Down in the story, is this bit of irony: The coordinator of Greenpeace’s Amazon campaign “said corn is increasingly being grown in the Amazon because of high international prices brought on by U.S. President George W. Bush’s decision to promote use of corn-based ethanol.” Thus the slashing and burning to create crop land in Brazil while U.S. forces slash and burn Iraq to protect our oil supply.

Amateur reviewer hopeful Gregory Conley seeks to publicize an obscure website at the expense of the award-winning feature film “Forget About It”

Beverly Hills, CA - January 15, 2008 - Internet hoax circulating throughout the blogosphere prompted Producer/Director BJ Davis to release a public statement regarding a lawsuit alleged to have been filed against an amateur film reviewer Gregory Conley of Your Video Store Shelf, operating from Conley’s New Jersey residence. Producer/Director BJ Davis stated: “I have been informed that a hoax has been released throughout the Internet, claiming that I sued an unknown individual and his company for allegedly writing a “negative” review of the award-winning comedy “Forget About It”. In reality, no such lawsuit has been filed and such claims by Mr. Conley are baseless.

“Your Video Store Shelf” website was used as a vehicle to publish Conley’s personal opinions of the film as a fledgling film critic, apparently without ever watching it. Mr. Conley was exposed in numerous misrepresentations, as his commentary reflected on performances by actors who were not in the film, has shown Mr. Conley not being familiar with the plot of “Forget About It” and derailed his attempts to portray the film as a straight-to-video project. Furthermore, Mr. Conley made serious misrepresentations about the film’s financing, falsely claiming that the stellar Academy Award nominated cast members were secured only due to the production company’s alleged enrollment in the Arizona tax credit program.

Once Conley was confronted with the obvious false representations and claims, he responded that since he’s not a professional film critic, he should not be held to the same standard of truth, ethics and accountability. Gregory Conley asserted that as a beginner critic, he was entitled to take “cheap shots”, incorrectly believing that being financially-challenged exempted Mr. Conley and “Your Video Store Shelf” from any liability.

Gregory Conley admitted in writing that his original self-described “bashing” of “Forget About It” contained numerous misrepresentations, which he was forced to amend. Desperate to obtain unwarranted publicity for his obscure website, Mr. Conley and Your Video Store Shelf commenced a campaign of harassment, Internet stalking and retaliation against our production team to do legal, financial, professional and critical harm to the project.

“Your Video Store Shelf” published a number of messages, purporting to be written by Producer Guild and Directors Guild of America member BJ Davis and his spouse, Screenwriter Julia Davis. These unlawful activities by Mr. Conley resulted in a widespread Internet hoax, whereby various untrue claims have been made to garner unwarranted attention to Your Video Store Shelf.

According to the statements made by Gregory Conley, his website had a daily average traffic of 25 visitors, prior to Mr. Conley’s hoax that was apparently designed to increase Internet traffic to his site. By engaging in these actions, Gregory Conley and “Your Video Store Shelf” violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act as well as other relevant laws and regulations. Producers of “Forget About It” are certain that authorities will promptly investigate these violations and take appropriate measures”.

The feature film “Forget About It” premiered theatrically and received the Best Picture Award at the New Jersey International Film Festival. The film was selected as a top contender for The Phoenix Film Festival, Worldfest Film Festival, Palm Beach Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, USA Network Film Festival, Moondance and others. The film recently received a favorable review from the critically acclaimed, internationally renowned film and television industry trade publication “Variety”.

For additional information, visit:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6509067.html
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