[lbo-talk] Amping up the PR machine

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Tue Oct 24 13:37:31 PDT 2006


[If I had a conspiracy theory, it would be that deep dark forces are hiring celebrities to make aiding the third world into something that makes you go Ewwww. This on top of Madonna's adoption debacle: http://www.alternet.org/stories/43365/ ]

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-10-24/

Warner Bros. Accused of Amputee Exploitation

Executives at movie giant Warner Brothers have been accused of exploiting African amputees to garner publicity for new movie Blood Diamond. The studio handpicked 27 teenage and child amputees from South African hospitals to appear as extras in the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring film and promised to provide prosthetic limbs as well as a small salary for their contribution. However, more than three months after filming wrapped, the kids are reportedly still waiting for their new limbs and local charity Eastern Cape has been forced to outfit them instead to avoid their disappointment. A Warner Brothers representative allegedly told the victims, "You will have to wait for December, when the movie comes out, so we can get some publicity out of it." A spokesperson for the company tells PageSix.com, "We're working on it."

<end article>

Michael



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