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Warner Bros. issued a statement Tuesday claiming Weinstein was using the matter to publicize his film "by disseminating deliberate misinformation." The studio claims the Weinstein Co. "is following an oft-trodden path of creating
'well-publicized controversies' in order to promote their films by disseminating deliberate misinformation about the true nature of this dispute. "The Weinsteins are sophisticated experts in this arena and three neutral arbitrators have penalized them for blatantly disregarding MPAA rules. It goes without saying that Warner Bros. has no issue with Lee Daniels' film (never has) and fully supports the artistic goals of the filmmakers. The Weinsteins' suggestions to the contrary are deeply offensive and untrue." Weinstein has taken advantage of such spats before for the generated publicity. Last year, he launched a public attack against the MPAA over its initial R rating (due to harsh language) for the anti-bullying documentary "Bully." After the film was initially released unrated, it was edited slightly and the MPAA changed the rating to PG-13. "People are always saying you're maximizing a controversy," said Weinstein. "I'd rather have the title than the controversy. We have to take our trailers down. We have to take our posters down. We've already taken our website down. And if we don't do it, it's $25,000 a day." In recent days, Deadline.com has posted angry back-and-forth letters between Bois and Warner Bros. attorney John Spiegel. Spiegel has cited previous Weinstein or Miramax titles that disregarded the procedures of the title registry, and had to then pay, for films like "Scream," "Il Postino" and 2007's "Control," for which Weinstein paid $100,000 to use the title. "What are they doing, trying to teach me a lesson?" says Weinstein. "These big corporations just think they can bully the little guy." Certainly, when Weinstein is claiming the plight of the underdog, there's a degree of Hollywood-style bluster. On "CBS This Morning," MPAA chairman Chris Dodd urged cooler heads to prevail, telling both sides: "Sit down and work it out. This is silly."
[Associated
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