A federal appeals court on Thursday limited the amount of raw footage that a filmmaker must release from his documentary about a legal fight between Chevron and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a two-page order that filmmaker Joseph Berlinger no longer has to give Chevron all 600 hours of raw footage that was used to create “Crude,” a documentary that was released last year.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court said Berlinger must produce only the raw footage that shows lawyers for Ecuadoreans who sued Chevron Corp., private or court-appointed experts in that proceeding and current or former officials of Ecuador’s government.
The appeals court also said the raw footage could be used solely for litigation, arbitration or submission to official bodies, whether they be local or international.
The appeals court heard the case a day earlier after a lower court judge had ordered Berlinger to turn over all his raw footage. Berlinger appealed.
Berlinger said he was “extremely pleased” with the ruling because it substantially limits what must be produced.
“Furthermore, the court has expressly prohibited Chevron from using any footage we do turn over in their public relations campaigns, a goal that was extremely important to me,” he said. “The courts have affirmed that documentary filmmakers are journalists deserving of First Amendment protection.”
Chevron lawyer Randy Mastro said he also was “extremely pleased” with the appeals court ruling and that it came quickly so Chevron can obtain the evidence “to defend against a travesty of justice in Ecuador.”
He said plaintiffs’ counsel who sued Chevron were on screen in the film more than 70 percent of the time “so the outtakes are likely to be similarly dominated by them and all of that footage now has to be produced.”
Karen Hinton, who represents lawyers for the Ecuadoreans, strongly disagreed with the court’s decision.
“This ruling undermines investigative journalism during a time when more aggressive inquiry is sorely needed in the oil industry,” she said.
The lawsuit in Ecuador stems from a 17-year-old legal fight. Ecuadoreans say their land was contaminated during three decades of oil exploration and extraction by Texaco Inc., which became a wholly owned subsidiary of San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corp. in 2001.
Chevron says the raw footage will help bolster its case that lawyers for the plaintiffs have worked to manipulate the judicial system in Ecuador for their own benefit.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More