DTW: Welcome to the 'Age of Entitlement'...

In the age of the internet, everyone has an opinion about everything. Even opinions about opinions. But does that level of interaction hurt the publicity for high-profile projects or merely raise it higher at a time when ANY publicity seems to be deemed good publicity? J M McDole looks at the age of entitlement from both sides of the equation...

Entitled-Schmentitled...

Entitlement is more than a buzzword used by American politicians to cut programs for the poor. The word seems to apply more to the actions of celebrities, agents, and even fans in the movie business. Let’s look at a few prime examples shall we?

Shia LaBeouf’s recent well-documented dabbling in plagiarism, bizarre Tweets and subsequent claims that he was engaging in 'performance art' have raised more than a few eyebrows. He continues to play up the events by announcing his idea for a performance art show in which he will be “humiliated” for his plagiarism. Proposed tools allegedly include a whip and pliers. He has made references to Joaquin Phoenix and the mockumentary I’m Still Here (2010), stating that getting his idea from the film was his last bit of plagiaristic material. That film, written by Phoenix and Casey Affleck, follows Phoenix’s alleged transition from movie star to rap artist. Let’s leave the performance art to those who can pactually create it utilizing original material, shall we Mr. LaBeouf?

I won’t even go into the ridiculous antics of Justin Bieber over the last few days and months. He’s had enough publicity for acting like a punk. I’m sure we’ve ALL had quite enough of that.

As recently as this week, Quentin Tarantino experienced the ugly side of entitlement. He scrapped his plans for another western called The Hateful Eight when the script was compromised. Tarantino claims to have given his script to only a handful of actors; the script was eventually leaked all over Hollywood. Several sources have mentioned the probable lack of a watermark-a tool used to prevent leakage. But does the lack of a watermark make it okay for someone to breach the film-maker’s trust by sending the script to masses of people for whom it was not intended? I think not. There used to be this little thing called integrity; granted, Hollywood has never been well-known for the practice.  

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