Reporter Wonders if Matt Damon’s Anti-Fracking Film Will Have Any Effect in Texas
If
Hollywood doesn’t like something, then clearly state legislators should
react. At least that’s what Dave Fehling, NPR’s StateImpact Texas
reporter suggested. StateImpact is a “reporting project of local public
media and NPR,” and has many financial backers including George Soros
(through his Open Society Foundations).
“Chances
may be better this time around that the Texas legislature might
actually strengthen regulation of oil and gas drilling by the Texas
Railroad Commission,” he wrote on the StateImpact website that accompanied his radio story aired on Dec. 18, 2012.
Why
might Texas decide to increase regulation? Well, according to
Fehling,“oil and gas drilling are getting far more public scrutiny.
There’s even a Matt Damon movie now bringing attention to the hydraulic
fracturing technique … “ Nevermind that the Damon movie he referred to
is a fictional drama, not even a documentary. Apparently Fehling thinks
it should influence state energy policy.
The movie “Promised Land,”
will be released nationwide Jan. 4, 2013. “Promised Land” has had its
fair share of problems, however, and has received some less than
favorable reviews.
Investigative journalist Phelim McAleer, who has his own fracking documentary set to debut on cable channel AXS TV on Jan. 22, wrote an op-ed
for the New York Post on Sept. 25 that outlined the problems during the
writing of “Promised Land.” The biggest problem, according to McAleer,
was that anti-fracking activists “in courtroom after courtroom” had been
convicted of “fraud or misrepresentation.”
He
says this caused problems for the original story line, where the oil
company was the villain and the anti-fracking activists would save the
day – winning over Damon’s character, the oil employee, who would then
condemn the company he worked for.
Editor
and journalist Holman Jenkins reviewed the upcoming Damon film for The
Wall Street Journal on Dec. 12 and was critical saying, “Filmmakers
may be ideological numbskulls, but their real problem is often that
they are cowards, too afraid of their friends to make an interesting
movie.”
Even Variety.com called the movie
“dramatically underpowered” and stated that the plot “cheapens the
seriousness of the issues at stake.” It really is odd that Fehling would
cite “Promised Land,” a movie not even winning over the hearts of
reviewers, as the reason the Texas legislature might come move to
further regulate fracking in their state.
