So movie geeks may find it interesting that a documentary-- one of our things!-- is the subject of a Supreme Court case at the moment. But don't get too excited yet, guys. It's not one of those First Amendment cases that determines the future of free speech in this country, or even something that will affect the movie industry. It's a campaign finance reform case. Yes, I hear that balloon deflating already.
The case centers around a documentary called Hillary, The Movie, a scathing attack on the 2008 Presidential candidate that was funded by the conservative group Citizens United, which accepted corporate donations. According to the write-up in Variety, the Federal Election Commission ruled that the movie was effectively a 90-minute campaign ad, and couldn't be aired on TV within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of an election because of the corporate funding.
So really, it technically is a First Amendment case, or at least that's what Citizens United is arguing. But really it's about whether or not corporations can pour thousands of dollars into campaign materials and release them as free speech. We'll keep you posted on what happens, but when it comes to the movie world, I don't expect it to have a huge effect.
