Remember when we used to take every blind item as gospel?

About two years ago, a friend who works in PR for a studio called me out. She said, 'You're linking every 'A-list actor with a secret project' rumor to the same three people, but the studios plant those to test interest.' It made me stop and think. I started tracking the life cycle of a rumor, from a small blog to a major outlet. Now, if a story doesn't have at least two named sources or a photo, I mark it as 'likely planted' in my notes. It's crazy how much is just noise. Anyone else have a specific rule they use to filter out the obvious PR stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

ramirez.vera6d ago

My cousin worked at a talent agency for six months and said half their job was just making up stories for the trades. The whole thing is a game. I don't even keep notes on it anymore because it's all just ads for movies that might not even exist.

ericw936d ago

Wait, they actually plant rumors just to see if people are interested? That feels so sneaky, like they're just throwing stuff at the wall. Your system makes a lot of sense though, needing real sources or a photo. I guess I just never thought about how much of the news is basically a test run.

baker.christopher6d ago

Yeah the "test run" part is real. But it's not just to see if people are interested, it's to lock actors or directors into deals before other studios can bid.