Movie Notes: Fake Critic Investigated

June 6, 2001 -- Sony Pictures has apologized for putting phony blurbs into movie advertisements. But the state of Connecticut might want a little more than that.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has opened an investigation into problems with movie reviews following reports that a studio invented a Connecticut film critic.

Sony has admitted creating film critic David Manning of The Ridgefield Press in order to give the studio's movies glowing reviews. The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly Connecticut newspaper, does not have a movie critic and was unaware its name was being used in the fake blurbs.

Blumenthal said the practice of faking movie reviews could be deceptive and misleading advertising, and that his office would issue subpoenas if necessary to get to the bottom of the matter. Guilty parties could face fines.

"We give this practice two thumbs down," Blumenthal said. "It could be deceptive and misleading advertising."

Napster: The Movie

Would you cough up money to see a movie about Napster? Or would you rather download it on the Internet and see it for free?

A movie about the Internet music service that turned the music industry on its ear and spawned several lawsuits is apparently in the works.

Most of us have an inkling of how the story will go. Napster is the brainchild of Shawn Fanning, the Northeastern University dropout who at 18 wrote the source code for the music file-sharing program as a way for his friends to share their favorite songs online.

"We really don't go into details on projects in development," said Marc McCarthy, a spokesman for Starz Encore. "I have to confirm that yes, we are looking at a project."

No Ghostbusters Remake

You can call them all you want. But the Ghostbusters aren't going to answer.

Hollywood may be recycling just about every hit TV show and movie franchise. But Dan Aykroyd says there's no way Ghostbusters will be returning to the screen any time soon — if at all.

"No, that will never happen. That's been dismissed and we've all said goodbye," says Aykroyd, who plays an intelligence officer in Pearl Harbor.

The Mighty Quinn

A memorial service for the late Anthony Quinn will be held this Saturday at the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, R.I.

The 86-year-old actor will buried Friday in a private ceremony. Quinn, perhaps best known for Zorba the Greek, moved to Rhode Island in 1995 to spend more time working as an artist and sculptor, and to be with the youngest of his 13 children.

ABCNEWS Radio contributed to this report.