David Manning

Who is David Manning?

In the late 90’s and early 00s, Sony, who owns Columbia Pictures, had several positive reviews by a film critic named David Manning. Manning would have his glowing quotes plastered on every Columbia movie promotion print ad. Something seemed strange about the steady stream of positive quotes for only Sony movies by this guy. So, a reporter from Newsweek started to look into Manning. He discovered that Manning did not exist…at all.

Someone in Marketing made the critic up to create positive buzz for their crappy movies. Basically, the crap hit the fan and Sony had to come clean. There is something interesting to be said about it from this site,

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/manning.html

((John Horn exposed the reality behind David Manning in an article that appeared in early June 2001. He noted that the most curious aspect of the whole affair was why Sony would have felt the need to invent movie reviews in the first place. During movie junkets, the studios pamper critics with all-expense paid weekend getaways. In return for this star treatment, many critics are happy to print whatever the studios want them to about their movies.))

This is true, they didn’t have to make up the reviewer, because they give freebies to reviewers for good reviews.

Yet, on the other side of it, if you go on any public message board, you can encounter more than a fair share of fake reviewers raving about a movie. Online, these people are paid to create a “Buzz” around the movies. They are known as “plants”. (Note: there were at least two of them on the Catwoman message board on IMDB before the movie was released. People spotted them right off the bat.)

Another reason to hate Marketing…

Here is a wonderful Spoof site of David Manning. I thought it was funny

http://ga2so.com/dave/

here’s one of his “fake” fake reviews from that site.

(((THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS

This film is the must-see undercover action film of the summer! Vin Diesel makes Russell Crowe look like David Spade! Jordana Brewster is a shoo-in for best actress! The Fast and The Furious crosses the finish line first! Stop reading this review and go see The Fast and The Furious right now! If you don't you'll never forgive yourself and you'll live a life of constant torture and misery! Why are you still reading? GO NOW!))