Likely Oscar contender Foxcatcher is, erm, catching some heat right now thanks to claims that the supposed true story is not actually that accurate, and an employee at Warner Bros has apparently lost his job because of it.
The film, a psychological thriller, stars Steve Carell as John du Pont, a wealthy wrestling enthusiast, who takes young Olympic champion Mark Schultz, played by Channing Tatum, under his wing.
Apparently, however, the real-life Schultz has been distancing him from Foxcatcher in recent days, sending out a series of angry Tweets claiming that its portrayal of him is inaccurate.
Complex report that an employee of Warner Bros, the film’s distributor, used an account called WB Digital to retweet criticism of Foxcatcher‘s authenticity, something that would in theory damage the film’s Oscar chances.
The offending Tweet concerned a Business Insider article on the real Mark Schultz, that read:
#Foxcatcher Movie Slammed As ‘Complete Fiction’ By The Olympic Wrestler Who Inspired It. ‘Everything I’ve ever said positive about the movie I take back, I hate it.
Warners have since denied that WB Digital was associated with them in an official capacity, but the account, set up by a company consultant, has been deleted, and the man himself has reportedly been fired.
WB has also apologised to its partner Sony, who made the film, saying “Warner Bros simply does not do business that way.”
Just to recap, today we’ve learned that Oscar campaigns are serious fucking business, and that Hollywood actually does operate on the same hilariously cutthroat rules as Entourage.
Australians can see Steve Carell dressed up all creepy like in Foxcatcher on January 29.
