A new article in The New York magazine has revealed how movie-publicity companies are trying to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores. One such company, Bunker 15, has been accused of paying critics to write positive reviews and burying negative reviews on its own website.
Rotten Tomatoes is a website that aggregates movie reviews from critics. The site's "Tomatometer" score is a percentage of reviews that are positive. A score of 100% means that all of the reviews are positive, while a score of 0% means that all of the reviews are negative.
Rotten Tomatoes scores are a major factor in determining the success of a movie. A high score can help a movie attract audiences and make money at the box office. This has led to some movie-publicity companies trying to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores in order to give their clients an advantage.
Here are some additional thoughts
- Studios often try to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores by screening movies for critics they think will give them positive reviews and by releasing reviews early when the score is likely to be higher.
- This can have a significant impact on a movie's box office success, especially for smaller films.
- Some filmmakers and critics argue that Rotten Tomatoes has a negative impact on the film industry by reducing the diversity of voices and making it more difficult for independent films to succeed.
One way that movie-publicity companies try to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores is by paying critics to write positive reviews. This is a practice known as "payola." Critics who are willing to write positive reviews for a fee are sometimes referred to as "shills."
Another way that movie-publicity companies try to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores is by burying negative reviews. This is done by creating websites or social media accounts that only publish positive reviews of the movie. These websites and accounts are often disguised as legitimate news sources or fan pages.
The writers and actors strikes in Hollywood could make it easier for movie-publicity companies to manipulate Rotten Tomatoes scores. The strikes have led to a slowdown in the production of new movies, which could reduce the number of reviews that are available on Rotten Tomatoes. This could make it easier for movie-publicity companies to game the system.
The strikes could also impact the way that people use Rotten Tomatoes. If there are fewer new movies to choose from, people may be more likely to rely on Rotten Tomatoes to make decisions about which movies to see. This could give movie-publicity companies an even greater incentive to manipulate the site's ratings.
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Rotten Tomatoes has taken some steps to combat the manipulation of its scores. The site has delisted a number of movies from its website that were the subject of manipulation attempts. Rotten Tomatoes has also sent warnings to writers who have been caught writing positive reviews for a fee. However, it is difficult to completely eliminate the manipulation of Rotten Tomatoes scores. The site is reliant on the integrity of critics to provide honest and unbiased reviews. As long as there are people willing to pay for positive reviews, there will be people who will try to manipulate
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What Can You Do?
There are a few things that you can do to protect yourself from the manipulation of Rotten Tomatoes scores. First, be aware of the limitations of Rotten Tomatoes. The site is just one tool that you can use to make decisions about which movies to see. You should also read reviews from a variety of sources, including critics who are not affiliated with movie-publicity companies.
Second, be skeptical of movies that have very high Rotten Tomatoes scores. If a movie has a score of 90% or higher, it is worth doing some research to see if there have been any allegations of manipulation.
Finally, are we at a point in history where critics are to be paid like shoe shine boys? How do they get their bread and butter? How do they support families? How many countless writer's lives have they destroyed? Support critics who are committed to providing honest and unbiased reviews. If you see a critic who is writing positive reviews for a fee, let them know that they should be writting honest reviews. Investigate whether thier source of payment is committed to paying the same rate and frequency of payment regardless of the reviewers sentiment.
By being aware of the manipulation of Rotten Tomatoes scores and supporting honest critics, you can help to ensure that the site remains a valuable resource for moviegoers.