Quote whore
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"Quote whore" or "blurb whore" is a pejorative term used by some movie reviewers to describe other critics who provide reviews well in advance of a movie's release and whose reviews are uniformly positive. Such reviews feature stock phrases (such as "spectacular," "edge-of-the-seat," "thrilling," "riveting," "joy ride," "triumph," "tour de force," etc.), which are almost always followed by one or more exclamation points. Movie studios can then use those quotes in their advertising.
Many "quote whores" are perceived as sharing positive, quotable reviews in exchange for free junkets, food, movie-related trinkets and other items of value—or, indeed, free advertising for their own publication.
Reviewers who use the phrase negatively commented that the other reviewers demean the profession by in effect selling positive reviews for movies that do not deserve them.
A subset of so-called quote whores work for legitimate-sounding publications that either do not exist, or are difficult to track down. Earl Dittman falls into this category, as does Jeff Craig, the host of an elusive set of radio spots entitled 60 Second Preview. Craig's effusive quotes are ghostwritten,[1] yet are attributed to him in newspaper ads and on DVD covers.
One reviewer who was widely labeled a quote whore was David Manning, whose quotations often appeared on promotional posters for Columbia Pictures. In early June 2001, the company admitted that Manning was an entirely fictional creation of their marketing department.
In 2003, the homepage for Nullsoft's Winamp media player showed a mock-up of quote whores saying "This is the last thing you will ever have to download!!! It's just that good!". The quote was signed by Fake Guy from Fake Newspaper.[2]
In Britain, Paul Ross writes a weekly column, Paul Ross at the Movies, for a leading Sunday tabloid newspaper which has been criticised for "Quote Whoring". He is known for giving glowing reviews for films which received poor reviews among peer critics.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Hollywood Bitchslap's Critic Watch article series, with articles and analysis of quote whorage, film criticism and press junkets
- Definition of "blurb whore/quote whore" at Word Spy
- "The Weekly Blurb," A satirical parody featuring a shameless movie "quote whore" named Mal Valour
- Expose on Earl Dittman, a well known "quote whore"
- The Quote Whore: Blog epitomizing the quote whoredom
- Critical Hyperbole: The Worst Movie Reviews of All Time
