Sundance Gets Sued For Opening Day Doc
That's not a great foot to start out on, but maybe the controversy will help make this year better than ever — you know, capture the attention of those listening?
Sundance is being slapped with a defamation lawsuit because of one of the documentaries being shown on opening day!
The movie is called The Queen of Versailles, and is based on David Siegel, a timeshare developer, his wife Jackie and the construction of their huge mansion in Florida.
It's being advertised as a "rags to riches to rags" story.
This doesn't sit well with David, so he's suing them because it implies that his timeshare company has collapsed, and his house was foreclosed.
"Taken individually and collectively, these statements portray Siegel and Westgate as essentially broke and out of business. Sundance's, Greenfield's and Evers' continued campaign and proliferation of false and defamatory statements regarding Siegel and Westgate is motivated by ill will and malice, and at the very least with a reckless disregard for the truth."
Which David says isn't the case, but that he diverted money from completing the house — named Versailles because it's 90,000 square feet and is the largest house in the US — to keep the company afloat during the economic downturn in 2008.
According to the suit, in November 2011 Westgate restructured its debt, and now it is stable and profitable.
Oh, and did we mention that when they were shooting the documentary, David had given the filmmakers free stays and accommodations to help with their project? It wasn't until 2 days before it was announced that he learned that they were even taking the film to Sundance.
Also, the filmmakers AGREED with him that the accusations and promotional materials were false and changed them, but not before pretty much every website ever had shown it all. Plus they're still using the "rags to riches to rags" tagline.
Seems kinda like defamation to us, regardless if the dude is a fat-cat lots-of-money-aire. And, as a side note, who needs a 90,000 sq ft house? That's just dumb!
But we haven't really seen the other side to the story yet, so we'll keep watching!
Tags: attention, business, campaign, company, controversy, documentary, film, florida, house, lawsuit, mansion, money, movie, november, project, promo, promotion, promotional material, shooting, statement, suing, website
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If what he is saying is true then that is messed up and could actually negatively affect his business. That said I wouldn't rank buying timeshares high up on any list of smart investments.
That thing will be on the ground with in 50 yrs max.
Who cares this doco is pathetic and i'm shocked it even made it to sundance. Yes I have seen a screener of it.
Just a bunch of ………!
Sundance should change the description to reflect reality immediately. This guy has a right to continue to make a living.
If Siegel feels it's defamatory, he has the right to pursue it.