The Ridgefield Press (which was unaware of the deception) is a small Connecticut weekly, but thats where any verisimilitude ends. An unidentified Sony employee apparently concocted the Manning persona last July, using the name of a friend, and attributed fictional reviews to him. Supervisors using the quotes in movie ads didnt question Mannings legitimacy. It was an incredibly foolish decision, and were horrified, Sony spokeswoman Susan Tick said of the hoax. We are looking into it and will take appropriate action.

More on blurbs, reviewers and reality:

Memo To Sony: When faking movie reviewers, at least show some spunk



In Hollywood, where desperate marketing tactics are the norm, news of the deception astonished even longtime executives. I have run two studios over two decades, and I have to say this is a first for me, says Joe Roth, whose Revolution Studios produced The Animal for Columbia. Its hard to believe. Its terrible. Sony has to apologize and pull the ads. Dick Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, says: That certainly does cross the line. We would never, never, never, ever do that.

Sony is removing Mannings quotes from Knights Tale and Animal ads, but some arts sections this past weekend were already printed before the fakery was revealed.