The experience of panicked spectators who couldn’t breathe and had no clear path to escape at last year’s deadly Astroworld music festival in Houston is featured in a documentary that opens on Friday.
But Live Nation lawyers who complain about the festival’s promoter’s role say they are concerned about the documentary’s publicity. Concert Crush: A Travis Scott Festival Tragedy, You can “pollute the jury group”. A strike order was issued in the case, but Live Nation’s lawyers say the lawyer who filed the lawsuit was also a co-producer of the documentary.
Charlie Minn, the film’s director, said he thinks he made a balanced and fair film that tries to show the audience what happened.
“My task is to make the most honest, honest and candid documentary from the victim’s point of view… We need to know these stories so they don’t happen again,” Min told the Associated Press.
After the November 5th concert, performed under the title of popular rapper Scott, around 500 lawsuits were filed. Ten people were killed and hundreds were injured during the mass unrest of the people. Scott is also being sued.
The documentary, which premiered in 11 Texas cities including Austin, Dallas and Houston, includes interviews with several people who survived a popular riot. The film also features a cellphone video taken by participants in the show, in which people are repeatedly yelled for help.
“It’s hard to explain to friends and family what we saw and what we actually experienced and I think (the documentary) will give a lot of people a chance to be there, to understand,” said Frank Alvarez, who attended the show but didn’t. seen in the movie.
The film highlights what attendees of the show experienced and what caused the tragedy, said Min, who has also made documentaries about the 2018 shooting and violence in suburban Houston on the US-Mexico border.
The film suggests that Scott could have done more to avoid the conditions that led to the victims, but Min said it “wasn’t a blow to Travis Scott”. He said he was also asking if others, including Live Nation and Houston Police, could do more to improve security or respond more quickly to the threat. Min said that Scott, Live Nation and the Houston police declined to be interviewed for the documentary. Houston police are investigating the disaster.
In a report released this month, a task force created by Texas Governor Greg Abbott identified problems with allowing such events and called for “clear factors” to stop the spectacle.
Live Nation’s lawyers expressed their concern this month in a letter to District Judge Kristen Hawkins, reviewing all the issues in the litigation.
“The involvement of the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the film and the publicity that the filmmakers and producers are trying to create raise important questions about attempts to rig a jury,” wrote Neil Mann and Kevin Yankowski, two attorneys at Live Nation. Letter.
But lawyers did not ask Hawkins to take any concrete action on the documentary.
Mann and Jankowski did not respond to letters seeking comment. Live Nation said it was “heartbroken” by what happened, but denied responsibility.
Scott’s lawyers said in an email on Thursday that they did not know whether he had seen the documentary, citing concerns raised by Live Nation when asked if they had any issues with it.
“Mr. Scott remains focused on his philanthropic work in his hometown of Houston and in low-income communities of color across the country, which have been long-term endeavors,” said his attorneys.
Cassandra Burke Robertson, a law professor at Kay Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said she would be surprised if a judge took action on the documentary because of First Amendment concerns, even with a fatigue order.
“I think it’s really in the public interest to study what happened here and prevent similar tragedies in the future. “This is likely to outweigh the interests of the specific outcome of a particular process,” Robertson said.
Brent Cooney, a lawyer representing about 1,500 viewers interviewed for the documentary, said he didn’t think the film would affect his ability to select impartial jurors if the case goes to trial, which could take years.
“I don’t think any lawyer in this case can lose fire to change … what the public perception of all this will be,” Koon said.
Robertson, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said one of the film’s co-producers, Rick Ramos, who represents viewers who filed the lawsuit, might raise some ethical concerns. It was unclear how Ramos was receiving financial benefits for his participation in the documentary.
Ramos declined to comment Thursday.
“Personally, I wasn’t going to co-finance something like that during the upcoming civil lawsuits. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. “It’s something I wouldn’t do,” Koon said.
Min said questions about Ramos’ involvement were valid, but he never hid his involvement.
“People have to see the movie and judge what it is,” said Min.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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