The owner of an etiquette business who was handed a plastic bag supposedly containing feces in the hit movie "Borat" says she was told the filming would be used for a documentary in Belarus.
Cindy Streit said she filed a complaint Thursday with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, requesting an investigation into possible violations of the California Unfair Trade Practices Act.
fox couldn't ask for better publicity than a stream of news articles that start off with phrases like "the owner of an etiquette business who was handed a plastic bag supposedly containing feces". as bob somerby would say, that passage is just sublime.
A spokesman for 20th Century Fox, which distributed the film, said Allred's contentions are "nonsense."
"Cindy Streit signed written agreements with the production, which clearly stated that a movie was being filmed and that the movie could be distributed worldwide. Her fee was negotiated and paid," said studio spokesman Gregg Brilliant.
Several weeks after filming completed, Brilliant said, Streit asked for and received additional payment for her etiquette training service and she signed an additional release. He said he didn't have immediate details on how much she received.
Streit, 59, said she requested an investigation by the attorney general instead of filing a lawsuit in hopes of setting a precedent that will make movie studios think twice before using other ordinary citizens for "reality movies." However, she said she wouldn't rule out a lawsuit.
on the contrary, streit, you aren't making the studios think twice. you're making them think, "what a brilliant idea! first we dupe people into appearing on camera, and then the steady stream of news articles complaining about it will drive millions of people to the theatres!"¶
syntax, at
7:25 PM, November 17, 2006
