Wednesday, November 17, 2004 9:03 PM
BY JORDI ORTEGA
Director Robert Greenwald and his documen- tary “Outfoxed,” the film critical of Fox News Network and its editorial links with the Bush Administration, drew about 100 journalists, filmmakers, and students to an October 21 screening at the Los Angeles Film School, which co-sponsored the event with the Press Club and PR Newswire. Greenwald, who arrived bearing brochures of the Americavotes.org campaign, answered questions after the screening during a give-and-take moderated by Press Club board member Jon Beaupre.
Greenwald offered three key lessons: First, the great production flexibility of his independent film/journalism project, which was developed in secrecy to avoid any risk of being sued by Fox. His production team recorded Fox News 24 hours a day and was connected through e-mail alerts about the aired contents.
Second, they focused on a new form of distribution: DVD sales via the Internet, with the support of the same grassroots community organizations that helped during production. The film is one of the first cases of an independent documentary that became a success in DVD and has then been released theatrically. The movie sold $1 million in DVD’s in three days.
And third, his insight in dealing with the real liability of a journalistic work. Greenwald explained how he obtained during production the pro bono support of a top attorney who helped him navigate in the troubled waters of the “fair use” of materials (the Fox News footage).
The film reminded us that ignorance may make safety limits appear closer than they real- ly are, that there is no excuse for self-censorship and that the antidote to superficial and frightened journalism is in diagnosing the legal liabil- ities of a story. I asked him: “Now that the movie has been released can you still be sued?” “Yes,” he said, “that’s what the insurance is for.” Greenwald’s liability management is remarkable and pushes independent filmmaking, journalism and documentary forward. Before leaving, the Culver City-based filmmaker dedicated individ- ual time to everyone who approached him.
