional character that's one thing Withywindle Dec 2019 #32
Wilde's defense of the screenplay makes NO sense RhodeIslandOne Dec 2019 #38
It seems a shame that they couldn't make an honest film about a guy that deserved it. Johonny Dec 2019 #18
The story is compelling enough without gilding exboyfil Dec 2019 #30
The talking chair routine helped Obama. saidsimplesimon Dec 2019 #27
That movie is a love letter to trumpers. redstatebluegirl Dec 2019 #31
Movies are not the place to go for accurate reporting on historical events Kaleva Dec 2019 #33
Except when do we say "Enough!" ? Archae Dec 2019 #36
"Victoria" on Amazon is very inaccurate. Kaleva Dec 2019 #37

Grokenstein

(5,707 posts)
1. Eastwood's a "quiet part quiet" rightwanker
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 06:41 AM
Dec 2019

I mean, he's been that way since the '70s, and I usually don't watch anything he's directed, but The 15:17 to Paris is frequently on the breakroom TV at work and it is an astonishing exercise in parading liberal and "foreigner" strawmen. I expect nothing better from the debater of empty chairs and the director of Only White Men Ever Fought At Iwo Jima, forever seeking fresh stories of aggrieved white conservative penises to blow up to legendary horseshit proportions, at the expense of all others.

Jim__

(14,045 posts)
2. An honest film about what happened to Richard Jewell would be interesting.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 06:47 AM
Dec 2019

I didn't think we'd get that from Eastwood.

underpants

(182,279 posts)
3. I'm curious if it at all tells the story of Eric Rudolph
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 07:08 AM
Dec 2019

Rudolph has also confessed to three other bombings: an abortion clinic in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs on January 16, 1997; the Otherside Lounge of Atlanta, a lesbian bar, on February 21, 1997, injuring five;[9] and an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama on January 29, 1998, killing Birmingham police officer and part-time clinic security guard Robert Sanderson, and critically injuring nurse Emily Lyons. Rudolph's bombs contained nails which acted as shrapnel.

oldsoftie

(12,410 posts)
5. No. It focuses on the media assassination of Jewell. He settled several lawsuits too.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 08:13 AM
Dec 2019

He sued several news outlets and almost all settled with him before going to court. And a year or so before he died, the State of Ga officially thanked him for what he did that day.
I remember well the rush to convict him when he hadnt even been named a suspect. It was terrible.

And I remember watching the news reporting live outside the Atlanta clinic bombing and as the reporter spoke, the second bomb went off behind her in a dumpster. The concussion blew her hair forward. Fortunately no one was injured in the 2nd explosion. I'll never forget that scene.

3Hotdogs

(12,210 posts)
6. The rush to convict him.... I remember the Central Park 5 case.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 08:24 AM
Dec 2019

Wasn't there some asshole who took out a full page ad in the failing N.Y. Times? It promoted restoring the death penalty to execute criminals like The 5?

underpants

(182,279 posts)
14. Yeah that was a heinous act that I'm glad hasn't been repeated
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 09:32 AM
Dec 2019

Brutal. It's like the first bomb was setting a trap.

I get that Jewel was screwed. He deserves everything he got. Eric Rudolph was the epitome of the right. He attacks first responders under the auspices of being pro life.

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
17. I think you mean that Jewel deserves all the settlements and apology he got, right?
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 01:58 PM
Dec 2019

Your post is a little confusing as it can be misconstrued as Jewel deserved being screwed.

CousinIT

(9,151 posts)
8. Clint Eastwood is a notorious misogynist. Has always been.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 08:50 AM
Dec 2019

I quit watching his films or listening to him years ago. Sad, he was a good actor. But he's butt-ugly to me with those attitudes so I just can't with that.

Maru Kitteh

(28,303 posts)
20. Huh, I didn't know about Selleck. Explains why I have never liked him. Ever.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 02:23 PM
Dec 2019

Always gave me the creepy-crawlies, even when I would hear of other females swooning over him being a "hunk." He's a hunk of something alright.

tenderfoot

(8,424 posts)
19. Especially the way he treated Sandra Locke...
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 02:13 PM
Dec 2019

despicable! Even got her omitted from the "In Memory" part of the Oscars - despite her being nominated for one.

Beringia

(4,314 posts)
22. But Clint made a movie about a woman boxer
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 02:52 PM
Dec 2019

She was very strong, though pretty sad.

He also starred his wife in a few of his Every Which Way but Loose series, with the orangutan. She was a strong independent woman, though I guess not very nice.

Greybnk48

(10,148 posts)
23. That was the woman, Sandra Locke, he left his wife Maggie for,
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:08 PM
Dec 2019

that starred in every which way but loose and a few others after that. He's a prick

Beringia

(4,314 posts)
25. I don't understand your point
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:36 PM
Dec 2019

You are saying he is a misogynist because he left Maggie for Sandra Locke?

exboyfil

(17,857 posts)
26. No because he mistreated her and
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:52 PM
Dec 2019

she was the go to rape victim for a series of films that he was associated with (lead actor and I think had producer credits).

Hong Kong Cavalier

(4,571 posts)
24. Yep.
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:12 PM
Dec 2019

When that maggot implied that President Obama would tell him to "go fuck yourself" I was fucking pissed.

As if Obama would have ever said that to him. President Obama would have been gracious and respectful and even kind in the face of that much venom.

progressoid

(49,827 posts)
16. Olivia Wilde (actress who plays Scruggs) Calls Out Double Standard Of Sexism
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 01:50 PM
Dec 2019
...In the movie, Hamm’s Tom Shaw and Scruggs are depicted as close associates. The scene in debate centers on Scruggs cozying up to Shaw in a bar, offering to sleep with him for information on the bombing. Shaw tells Scruggs,“Kathy, you couldn’t f*ck it out of them. What makes you think you could f*ck it out of me?”

For Wilde’s part, she was comfortable playing a complex character, and wonders why the same scrutiny isn’t being leveled at Hamm’s FBI agent. Wilde called it an unfair double standard.

“She was incredibly successful as a cop reporter. She had a very close relationship with the cops and the FBI helping to tell their story, and yes, by all accounts she had relationships with different people in that field,” Wilde told Deadline. “But what I resented was this character being boiled down to one inferred scene and I don’t hear anyone complaining about Jon Hamm’s character as being inferred that he also had a relationship with a reporter. It feels unfair that Kathy has been minimized in this way.

“I think that we are still struggling with allowing for female characters who aren’t entirely quote-unquote likable,” she said. “If there’s anything slightly questionable about a female character, we often use that in relation to condemn that character or to condemn the project for allowing for a woman to be impure in a way. It’s a misunderstanding of feminism to assume that all women have to be sexless. I resent the character being minimized to that point,” the Booksmart filmmaker added...

https://deadline.com/2019/12/olivia-wilde-responds-to-richard-jewell-kathy-scruggs-controversy-1202799205/



exboyfil

(17,857 posts)
29. If there was evidence she slept with FBI agents
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 03:58 PM
Dec 2019

to get her stories, then it is perfectly ok to include it in a biopic. Otherwise don't show it.

That is what I hate about biopics (see Max Baer's treatment in Cinderella Man or Freddie Mercury's lover/manager in Bohemian Rhapsody). Everyone should be clear about the dramatic license they take to set up a "villain". These are real people that, even if dead, should not be libeled.

The AJC did go down the rabbit hole based upon information from the FBI (and the source still is shielded), but they did eventually get on the right track and their reporting actually got ahead of the investigation in showing the FBI theory did not hold up.

It is Freeh's FBI that should be criticized. They never found the leaker. The name should never have gotten out prior to preparation of a charging document at a minimum.

Withywindle

(9,988 posts)
32. If it's a fictional character that's one thing
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 04:29 PM
Dec 2019

Still a tired sexist trope, but whatever. I think it's a totally different thing to slander a real person, who isn't around to defend herself. There are people who will see the movie and think it's all true and that really happened, even though it's a lie. Terrible thing to do to a real person's legacy, IMO.

 

RhodeIslandOne

(5,042 posts)
38. Wilde's defense of the screenplay makes NO sense
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 04:47 AM
Dec 2019

Like she didn’t understand what people are upset about.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
33. Movies are not the place to go for accurate reporting on historical events
Tue Dec 10, 2019, 04:33 PM
Dec 2019

If one finds it entertaining, then it did what it's supposed to.

Archae

(46,262 posts)
36. Except when do we say "Enough!" ?
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 12:36 AM
Dec 2019

"No more bullshit! Tell the truth!"

The "Richard Jewell" ads say now we should "know the real truth."

So why is Eastwood making shit up about a woman who died in 2001?

Oh right, "Artistic License," translation: Lie.

Oliver Stone's "JFK" was really bad when it came to being factual, in fact only two facts were in the whole movie:
JFK was killed in Dallas
Jim Garrison put Clay Shaw on trial for the killing

The rest of "JFK" is one big fat LIE.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
37. "Victoria" on Amazon is very inaccurate.
Wed Dec 11, 2019, 12:55 AM
Dec 2019

The series depicts Victoria as a monarch who cares about the common people when in truth, she really didn't. Nobody should go to the movies or watch some historical drama and expect to see 100% accurate history. It's entertainment. Not a college course.

Look at how the 1979 movie "The Amityville Horror" was promoted as. People came away from that movie believing it was based on actual events when it really was just total bullshit.

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