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Tag: documentaries

  • Nina Simone: Netflix Documentary Gets an Official Trailer

    Nina Simone: Netflix Documentary Gets an Official Trailer

    Netflix has shared the official trailer to its upcoming Nina Simone documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone?

    It’s directed by Liz Garbus, an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker best known for The Farm: Angola, USA and Bobby Fischer Against the World. It’ll hit Netflix on June 26.

    Without further ado:

    Here’s Netflix’s official description:

    Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina’s most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time.

    The film uses never-before-heard audio tapes, recorded over the course of three decades, of Nina telling her life story to various interviewers and would-be biographers. From over 100 hours of these recordings, What Happened, Miss Simone? weaves together Nina’s narrative, told largely in her own words. Rare concert footage and archival interviews, along with diaries, letters, interviews with Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, friends and collaborators, along with other exclusive materials, make this the most authentic, personal, and unflinching telling of the extraordinary life of one of the 20th Century’s greatest recording artists.

    There’s a lot of buzz surrounding this documentary. The film received a standing ovation at Sundance. Variety has called it “a most satisfying rendering of a complex cultural legacy.”

    Image via Netflix, YouTube

  • ‘Planet Earth’ Follow-up ‘Our Planet’ Coming to Netflix in 2019

    ‘Planet Earth’ Follow-up ‘Our Planet’ Coming to Netflix in 2019

    Netflix has nabbed the exclusive rights to Planet Earth‘s follow-up.

    It’s called Our Planet, and it’s a four-year project that’ll premiere in 2019. Our Planet “will take viewers into never-before-filmed wilderness areas from the ice caps and deep ocean to deserts and remote forests, introducing them to the most precious species and places that must withstand the impact of humanity so generations to come can enjoy the bounties of the natural world.”

    And it’ll all be in 4K.

    The new show will feature eight parts and is being produced by Silverback Films and Alastair Fothergill who was responsible for the BBC’s Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Blue Planet. The series also has the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

    Why is that important?

    “Our WWF network has operations in over 100 countries and over 5 million members. We can provide the Silverback team unparalleled access to our projects in protected areas around the world, to collaborate in creating innovative stories across all our media channels,” says the WWF.

    “Netflix is proud to be the global home for perhaps Silverback’s most ambitious project to date. The Planet projects have enjoyed great success on Netflix and have helped launch new technologies for viewing at home. We think watching Our Planet, fully on demand in 4K will be an unforgettable experience for our members,” said Lisa Nishimura, Vice President, Netflix Original Documentaries.

    Image via WIkimedia Commons

  • Yelp Documentary Puts Out Call For Stories From Businesses

    Yelp Documentary Puts Out Call For Stories From Businesses

    Yelp documentary-in-the-making Billion Dollar Bully met its Kickstarter funding goal on Friday after generating a fair amount of exposure in the media, most notably with a back-and-forth between filmmaker Kaylie Milliken and Yelp VP of Corporate Communications Shannon Eis on CNBC.

    So far, the film has raised over $64,000 from 534 backers, and continues to seek additional funding to cover graphic art, marketing, principal photography, and contract wok.

    The film was already about half shot before the Kickstarter campaign launched, but Milliken is seeking additional stories from business owners about their Yelp experiences, and has set up a new point of contact to get them. A post on the production company’s blog says:

    The support for this project so far has been amazing. This topic has effected so many people, and we have been getting emails from so many wanting to tell us their story. This kind of response lets us truly realize the impact that we can have by bringing this story to life.

    We have setup a new email address to send all your stories too. This will help us gather your stories, and make sure that we don’t miss hearing what you have to say.

    Please send your stories to billiondollarbully@gmail.com

    Considering how frequently businesses claim to have their own stories in the comment sections of our own coverage of Yelp, I’m guessing the inbox will be flooded.

    An update on the Kickstarter page made over the weekend promises the creation of new rewards for stretch goals.

    “Window stickers and t-shirts have been requested by several people, so we will be incorporating that,” it says. “We are just so thrilled at the way this project has taken off! It really wouldn’t be happening without the support from all of you.”

    It remains to be seen whether or not Billion Dollar Bully will be able to show us any hard hitting evidence to back up the claims many people have made, but if nothing else, it will give these people a new format to share their stories beyond random Internet comments.

    Milliken has said she hasn’t been able to get Yelp to agree to go on camera for the film, but that she hopes they do. Yelp continues to point to a Harvard Business School study, the dismissal of lawsuits, and a recently concluded FTC investigation, which it says debunks the claims at hand. The documentary will be exploring these things, according to Milliken. Yelp says she has a conflict of interest.

    For more on the project and what Yelp has had to say about it, read our interview with Milliken and our follow-up from after the above CNBC exchange.

    Image via YouTube

  • Yelp Documentary ‘Billion Dollar Bully’ Reaches Funding Goal

    Last week, a Kickstarter campaign kicked off to raise money for a documentary called Billion Dollar Bully, which delves into accusations about Yelp’s business practices that have haunted the company for years.

    Businesses often claim that Yelp salespeople call them to try to get them to advertise, and when they decline Yelp responds by burying positive reviews and letting negative ones rise to the top. Yelp of course denies that this has ever happened, and frequently points to failed lawsuits, an FTC investigation, and a study, which it says prove that these stories are nothing more than conspiracy theories.

    Whatever the case may be, this film is moving forward, and viewers will be able to make up their own minds as to who they believe.

    The project had a goal of 60,000, and has so far raised $60,406 from 483 backers with 23 days to go. An update on the Kickstarter page from filmmaker Kaylie Milliken and associate producer Melissa Wood says:

    Again, I PROMISE to leave a thorough update tonight, but I can’t wait until then to announce that WE REACHED OUR FUNDING GOAL!!!! This is amazing!!

    But this does not mean that we’re done. $60,000 was the bare minimum amount that was needed to make this film. With each dollar that comes in, the quality and content of the film improves. Therefore, we have set our first “stretch goal” at $100,000. We need extra funding to cover:

    Travel
    – Why do we need to travel? Because we need to speak with leading experts who live all over the country. That means we need to get a minimum of three people to each destination

    Graphic Art

    Marketing

    More rewards (more backers = more rewards that need to be sent out)

    Principal Photography

    Contract Work

    We really can’t begin to thank you all enough for this AMAZING show of support! In less than two weeks, we reached our first funding goal. WOW. Please continue to spread the word!!

    Kaylie & Mellissa

    We’ll have to check out for the more detailed update.

    In case you’re curious about what Yelp thinks of this whole thing, the company’s VP of Corporate Communications appeared on CNBC opposite Milliken earlier this week, which we covered here. See that article for additional comments from Milliken as well.

    Read our initial interview with Milliken here.

  • Yelp Documentary: The Plot Thickens [Updated]

    Yelp Documentary: The Plot Thickens [Updated]

    As previously reported, last week, Prost Productions announced a new documentary project called Billion Dollar Bully, which dives into the infamous Yelp “extortion” allegations that have persisted for at least six years.

    The basic story that we’ve seen brought up in numerous press reports and internet comments over the years is that Yelp salespeople call businesses who are listed on Yelp and try to get them to advertise. The business declines to advertise, and Yelp responds by burying positive reviews and letting negative ones rise to the top. There are variations on the story, but that’s general gist.

    Billion Dollar Bully is already half shot, but Prost Productions is raising funds on Kickstarter to get it finished. This was announced last week, and Yelp now finds itself in the media spotlight once again, defending itself against familiar claims. It will probably be doing so again in the future as the film has already met nearly two-third of its funding goal with 26 days to go. So far it has raised nearly $40,000 from 340 backers. The campaign even earned “staff pick” status on Kickstarter.

    After news of the project came out, Yelp tried to discredit filmmaker Kaylie Milliken. The company said in a statement:

    The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study.

    We asked Yelp to elaborate on these claims of Milliken’s “conflict of interest” and her “history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp,” but the company would offer no further comment. They did, however, point us to links to its corporate blog posts about the court dismissals, FTC investigation, and academic study (which is from Harvard Business School Professor Michael Luca and Professor Giorgos Zervas of Boston University).

    We interviewed Milliken, and asker her what Yelp was referring to regarding her conflict of interest and whatnot, to which she responded, “I honestly have no idea what they are referring to, but I welcome any information they have.”

    We also asked her about the FTC investigation and study Yelp pointed to. She said the documentary would go more into the investigation.

    Regarding the study, she told us, “If you look at the Harvard Business Study, the very first line asks the question, ‘Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand?’ This is the focus of the study – whether or not reviews actually hurt the restaurants. Yelp points at it as though the study was done to show review manipulation does not happen. Next, if you look at the arguments the author of the study makes, his first point is this: each star rating attributes 5-9% increase in revenue. (Therefore, if negative reviews do drag down the star rating, the business is negatively affected.) Next point: it is only independent restaurants (not chain) that are harmed in this.”

    After our exchange with Milliken, both she and Yelp’s VP of Corporate Communications, Shannon Eis, appeared on CNBC to trade remarks.

    “We’re not here out of fear,” said Eis. “We’re here out of facts and making sure they transcend this conversation. Dismissing the FTC, dismissing five federal judges who all found no wrongdoing, dismissing an exhaustive Harvard Business School study and it’s actually not the one that she’s citing. There’s a different one that looks specifically at our recommendation software and draws no connections to advertising. So she’s citing an older, not Yelp-specific study. Though dismissing all of that seems a little weird when all of it has very exhaustively debunked the claims. But why we’re here is because it’s important that the facts speak, and that the value to consumers that we want to create and continue to drive really transcends all of this.”

    Milliken says she’s not dismissing what the FTC said, and reiterated that the documentary will go into it extensively, and that she’ll “let the experts speak for themselves.”

    And for the record, Yelp itself has dismissed something the FTC has found in the past. Here’s a statement from the company about Google’s antitrust settlement with the commission two years ago, as reported by CNET:

    Yelp, who has been among the company’s most vocal critics, called it “a missed opportunity to protect innovation in the Internet economy, and the consumers and businesses that rely upon it.”

    In the CNBC exchange we finally got some elaboration on Yelp’s part about what it deems a conflict of interest.

    Eis says, “We’re here today because she’s raising money on Kickstarter to fund her film, so we’re all part of a fundraising effort today, but I think what’s important to state is that we did discover through the recommended software that is largely being contested here, that Ms. Milliken herself created three sockpuppet accounts to create false five-star ratings of her huband’s law firm – her husband who is also listed as the CFO for this production that we’re fundraising for as a result of this media, so I think it’s important to say that the accusation that she’s making, she’s actually been a part of on the back end, and the software process that we’re talking about that helps protect consumers and present true and authentic reviews was something that triggered finding her false reviews on the site and suppressed them.”

    Milliken responded to that by saying, “I did create several different profiles, and I wanted to investigate and see what happened to the various reviews that I left. Not just on my husband’s site…on many websites to see what happened to those reviews, and I think it’s shocking and very telling that this billion dollar corporation has come after this grassroots, very small production company, where there are only two of us – myself and my associate producer Melissa Wood – creating a documentary that we are still in production over, and we released a two-minute video online, and Yelp has fired back with all of that. This billion dollar company versus this grassroots organization. I think it does clearly show that they are concerned about what will be coming out in the documentary.”

    To which Eis responded: “I think that’s an unfair statement. This has been going on for weeks. We released one two-sentence statement, and we let it go. But it gets to the point where the same misleading activity is now trying to fundraise to further this conversation, we have to step in and really make sure facts and gravity are at the center of this, which is what’s the right thing to do for users.”

    I’m not so sure that “furthering the conversation” is such a bad thing regardless of who’s right here. The thing is that despite anything Yelp has pointed to in its own defense, accusations have persisted. Whenever these studies and investigations supposedly “debunk” claims, they don’t seem to do so without questions remaining. If the documentary can truly “further” the conversation (as opposed to rehash it), isn’t it worth watching? The same would go for Yelp’s side of the story. When Yelp has some new study or investigation to point to, we pay attention. When the FTC closes an investigation, we report on it. Shouldn’t small businesses be able to have their voices heard as well? As long as the conversation is indeed being furthered, I don’t see how it can be a bad thing.

    That is the supposed point of the documentary, and maybe it shouldn’t be dismissed until its materials are presented. It might be different if the whole thing wasn’t such a common story. Look around at articles about Yelp all over the web, and you’ll likely see numerous comments talking about the types of things the documentary is looking at. We’ve gotten about 30 comments on our coverage over the past few days, and they’re almost all against Yelp. That doesn’t mean they’re all credible, but the fact remains, the conversation isn’t going away. People care.

    I think a lot of people are just interested to see if Milliken’s film will produce any hard hitting evidence we haven’t seen. Milliken told us in our interview that it will include some “material that very few have seen”.

    Asked if Yelp is going to sue Milliken, Eis said she can’t speak to legal proceedings but that it’s “absolutely not on the table right now.”

    We’ve reached out to both Yelp and Milliken for additional information in light of what was discussed on CNBC. There are two different Harvard Business School studies regarding Yelp, but both deal with restaurants:

    Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (2011)

    Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud

    The one Milliken quoted from in our interview is the former. We’ve inquired about that, and we’ve sought to learn more from both parties about how Milliken used the fake Yelp accounts. We also inquired about her husband’s role in the production of the film. We’ll update accordingly.

    Update: Regarding Eis’ comments about the Harvard study, Milliken tells us, “I have no idea what she is talking about. She also said that they aren’t Yelp specific, which they are. This really will be investigated in the documentary.”

    Here is her response regarding the Yelp accounts she created:

    “Before my husband and I were married, he represented me in a legal matter. He did an incredible job, and I left him a legitimate review. That was filtered out. At the time, I did not understand how the filtered system worked, so when I went on his site and saw my review wasn’t there, I thought my account didn’t work. I made another account to leave him another review, which again was filtered out.”

    “I definitely see the need for a filtering system. You don’t want people going on and creating ‘sock puppet’ accounts.”

    “Once I became interested in doing this documentary, I wanted to see how the filtered system worked. I started leaving comments at various businesses. To my knowledge, all of my reviews (which were at legitimate businesses that I had attended) were placed in the filtered reviews. I think one was left.”

    Asked if her husband’s business has been penalized on Yelp (the company often issues “Consumer Alerts” for businesses it says engage in “shady” practices), Milliken said, “No. He does have reviews from legitimate clients filtered out, but I wouldn’t necessarily call that ‘penalized’.”

    On Yelp’s comments about her “conflict of interest,” she tells us, “I think it just goes to show that Yelp truly is concerned about what will be exposed in Billion Dollar Bully. We are a small production company – it’s Mellissa [Wood – associate producer] and myself, working together on this project. We had an idea of a compelling story that we passionately believe should be told, and all of a sudden Yelp was coming after us. I think that speaks volumes above anything I could say at this point.”

    Milliken has said that the film comes from just her and Wood . On Eis’ comments about her husband being the CFO for the production, she says, “My husband is a contract CFO for the production company. Mellissa Wood and I are working on this project together (There are other contract employees; ie, videographer, editor.).”

    As previously reported, Milliken has cited a conversation with her physician as being the inspiration for the documentary. Asked if the physician will be speaking in the film, Milliken says, “No, she is one of many who are concerned with retaliation.”

    Update 2: International Business Times shares screenshots of Yelp’s backend that the company provided, which shows what is apparently MIlliken’s “questionable” activity, though she has already addressed this in the comments above.

    From the Prost Productions Facebook account, she also commented on that article, saying, “I want to address this article that was just released. Yelp is trying to create an environment where Billion Dollar Bully is about myself. It is not. It sticks to evidence, facts, and personal experiences of business owners throughout the United States. Like I’ve said before, I think Yelp’s continued reaction to Billion Dollar Bully speaks volumes and is much more illuminating than anything I could ever say.”

    At the time of writing, the project has raised over $48K of its $60K goal with 24 days to go. It has nearly 400 backers so far.

  • Exclusive Chat With Director Of Yelp Documentary

    UPDATE: The plot thickens.

    Last week, Prost Productions announced a new documentary project called Billion Dollar Bully. The film, which is about half shot, looks at those Yelp “extortion” accusations that have been swirling around for at least the past six years.

    Do you plan on watching the film when it’s released? Let us know in the comments.

    In less than a week, the Kickstarter project has already raised nearly two-thirds of its goal of $60,000. You can read more about it here.

    We had the chance to get some questions answered by director Kaylie Milliken, who told us, “As previous consumers of Yelp, we were and continue to be interested in highlighting business practices involving claims of extortion, review manipulation and review fabrication. This documentary will examine these claims, the rulings of the court in which Yelp won, and why Yelp won those cases.”

    In response to the allegations, Yelp often (including last week) points to a study from Harvard Business School, which it says “debunks the allegations that Yelp provides preferential treatment to advertisers.”

    Asked about the study in a recent interview with International Business Times, Milliken said, “I know there is that Harvard Study, but I just don’t have a lot of faith in it at this point.”

    On what she thinks the study got wrong or didn’t adequately address, Milliken tells WebProNews, “If you look at the Harvard Business Study, the very first line asks the question, ‘Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand?’ This is the focus of the study – whether or not reviews actually hurt the restaurants. Yelp points at it as though the study was done to show review manipulation does not happen. Next, if you look at the arguments the author of the study makes, his first point is this: each star rating attributes 5-9% increase in revenue. (Therefore, if negative reviews do drag down the star rating, the business is negatively affected.) Next point: it is only independent restaurants (not chain) that are harmed in this.”

    “This study focuses solely on restaurants,” she adds. “However, it is not just restaurant owners crying foul on Yelp. Business owners from across the spectrum are criticizing Yelp. This study only looks at restaurants, and only a sample study in Boston at that. Additionally, it does state that restaurants are hurt more by what Yelp ‘elites’ say than what other reviewers say. Many businesses have said Yelp Elites come in and act like it’s their right to have free products.”

    A couple months ago, Yelp announced that the FTC had ended an investigation into its business practices without taking action against the company. Yelp touted this as another victory in the ongoing battle against claims against it. Asked about this, Milliken says it will be addressed in the film, but that she’d prefer to wait until the release to discuss it.

    In its own defense, Yelp also points to the U.S. Appeals Court dismissal of cases brought against it with extortion claims.

    “The dismissal was made due to the Communications Decency Act, which came about in 1996,” Milliken tells us. “It was also known to legislators as the ‘Great Cyberporn Panic’. This law came to be when people were trying to figure out how to regulate porn online. I’ll get into the nitty-gritty of this in the documentary.”

    Here’s the legal document from that (courtesy of Marketing Land):

    At the time, some in the media pointed out that the reason for the case’s dismissal didn’t really prove that Yelp hadn’t engaged in some of the things it was accused of.

    As Nathaniel Mott at PandoDaily put it, “Yelp’s extortion charges have been dropped, but that doesn’t mean the company’s innocent…the court’s decision was based less on Yelp’s innocence in the common sense of the word and more on the fact that these businesses never had a ‘right’ to positive reviews in the first place. Yelp isn’t necessarily innocent — it’s just not guilty in a way the appeals court cares about.”

    Courthouse News Service reported: “Yelp’s alleged conduct cannot be called extortion because its ‘manipulation of user reviews, assuming it occurred, was not wrongful use of economic fear, and, second, … business owners pled insufficient facts to make out a plausible claim that Yelp authored negative reviews of their businesses,’ the three-judge panel found.”

    Also from that report:

    “In sum, to state a claim of economic extortion under both federal and California law, a litigant must demonstrate either that he had a pre-existing right to be free from the threatened harm, or that the defendant had no right to seek payment for the service offered,” wrote Judge Marsha Berzon for the three-judge appellate panel. “Any less stringent standard would transform a wide variety of legally acceptable business dealings into extortion.”

    As you know, these stories from businesses about Yelp’s so-called “extortion” business practices have been going around for a long time. They’ve been discussed in the media time and time again, even having been brought up on The People’s Court one time in an unrelated case. We asked Milliken if Billion Dollar Bully will expose any hard evidence that hasn’t been discussed in the media before.

    “I’m really excited about the opportunity to present material that very few have seen and give a voice to those who haven’t been heard,” she says.

    Once news of the documentary emerged last week, Yelp began trying to discredit Milliken. The company told Business Insider:

    The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study.

    We reached out to Yelp for additional comment and details about this “conflict of interest” and misleading of consumers. A spokesperson told us the company would not comment further at this time, which as I mentioned before, is interesting, because typically Yelp has no problem calling out specific businesses about “shady business tactics”.

    Asked about what the company is referring to, Milliken tells WebProNews, “I honestly have no idea what they are referring to, but I welcome any information they have.”

    In the IBT interview, she mentioned that she has a husband who owns a small business and that he has complained in the past about how pushy Yelp salespeople can be.

    Asked about this, Milliken tells us, “He didn’t experience the behaviors that I’m reporting on; he was just annoyed with the incredibly frequent and pushy calls. He said he always felt he had to be very polite with them because he had heard about Yelp’s tactics and didn’t want his page to go down that path.”

    Milliken has indicated the inspiration for the investigation and documentary came from a story she heard from her physician.

    We also asked her if she thinks (based on what the businesses she’s spoken with have told her) that Yelp salespeople are using language on phone calls that play to this “extortion” narrative, but that is maybe phrased in a way that keeps it from being held accountable. We also asked about common, specific things she’s heard from multiple sources.

    She replied simply that, “This topic will be addressed and light will be shed in the movie.”

    So far, she says she hasn’t felt any pressure from Yelp itself since announcing the project.

    “They haven’t reached out, but I hope that they do contact me and agree to an interview on camera,” she says after noting in the IBT interview that the company agreed to answer questions via email, but wouldn’t let her record a phone call or go in with a camera.

    Milliken says she has spoken with a “wide variety of businesses and consumers who had all sorts of opinions and experiences with Yelp” for the film.

    Should Yelp appear on camera and talk about the subject in the film? Do you think they will if the project meets its funding goal? Discuss.

    Update: Both Milliken and Yelp VP of Corporate Communications Shannon Eis appeared on CNBC to talk about the allegations and the film.

    Image via YouTube

  • Film Takes On Yelp Extortion Claims

    Well, it was probably only a matter of time. Someone is making a documentary about Yelp and its alleged “extortion” practices. It’s called Billion Dollar Bully, and it’s raising funds on Kickstarter as we speak.

    Would you be interested in seeing this film? Let us know in the comments.

    The project comes from Prost Productions and Director/Producer Kaylie Milliken, who is based in San Francisco – Yelp’s home turf. The Kickstarter campaign describes Billion Dollar Bully as “a documentary on marketing giant Yelp’s $3.6 billion racket against small business owners.” A press release for the film came out on Wednesday. It says:

    Billion Dollar Bully is a feature length documentary examining Yelp’s business practices involving claims of extortion, review manipulation and review fabrication.

    Billion Dollar Bully features business owners from across a broad spectrum who have stepped up and agreed to tell their personal stories of Yelp’s questionable business dealings, all of which are vehemently denied by Yelp, who instead states all allegations are merely conspiracy theories.

    If nothing else, that last part is definitely true. Yelp does deny such allegations and commonly dismisses them as conspiracy theories. The allegations have been going on for years now (like at least six), and have not shown any signs of stopping.

    Business Insider shared this statement from a Yelp spokesperson about Billion Dollar Bully:

    The director has a conflict of interest, as she has a history of trying to mislead consumers on Yelp. There is no merit to the claims they appear to highlight, which have been repeatedly dismissed by courts of law, investigated by government regulators, including the FTC, and disproven by academic study.

    We reached out to Yelp for additional comment and details about this “conflict of interest” and misleading of consumers. A spokesperson said the company is not commenting further at this time, which is interesting itself, because typically they have no problem calling out specific businesses about “shady business tactics”.

    The spokesperson pointed us to the following blog posts for reference of the company’s stance on the claims at hand:

  • U.S. Appeals Court affirms the dismissal of cases brought against Yelp with extortion claims
  • FTC concludes its investigation into Yelp business practices; ended its inquiry without taking further action
  • Independent study by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Luca and Professor Giorgos Zervas of Boston University debunked the allegations that Yelp provides preferential treatment to advertiser
  • According to her bio, Millken has over twelve years in the film and video industry. She says, “Like millions of others, I used to use Yelp. Then, I was speaking with my physician one day, and she told me about the extremely aggressive sales tactics that had been used on her in an attempt to get her to sign up to pay to advertise with Yelp. I began researching Yelp, and found that her claims were not unique. Thousands of businesses claim extortion, review manipulation, and even review fabrication by Yelp.”

    Milliken told International Business Times, “I was at a doctor about a year ago, and she started telling me about her experiences with Yelp. The more she talked about it, the more my jaw just kind of dropped. I knew that they had aggressive sales people — my husband is a small-business owner and he’s complained before about how pushy they can be. But then she started telling me about receiving reviews, really negative reviews by clients, and she couldn’t figure out who these clients were. She was really upset over it. And then she received a review where the client listed ailments about themselves that she had never seen before, and this was the day after she had gotten off the phone with someone from Yelp.”

    Of course the film has not even been finished yet, so we’ll see what Milliken and the businesses have to say about it, and what (if any) kind of evidence they can point to. It’s actually half filmed so far. Funds raised through Kickstarter will be used for things like videography, editing, travel expenses, closed captioning, and music composition, according to Milliken.

    She says without raising the funds, she won’t be able to complete the project.

    “To ensure we do this on the tightest budget possible, the staff is not taking a salary so all money can go towards outside contracted work,” the Kickstarter page says. “We are confident we can produce a high quality, impacting, hard-hitting movie.”

    Here’s a trailer:

    And a message from Milliken:

    According to Milliken, most business owners she spoke with about their Yelp issues declined to go on camera for fear of retaliation from Yelp. One restauranteur that does appear obviously doesn’t care about that, after making headlines last year for courting negative reviews as a middle finger to the company.

    “They said that they’ve worked hard to get back in Yelp’s good graces, and they don’t want to jeopardize that,” Milliken told IBTimes of the declining businesses. “Ideally I would love to interview somebody at Yelp, but so far they’ve declined…they’ve told me they would answer questions via email, but they won’t let me record a phone call and they won’t let me go in with a camera.”

    Milliken claims to have screenshots that back up claims made in the documentary, and says she’s well aware of the Harvard study Yelp has pointed to time and time again as “debunking extortion conspiracy theories”.

    Last month, Yelp released its earnings report for the fourth quarter and full year 2014, which showed 48% growth in local advertising accounts over the course of last year. Company execs discussed the progress of its ad offerings during the ensuing conference call, and said they intend to increase sales headcount by 40% this year. This will mostly be in the United States.

    COO Geoff Donaker told investors on the call that many of its salespeople come to Yelp straight out of college or within a few years thereafter, but “we take all comers and there’s all different kinds of folks.”

    “But it is a sales training program and so most of that headcount is folks who are reaching out to local businesses of different stripes,” he added.

    Yelp announced in January that the FTC had closed an investigation into its business practices without taking any action against it. We haven’t had a chance to ask Milliken so far, but my guess is that she’s also aware of that. It will be interesting to see the completed project and if we learn anything new.

    At the time of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has 82 backers, and has reached $10,525 of its $60,000 goal with 31 days left to go. At this rate it should have no problem reaching it. Two backers have contributed $1,500 or more each, and five more have contributed at least $500. Fifteen have pledged at least $100.

    Update: Milliken sent us the following statement in response to Yelp’s official statement, “As previous consumers of Yelp, we (Kaylie Milliken and Mellissa Wood [Associate Producer]) were and continue to be interested in highlighting business practices involving claims of extortion, review manipulation and review fabrication. This documentary will examine these claims, the rulings of the court in which Yelp won, and why Yelp won those cases.”

    Also, as of 8:40 AM on Friday, the Kickstarter campaign has raised over $16K from 134 backers.

    Has Yelp’s defense been sufficient in making you believe the company? Do you think there is merit to the claims the documentary is looking into? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    Image via Kickstarter

  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Netflix Make Documentary Deal

    Leonardo DiCaprio, Netflix Make Documentary Deal

    After a highly successful first date, Netflix and Leonardo DiCaprio have decided to take their relationship to the next level.

    The streaming company has inked a deal with the actor/producer and his production company Appian Way for a multi-year run of documentary films and series. According to Deadline, “DiCaprio’s goal is to mix philanthropy with film making and generate focus with topical and provocative environmental and conservation themes.”

    He will serve as producer or executive producer on all projects.

    DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Netflix have already team up once, with last year’s Virunga – a documentary about endangered gorillas at Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo. It was nominated for an Oscar.

    “Working with Netflix on Virunga has sparked a shared vision about projects that we want to develop and bring to viewers. There’s never been a more critical time for our planet or more of a need for gifted storytellers to help us all make sense of the issues we face. Through this partnership with Netflix, I hope to give documentary filmmakers doing urgent and important work the chance to have their films seen immediately by audiences all around the world,” said DiCaprio in a statement.

    This makes the third high-profile deal Netflix has made for multiple years of content. First, it signed on Adam Sandler for a four-film deal. The first of those, Ridiculous 6, has a pretty impressive cast lined up. Netflix also signed the Duplass brothers to a four-picture deal.

    In terms of straight acquisitions, the company recently snagged a new series from Baz Luhrmann, a war drama starring Fifty Shades of Grey‘s Jamie Dornan, and Pee-wee Herman’s new film.

    Image via Leonardo DiCaprio, Facebook

  • Netflix Releases Trailer For ‘My Own Man’

    Netflix Releases Trailer For ‘My Own Man’

    Netflix released a new trailer for documentary My Own Man, which is executive produced by Edward Norton. As you can see from the trailer, Norton also appears in the film.

    Netflix announced last month that it would exclusively premiere the film on March 6. It was written, produced and directed by David Sampliner (Dirty Work).

    The description is as follows:

    When director Sampliner learns he’s about to become a father to a baby boy, he fears he must “man up” and finally embrace the latent masculinity he’s rejected all his life. But as he immerses himself in a strange new world of masculine ideals, including vocal lessons, warrior weekends and hunting, he realizes all roads lead back to his own fraught relationship with his father. Intimate, funny and moving, My Own Man reveals the sometimes painful truths that are often left unspoken between fathers and sons. The film made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014.

    “We’re proud to be working with Edward Norton and David Sampliner on this film,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary and Comedy. “Intensely personal and yet universally relatable, My Own Man is both an exploration of the new masculinity and an examination of age-old differences between fathers and sons.”

    “My Own Man is as deeply personal as filmmaking can get. You rarely see an artist document their own personal experience with such candor and simultaneously offer such deep insights into the very universal struggle to communicate within a family,” said Norton. “It’s a film that lies within the emotional spectrum of great drama.”

    The film is a Sixteen Tons Production in association with Class 5 Films.

    Image via YouTube

  • Nina Simone Netflix Documentary Gets Standing Ovation at Sundance

    Nina Simone Netflix Documentary Gets Standing Ovation at Sundance

    Netflix’s new documentary about the life of singer Nina Simone is off to a strong start, receiving high praise from the audience at the Sundance Film Festival.

    The film, What Happened, Miss Simone?, received a standing ovation and the praise has continued on Twitter.

    The documentary, announced in December, will hit Netflix this year.

    Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina’s most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time.

    The film uses never-before-heard audio tapes, recorded over the course of three decades, of Nina telling her life story to various interviewers and would-be biographers. From over 100 hours of these recordings, What Happened, Miss Simone? weaves together Nina’s narrative, told largely in her own words. Rare concert footage and archival interviews, along with diaries, letters, interviews with Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, friends and collaborators, along with other exclusive materials, make this the most authentic, personal, and unflinching telling of the extraordinary life of one of the 20th Century’s greatest recording artists.

    After the premiere of the film, John Legend took to the stage to play a touching tribute to Simone, who died in 2003.

    “Her life was a reflection of the legacy of racism in America but also of the extraordinary power that a righteous voice can have against even the most wicked historical legacy,” said Garbus.

    Image via Netflix, YouTube

  • Oscar Nominations: Netflix Scores One with ‘Virunga’

    Oscar Nominations: Netflix Scores One with ‘Virunga’

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences have just announced the Oscar nominations, and Netflix has grabbed itself one.

    Virunga, a film about endangered gorillas at Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo, has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature. It’ll be up against CitizenFour, Finding Vivian Maier, Last Days in Vietnam, and The Salt of the Earth.

    “All I can say is that we’re just humbled that people seem to like the film and seem to resonate with the issues at its heart. I think part of that is because there’s a few things at play – protecting this park isn’t just about protecting the last mountain gorilla, it’s also not just about protecting a part of eastern Congo that really is key to driving forward stability in the region, it’s an issue that everyone should care about, because Virunga is a world heritage site. Only a very small percentage of our planet is protected by these areas. These are parts of the world that humanity has come together and said that they’re so special that we can’t be exploring for oil or gas or coal, that we have to protect them. So if somewhere like Virunga, African’s oldest national park, falls in the face of business interests, what is left on out planet that is safe? And I think that resonates with people because they realize that this is really a line in the sand,” said director Orlando von Einsiedel last month when his film was shortlisted for the Oscar nom.

    Last year, Netflix’s original documentary The Square was nominated in the same category, but didn’t win. Netflix did score its first-ever Oscar, however, as The Lady in Number 6 won the Best Documentary Short Subject category.

    You can check out the full list of Oscar nominations here.

    Image via Virunga Movie, Twitter

  • Netflix Acquires Edward Norton-Produced Doc ‘My Own Man’

    Netflix Acquires Edward Norton-Produced Doc ‘My Own Man’

    Netflix announced that it will exclusively premiere My Own Man, a documentary from executive producer Edward Norton, on March 6. The film was written, produced and directed by David Sampliner (Dirty Work).

    The description is as follows:

    When director Sampliner learns he’s about to become a father to a baby boy, he fears he must “man up” and finally embrace the latent masculinity he’s rejected all his life. But as he immerses himself in a strange new world of masculine ideals, including vocal lessons, warrior weekends and hunting, he realizes all roads lead back to his own fraught relationship with his father. Intimate, funny and moving, My Own Man reveals the sometimes painful truths that are often left unspoken between fathers and sons. The film made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014.

    “We’re proud to be working with Edward Norton and David Sampliner on this film,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary and Comedy. “Intensely personal and yet universally relatable, My Own Man is both an exploration of the new masculinity and an examination of age-old differences between fathers and sons.”

    “My Own Man is as deeply personal as filmmaking can get. You rarely see an artist document their own personal experience with such candor and simultaneously offer such deep insights into the very universal struggle to communicate within a family,” said Norton. “It’s a film that lies within the emotional spectrum of great drama.”

    “When I started making this film, I wanted to document an experience I shared with a lot of my peers: becoming a husband and father in a time when the roles for men were changing so dramatically,” added Sampliner. “But in the course of shooting over seven years, I realized that discovering how to be a 21st century dad meant coming to terms with my own father. I’m hoping that by watching a portrait of my family, audiences will find new ways of understanding their own.”

    The film is a Sixteen Tons Production in association with Class 5 Films.

    It’s been a fairly big day of announcements for Netflix, as the company also announced a release date for its next original series, and that it is launching a “Recommended TV” program for television manufacturers, which will give the Netflix stamp of approval on performance.

    Also, you can see a list of newly added titles here.

    Image via YouTube

  • Netflix Announces Original Nina Simone Documentary

    Netflix Announces Original Nina Simone Documentary

    Netflix has really been making a name for itself when it comes to acquiring and releasing high-quality documentary features. In fact, thanks to the service, people have never had such easy access to such a plethora of this kind of content.

    The company just announced yet another original doc, which is coming in 2015. It’s called What Happened, Miss Simone?, and is about legendary musician and civil rights activist Nina Simone. The description is as follows:

    Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina’s most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time.

    The film uses never-before-heard audio tapes, recorded over the course of three decades, of Nina telling her life story to various interviewers and would-be biographers. From over 100 hours of these recordings, What Happened, Miss Simone? weaves together Nina’s narrative, told largely in her own words. Rare concert footage and archival interviews, along with diaries, letters, interviews with Nina’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, friends and collaborators, along with other exclusive materials, make this the most authentic, personal, and unflinching telling of the extraordinary life of one of the 20th Century’s greatest recording artists.

    Garbus is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker known for The Farm: Angola, USA and Bobby Fischer Against the World.

    “In What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus paints a brave and provocative picture of Nina Simone, artist, civil rights activist and heroine, in a film that we’ve loved from day one and are proud to bring to our viewers around the world,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary Programming.”

    “I’m thrilled that Netflix has embraced the incredible story of Nina Simone and partnered with RadicalMedia on this film,” said Garbus. “For each of her millions of fans, Nina feels like a treasured secret. With What Happened, Miss Simone?, I’m excited to help bring her passion, her music, and her story to the world.”

    Another Netflix Original documentary, Virunga, is currently getting some Oscar buzz.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Netflix Original Documentary ‘Virunga’ Getting Oscar Buzz

    Netflix Original Documentary ‘Virunga’ Getting Oscar Buzz

    Last year, Netflix Original documentary The Square was getting a lot of Oscar buzz, and it ultimately got a nomination, though it didn’t win the award. It did acquire The Lady in Number 6, which won the documentary short category.

    Now, another Netflix Original doc, Virunga, is getting Oscar buzz. The film is about endangered gorillas at Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo.

    The Hollywood Reporter reports that it has been chosen by the Academy as one of the 15 films to compete for a nomination in the best documentary feature category. They asked director Orlando von Einsiedel how he feels about the Oscar buzz, to which he replied:

    That’s out of my hands! All I can say is that we’re just humbled that people seem to like the film and seem to resonate with the issues at its heart. I think part of that is because there’s a few things at play – protecting this park isn’t just about protecting the last mountain gorilla, it’s also not just about protecting a part of eastern Congo that really is key to driving forward stability in the region, it’s an issue that everyone should care about, because Virunga is a world heritage site. Only a very small percentage of our planet is protected by these areas. These are parts of the world that humanity has come together and said that they’re so special that we can’t be exploring for oil or gas or coal, that we have to protect them. So if somewhere like Virunga, African’s oldest national park, falls in the face of business interests, what is left on out planet that is safe? And I think that resonates with people because they realize that this is really a line in the sand.

    The film, which counts Leonardo DiCaprio as an executive producer, is currently available to stream. Netflix acquired the rights to it back in July.

    Image via YouTube

  • Netflix Gives E-Team A Release Date

    Netflix Gives E-Team A Release Date

    Netflix announced the release date for E-Team, which it’s dubbed a Netflix original. As you can see from the image above, it won the cinematography award for a U.S. documentary at Sundance (among other things). The documentary will debut across all Netflix territories on October 24h.

    Here’s Netflix’s official description:

    When human atrocities run rampant, when ruthless dictators hold a nation captive, that’s when the E-Team is called into action. From Academy Award winning filmmaker Ross Kauffman and Emmy Award nominee Katy Chevigny, the latest Netflix Original Documentary brings you behind enemy lines and into the teeth of the world’s most dangerous war zones. A group of fierce idealists, The E-Team intrepidly risks their lives to expose the truth behind the horrific warcrimes of Bashar al-Assad and Muammar Gaddafi among others, providing a voice to the helpless victims of global genocide. E-Team will premiere across all territories on Netflix Oct. 24.

    Netflix acquired the film back in May, and hopes it can follow in the footsteps of its other original doc The Square into Oscar nomination territory.

    Here’s the new trailer:

    Image via YouTube

  • Netflix’s 3D Printing Doc ‘Print the Legend’ Lands Sept. 26

    Netflix’s 3D Printing Doc ‘Print the Legend’ Lands Sept. 26

    Netflix’s has finally given its new original documentary on the exploding 3D printing industry a definite release date. Print the Legend, which Netflix will release both in theaters and on its streaming platform, will be available on September 26th.

    Here’s Netflix’s official description of the documentary:

    The Netflix original documentary goes behind-the-scenes of the top American 3D printing brands as they fight for dominance in the rapidly developing, groundbreaking field of 3D printing….3D printing is changing the world – from printing human organs to guns, to dismantling the world’s industrial infrastructure by enabling home manufacturing. It’s “the next Industrial Revolution.” “Print the Legend” follows the people racing to bring 3D printing to your desktop and into your life. For the winners, there are fortunes – and history – to be made. “Print the Legend” is both a 3D Printing Documentary, capturing a tech in the midst of its “Macintosh Moment,” and, even more so, a compelling tale about what it takes to live the American Dream.

    The film delves into the people behind the machines and asks tough questions about the industry’s creative drive to enable consumers to produce anything from trinkets to handguns, including being there with provocateur Cody Wilson as he uploads his printable-gun files to the internet, setting off a worldwide media firestorm. The film roots its core story in the rise and challenges of start-ups MakerBot and Formlabs as they vie to release consumer models and control the narrative of their market to compete with established industrial players Stratasys and 3D Systems.

    Netflix acquired the film back in March. It won Special Jury Recognition Award for Editing & Storytelling in SXSW’s Documentary Feature Competition.

    It just got a new trailer as well:

    “It’s so rare for a film to capture history in the making, and Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel have done just that in their skillful presentation of the elation and betrayals experienced by young entrepreneurs detailing the groundbreaking technology of 3D printing,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary and Comedy. “This is a compelling glimpse into a game changing technology as it nears an inflection point going from the fantasy world of a few obsessed visionaries to a must-have technology that may enter every home.”

    Image via Netflix, YouTube screenshot

  • Netflix Acquires Streaming Rights To Documentary ‘Virunga’

    Netflix Acquires Streaming Rights To Documentary ‘Virunga’

    Netflix has reportedly acquired exclusive streaming rights to another documentary – Virunga, which is about endangered gorillas at Virunga National Park in the eastern Congo.

    Variety shares comments from Netflix:

    “Combining compelling filmmaking with a captivating real-life subject, ‘Virunga’ will have viewers on the edge of their seats from its very first frame,” Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of original documentary and comedy, said in a statement. “Orlando has crafted a film of rare and raw beauty, an artful and thought-provoking documentary that demands to be seen around the globe.”

    According to von Einsiedel, “Netflix’s global reach is second to none and so was the obvious platform for us to share with the world the story of the park’s brave rangers and their David-and-Goliath battle.”

    Netflix will add the title to other exclusive documentaries like The Square, Mitt, The Battered Bastards of Baseball, Brave Miss World, Mission Blue, and The E-Team.

    The film was directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, and produced by von Einsiede and Joanna Natasegara. Executive producers include Howard Buffett, Jon Drever, Maxyne Franklin, and Jess Search.

    Netflix counts 5 Emmy nominations for its documentaries, including four for The Square and one for Brave Miss World. Netflix’s “original” or exclusive content is up for a combined 31 Emmys, mostly from House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chelsea Handler Lands Big Deal With Netflix

    Chelsea Handler Lands Big Deal With Netflix

    Chelsea Handler has landed a big deal with Netflix and she has signed on the dotted line for not only her own late night show starting in 2016, but four documentaries and a stand-up special, too, which she just recently flew off to film. Handler’s late night show Chelsea Lately on the E! network is ending in August.

    Sounds like the funny lady, who is known for being rather raunchy at just the right time, is jumping out of the fire and into the frying pan but the heat for her was oh, so good, and next she’ll likely sizzle and pop.

    Netflix reports that Chelsea Handler’s new late night show will “feature an updated format that still encompasses Chelsea’s unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as her signature guest interviews.” Sounds a lot like Chelsea Lately, don’t you think? Might she get away with even more on Netflix than she did on E!?

    “If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested. I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch so I approached Netflix to make sure they were as cool as I thought they were, and when I confirmed my suspicions, like with any other future lover, I made my move. I’m more excited than I’ve been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I’ve sat down with in ages. No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset,” Handler said.

    Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos is optimistic about the deal with Handler and credits the internet for changing the way people view shows.

    “The Internet has disrupted many of the conventions of traditional television and together with Chelsea Handler, Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late night part…..,” he said.

    It was only a couple of months ago when Chelsea denied that she and Netflix had a thing going on. Well the cat is out of the bag now, Chelsea Handler, and fans are no doubt thrilled to hear it meow.

    Are you a fan of Chelsea Lately? Will you follow the late night host and comedienne when she makes the switch to Netflix? You certainly won’t be alone.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Atari Landfill Excavation Will Have an Audience

    In 1983 the video game industry crashed in the U.S. One of the most legendary tales from that period involved Atari‘s rushed video game adaptation of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

    Atari had allegedly manufactured a far too ambitious number of cartridges for the game, leading to a massive revenue loss on the product. Legends since that time have held that Atari took millions of unsold Atari console cartridges, tossed them in an Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill and covered them with concrete.

    Now a new documentary is looking to discover the truth behind the legend. The movie, directed by Zak Penn (writer on screenplays such as X-Men: The Last Stand and creator of the Alphas TV show), will cover the excavation of the alleged Atari dump site.

    Though the production reportedly ran into trouble getting permission for the excavation, the event is now scheduled to take place on April 26. Gaming fans are now being invited to come to the dig site and watch as the truth comes out. The day-long excavation will take place from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm at the Alamogordo Landfill.

    This entire endeavor is being funded in part by Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios as part of its new documentaries initiative. The company will be producing a documentary series that will air first on Xbox consoles.

    The Atari landfill documentary is the first of these upcoming documentaries. The project is also being produced in cooperation with Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn studio Lightbox. The project is cooperating with Fuel Entertainment, the company that has exclusive excavation rites to the landfill in question.

    In addition to curious gaming fans, Microsoft is inviting the media to cover the excavation event. A team of archaeologists will be at the site, as will representatives from all of the parties involved in the project. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial developer Howard Scott Warshaw will also make a special appearance at the site.

    Image via Microsoft

  • Netflix Acquires 3D Printing Documentary ‘Print The Legend’

    Netflix announced today that it has acquired 3D printing documentary Print the Legend, which won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Editing & Storytelling in the Documentary Feature Competition at SXSW this year.

    Netflix describes the film:

    The Netflix original documentary goes behind-the-scenes of the top American 3D printing brands as they fight for dominance in the rapidly developing, groundbreaking field of 3D printing….3D printing is changing the world – from printing human organs to guns, to dismantling the world’s industrial infrastructure by enabling home manufacturing. It’s “the next Industrial Revolution.” “Print the Legend” follows the people racing to bring 3D printing to your desktop and into your life. For the winners, there are fortunes – and history – to be made. “Print the Legend” is both a 3D Printing Documentary, capturing a tech in the midst of its “Macintosh Moment,” and, even more so, a compelling tale about what it takes to live the American Dream.

    The film delves into the people behind the machines and asks tough questions about the industry’s creative drive to enable consumers to produce anything from trinkets to handguns, including being there with provocateur Cody Wilson as he uploads his printable-gun files to the internet, setting off a worldwide media firestorm. The film roots its core story in the rise and challenges of start-ups MakerBot and Formlabs as they vie to release consumer models and control the narrative of their market to compete with established industrial players Stratasys and 3D Systems.

    It was directed, shot, and edited by Luis Lopez & Clay Tweel and produced by Steven Klein. It was developed, produced, and financed by Chad Troutwine and Audax Films, led by Co-Producer Andrew Kortschak and Executive Producer Walter Kortschak. It was also produced by Dan O’Meara. Exhibit A Films, including producer Seth Gordon (who worked on Netflix’s Mitt) and Executive Producer Mary Rohlich “led the filmmaking team.”

    “It’s so rare for a film to capture history in the making, and Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel have done just that in their skillful presentation of the elation and betrayals experienced by young entrepreneurs detailing the groundbreaking technology of 3D printing,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary and Comedy. “This is a compelling glimpse into a game changing technology as it nears an inflection point going from the fantasy world of a few obsessed visionaries to a must-have technology that may enter every home.”

    No release date was announced, but Netflix says it will premiere exclusively on its service in all of its territories this year

    Image via YouTube

  • ‘The Lady In Number 6’ Gets Netflix Its First Oscar

    The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life won the Oscar for documentary short on Sunday evening. While Netflix hasn’t yet made any official announcements about the film, multiple reports last week, indicate that Netflix acquired it.

    The film was up against CaveDigger, Facing Fear, Karama Has No Walls, and Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall.

    The Lady in Number 6 is about Alice Herz-Somer, the world’s oldest known Holocaust survivor until her death, which just happened just a week before the Oscars.

    Reports from both The Hollywood Reporter and IndieWire said the film would premiere exclusively on Netflix on April 1st in the U.S. and Canada. Both shared this statement from producer Nicholas Reed:

    “Telling Alice’s story was a life-changing experience for everyone involved with the film. We are so glad to partner with Netflix so that their viewers will be able to enjoy Alice’s infectious love of life and bright spirit. Netflix viewers and future generations will be able to learn so many life lessons from this most amazing woman.”

    Deadline and Variety have also reported on the acquisition.

    Netflix’s more widely publicized Oscar nominee, The Square, did not win in its category (Documentary Feature), though it and most of the other nominees are available to stream on the service. The winner, 20 Feet From Stardom, is not.

    Netflix’s presence was felt more through Kevin Spacey’s presentation than anything. He began in his Frank Underwood voice.

    Image via YouTube