Tag: Ava DuVernay
Netflix, director sued over Central Park 5 series
Former Manhattan prosecutor was portrayed by Felicity Huffman in ‘When They See Us’
Former Manhattan prosecutor Linda Fairstein has sued Netflix and film director Ava DuVernay over her portrayal in the streaming service’s miniseries about the Central Park Five case, which sent five black and Latino teenagers to prison for a crime they were later absolved of committing.
Fairstein claims in the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Fort Myers, Florida, that the four-part series “When They See Us” defamed her by portraying her as a “racist, unethical villain.”
“Most glaringly, the film series falsely portrays Ms. Fairstein as in charge of the investigation and prosecution of the case against the five, including the development of the prosecution’s theory of the case,” Fairstein’s lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, said in a statement. “In truth, and as detailed in the lawsuit, Ms. Fairstein was responsible for neither aspect of the case.”
Fairstein was the top Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor in 1989 when the five teenagers were charged with a vicious attack on a jogger in Central Park. The convictions were overturned in 2002 after convicted murderer and serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to committing the crime alone. DNA linked him to it.
Fairstein, who became a best-selling crime author after retiring from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, observed the boys’ interrogation but didn’t personally try the case.
Fairstein was dropped by her publisher and resigned from several boards she served on after “When They See Us,” which dramatizes the events surrounding the trial, debuted last year.
Netflix called Fairstein’s lawsuit “frivolous” and said in a statement, “We intend to vigorously defend ‘When They See Us’ and Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke, the incredible team behind the series.”
Emails seeking comment were sent to a representative for DuVernay and to Locke, a writer and producer of the series who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Article via FoxBusiness
Let’s talk about Central Park Five -“when they see us” by Ava Duvernay
‘When They See Us’ Ava Duvernay Sued Over ‘Reid Technique’ … Creator Says Film Trashed His Work
Netflix and “When They See Us” creator Ava Duvernay are being sued over the police interrogation technique depicted in the film because its creator claims the movie got his method all wrong.
A former cop named John Reid claims in his lawsuit … the Emmy-winning film defamed him by saying his method was used to squeeze statements out of the Central Park 5 suspects.
In particular, he points out a scene from episode 4 where a detective and someone from the D.A.’s Office are discussing the interrogation of the suspects. The prosecution staffer says to the detective, “You squeezed statements out of them after 42 hours of questioning and coercing, without food, bathroom breaks, withholding parental supervision. The Reid Technique has been universally rejected. That’s truth to you.”
In the lawsuit, Reid says the technique he created specifically does not teach withholding parental supervision, denying interview subjects any of their rights or making threats of physical harm. He claims it specifically calls for extra caution when interviewing minors.
In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Reid questions Duvernay saying, “We did our research” before making the film by inviting law enforcement personnel to discuss the case. Reid claims if that were true — Ava would have learned his technique disavows the type of things depicted in the movie.
He believes the filmmakers deliberately “fabricated a scene designed to broadcast to the audience a conversation they made up that included false statements as to the Reid Technique.”
He goes on to defend the Reid Technique, saying it’s widely used by law enforcement … and calls for a structured interview and interrogation process that consists of three stages: fact analysis, investigative non-confrontational interview and interrogation.
According to the docs, Reid says his method is anything but “universally rejected.” He says he’s conducted more than 6,500 seminars and trained more than 200,000 people to use it, since 2002.
Reid says he demanded a retraction in July … 2 months after the series was released, but Netflix refused. He’s now suing Netflix and Ava for defamation and wants the series to turn over a chunk of the profits, and other damages.
We’ve reached out to Netflix and Ava … so far, no word back yet.
Article via TMZ
Let’s talk about Central Park Five -“when they see us” by Ava Duvernay
Netflix When they see us
Ava DuVernay asks the question. When they see us what do they see? When they see us now streaming on Netflix.
When They See Us | Official Trailer| Netflix
Ava DuVernay cowrote and directed this four part documentary based on the true story of the Central Park Five: five Harlem boys Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise falsely convicted of a brutal rape.
This series begins in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident and will look at the Park Five’s lives over 25 years, focusing on their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
Ava DuVernay is making a Prince documentary for Netflix
Apple Music also reportedly has a project around Prince’s legendary 1983 Minneapolis concert.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay will produce a multi-part Prince documentary with Netflix, Deadline reports. The project is being done with the full cooperation of the Prince estate, which has granted the producers access to interviews, archival footage, photos and other materials. “Prince was a genius and a joy and a jolt to the senses,” DuVernay told Deadline. “The only way I know how to make this film is with love. And with great care. I’m honored to do so and grateful for the opportunity entrusted to me by the estate.”
DuVernay earned Oscar and Global Globe nominations for Selma and helmed the Netflix documentary 13th on mass incarceration and race in the United States. She’s also working on a five-part series on the Central Park Five for Netflix. Despite the mess that was Prince’s estate after his death, the Purple One himself might have approved of her involvement. Shortly before passing away, he reportedly reached out to DuVernay about working together, according to Deadline.
Article via Engadget