American car manufacturer Tesla Motors have this week lost a court appeal requesting a new verdict on their case against popular BBC motoring programme Top Gear, with the judge claiming that the show did not cause ‘libel and malicious falsehood’ on one of the company’s vehicles.
The case began in 2011 over an episode aired late in 2008 (already not a promising start for Tesla), which contained a review of the then-newest edition of the Tesla Roadster, with the company accusing the segment of featuring “lies and misinformation about the Roadster’s performance, behaviour and reliability”.
The car makers, who specialise in electric vehicles, were the butt of several expected jokes on a show aimed more for ‘petrolheads’, but their main issue was with what they claimed to be ‘staged footage’ that gave the impression of the vehicle running out of battery and suffering from numerous mechanical problems.
Host Jeremy Clarkson, who was driving for the test segment, claimed that the car had broken down through lack of battery ‘after 55 miles’ on the show’s test track, barely 25% of the ’200 miles under normal driving conditions’ that Tesla claim the Roadster can achieve.
Tesla applied the argument that they had lost out on up to $171,000 in sales due to the poor review, and that this was mainly due to the episode having a ‘continuing impact’ due to ‘repeated’ re-runs of the episode on the BBC, on-demand (through BBC iPlayer), on DVD, and through syndication networks including Dave.
Ruling at an Appellate Court in London (England) court, Judge Martin Moore-Bick claimed that Top Gear‘s take on the car would not have ‘misled a reasonable viewer’ to believing that the Roadster was of lower quality than the company’s official statistics, and that their claim was ‘very thin on its own terms’.
After the court’s verdict, Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman celebrated the ruling by stating: “I am pleased that the Appeal Court has upheld the previous ruling and the case has been struck out. I’d also like to apologise to the judges for making them have to watch so much Top Gear.”
Tesla, who are yet to comment, recently faced a similar issue with the The New York Times, who’s review of the Tesla Model S was claimed to be ‘fake’ and ‘false and misleading’, though this case has also been denied so far. While they are working in a good and innovative field for their development of alternative-energy cars, are Tesla over-reacting a little towards any claims made against their product? Besides, the Top Gear review wasn’t all bad for them, at least they didn’t come last on the obligatory ‘Power Lap’:
Not too long after the real sport of wrestling suffered a blow by being temporarily taken off the Olympic-quality sports list by the IOC, the fake TV entertainment version which is more widely known has faced issues of their own (problems are relative).
The dispute that WWE were involved in was mainly the battle between UK broadcasters Sky and regional media regulators Ofcom, with claims that an episode of WWE Superstars showed inappropriate violent scenes including a ‘bare knuckle fight’ on a Saturday morning.
The air time of the scene in question was 9:20am (almost 12 hours before the ‘watershed’) at Saturday 10 November 2012 on Sky1, and featured English wrestler Wade Barrett (pictured) in a pre-recorded filmed sequence hyping up his tough personality for the show.
The 90-second clip was voiced-over by Barrett himself, who claimed to have participated in underground wrestling tournaments and bare-knuckle street fights ‘on the mean streets of Preston’.
Ofcom noted several instances of ‘inappropriate’ scenes in the show, including fight viewers gambling on the outcome, close-ups of slow-motion punches and kicks to an opponent’s head and chest, and a competitor receiving a ‘bloody bruise’ on their chest.
Barrett’s voiceover noted: “Where I come from, the grim realities of life smack you in the face at every turn. An onslaught of fury is the only way to survive. I am Wade Barrett and my barrage has just begun.”
When contacted by the regulators over the issue, Sky, the official UK broadcasters of WWE, claimed that the introduction was designed to add to Barrett’s portrayl as a “dark and dangerous character”. They went on to add that WWE wrestling is a ‘highly dramatic and pantomime’ show, but that they realise where there may have been problems, claiming that due to the depiction of ‘real fighting’ in an uncontrolled environment, the content was potentially unsuitable for a Saturday morning audience that would have contained many child fans of the series, and that in the future they will consult with the WWE over how the channel can better comply with Ofcom guidelines.
Ofcom agreed with the apology, stating: “The scene in question depicted bare-knuckle fighting in an underground setting, clearly distinguishing it from staged competitive wrestling that takes place in a ring with a referee. The dark, aggressive and realistic nature of this scene combined with close-up slow-motion punches and kicks to the head and chest with powerful sound effects to underscore the impacts to make the material, in Ofcom’s view, clearly unsuitable for children.”
Seemingly avoiding any formal punishment on this occasion, are Ofcom’s fears justified, or did Sky rightly not have a need to vet the content before putting it on-air? And of all things to be concerned with pre-watershed, is kids watching a fictionalised gritty street fight really the worst thing they will be exposed to in a day of broadcasting?
If she was unknown to a majority of audiences in the UK before this week, American actress Mila Kunis will be a household name by the end of it, after a second noteworthy performance in the usually-mundane medium of movie interviews.
If there is one area in which celebrities are not envied, it is having to perform a countless number of interviews repeating the same thing about their new movie for different shows, but Ted star Kunis, who is in England promoting her role in upcoming Disney release Oz: The Great and Powerful, decided to take a stand when she was questioned by nervous new presenter Chris Stark on BBC Radio 1.
The interview, which like all headline footage was recorded for the station’s YouTube page, saw the actress react well to Stark’s ramblings, insisting that she would much rather talk about the random topics that came up than another run-of-the-mill Q&A over her role and co-stars.
After discussing pub culture, Jagerbombs, football team Watford FC (and their ‘bright yellow jersey’), chicken restaurant Nando’s, meat pies and Blue Moon beer, Stark pressed the issue that the interview was ‘ridiculous’ and how he needed to get back on-topic.
Kunis, however, was enjoying the break, and responded: “Why? This is such a better conversation! Let me just give you answers I know you’re going to ask.”
After reeling off information about her character and co-stars in Oz, she quickly proceeds to go back to the oddball discussion, talking about going to weddings and ‘dropping trou’. Having received over 2m YouTube views in just two days, the interview has been lauded for its uniqueness, and follows on from an interview aired on hit ITV show Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway with ‘Little Ant & Dec’.
Those two interviews, which contain more humour than the entire interview runs of many movie stars combined, can be seen below, along with the immediate reaction on Radio 1 and the movie trailer that Kunis is probably sick of by now. If you want to add to the surrealness, then just pretend that Family Guy voice actress Kunis is in-character as ‘Meg Griffin’…
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This week, MediaPost touts Vince Gilligan as one of TV's best showrunners, and the San Jose Mercury News advises binge-watching Breaking Bad. Plus, Gold Derby wonders if Bryan Cranston will get a fourth Emmy this year. Read on for more:
In Immortalized Episode 4, Immortalizer Dave Houser goes up against challenger Cat Grey in a battle themed "Your Worst Nightmare." Did judges Brian Posehn, Catherine Coan and Paul Rhymer make the right call? It's your turn to decide: Whose mount is best?
During Comic Book Men Season 2 Episode 12, "Con Men," Walt purchases a limited edition 12" Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Admiral Kirk figure signed by William Shatner. The purchase leads to a discussion of the best Star Trek movies -- and Walt's shocking revelation that he's not a fan of the franchise. Michael, on the other hand, is a proud Trekkie, and names The Wrath of Khan as his favorite Star Trek film. Now it's your turn to decide:
At 7' 8", Freakshow's George Bellis the tallest American. In this interview with AMC, he talks about the perks and challenges of his height and his unique role in an Olympics closing ceremony.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about appearing at the Venice Beach Freakshow?
A: Meeting Todd Ray and his family and the characters at the show. Seeing their unique skills of sword swallowing, fire-spitting, glass eating. I've only seen that on television, never in person, so that was very exciting.
Q: What is the most amazing thing you've seen at the show?
A: It's all amazing, but I think maybe the sword-swallowing. It's very shocking to see in real life. To see the object go down into their body and come out without any kind of injuries, or choking or any type of physical problems. It's amazing to know that someone can train themselves to do that.
Q: What are some of the biggest perks of being so tall? What is the biggest challenge?
Taxidermy expert and author Rachel Poliquin talks with Dave Houser from AMC's Immortalized about secrets in the taxidermy world and how to make a realistic tongue.
Q: With your hot pink mohawk, I thought for sure you would be on the stranger side of taxidermy. But you do very traditional mounts...
A: I am 100% traditional. I never got into messing around with rogue stuff.
Q: That was going to be my first question: "Have you ever made a rogue creature." So why not?
A: I just don't have time for the art. I'm so busy running my commercial business. I do all my work for hunters and fishermen and trappers, and I just don't have the time.
Q: Is there any competition between rogue and traditional taxidermists?
A: There are millions and millions and millions of hunters in the country, and they are probably going to find the rogue stuff sort of offensive... They like to see animals as natural as the day they killed it. But on the other hand, you have the art side of the rogue taxidermists who are in bigger-city Los Angeles, New York, Dallas... They may find regular taxidermy offensive because they will be seeing the animal pretty much as it was when it was alive. It's not really a fine line -- it's two different types of art.
Q: Why do you think taxidermy is becoming so fashionable in urban areas and with non-hunters?
AMC's Story Notes has always brought you your favorite films along with compelling real-time trivia. And now, Story Notes is also bringing you chances to win $500! Your next opportunity to win comes during The Breakfast Club on Mon., Mar. 11 at 8/7c: Simply watch for the Golden Note code word, then go to amcgoldennote.com and fill out the sweepstakes entry form (no purchase necessary). But don't delay: The entry period ends at 6AM ET the following morning. You can also watch for a Golden Note code word during Catwoman on Tue., Mar. 12 at 8/7c, as well as during Underworld on Wed., Mar. 13 at 8/7c for two more chances to win. Plus, the winning continues on Mon., Apr. 1!
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