It’s nothing new to hear about dubious-sounding dealings from the producers of the “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” documentary, their misrepresentations about the film and their interviews allegedly done under false pretenses have been well-documented (there’s a whole website dedicated to debunking all their apparently “outrageous claims”). John Lennon’s music was used without Yoko’s permission and now it appears The Killers have been had as well.
From a post in our comments section:
Here is what the head administrator over at the official Killers message board just posted:
“I just spoke to the band’s manager, and adding to the confusion was the fact that they did authorize a project months ago with this request:
Quote: ‘The film is a satirical documentary with an estimated running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes, exploring academic freedom in public schools and government institutions with actor, comedian, economist, Ben Stein as the spokesperson.’
What they authorized was a documentary about ‘academic freedom in schools’, not the film that the producers produced.
They contacted the producers of the film to ask that the song be removed but it is too late. Unfortunately it was misrepresented to them when the request came through to use it. Add this band to a long line of people who were misled by the producers of this film.”
She later added: “The band asked the producers to remove their song from the film when they became aware of the true nature of it. They were told it is too late. That’s all there is.”
We’ve been waiting for a statement from the Killers label for two full days, but we suspect a similar press-release will hit the web tomorrow.
Also, an interesting addendum to this story. The Huffington Post blogger who started this brouhaha by calling out Yoko in the first place, has run a retraction in his story. We feel like we’ve done our job. He writes, “I apologize to Mrs. Lennon for my incorrect assumptions and statements in the article below which, of course, I retract completely. I will also find out more about the producers of the movie and what their motives are.”
Lastly, Premise Media (the people behind “Expelled”) have taken out a SLAPP lawsuit against XVIVO, the company that originally charged the film with copyright infringement. unauthorized use of their animation. Apparently all XVIVO animations have been taken out of “Expelled” and the lawsuit is Premise’s counter measure and a way to clear their name.